Fabulous:
• THE most fabulous thing about our wedding was not the ‘stuff’ that went into making it our day. It was the people who surrounded us that day. The best advice we got prior to the wedding, from several people, was to ‘take it all in.’ We are so glad we did. I can’t remember my vows word-for-word, but I do remember the feeling I had holding my husband’s hand and saying ‘this is the best!’
• Finding trustworthy vendors. It made our wedding a lot easier to have vendors who demonstrated that they were good at what they do. We could trust them and not worry about micromanaging what they were going to offer us on our wedding day. Referrals go along way on this note.
• Etsy!! was my savior in making our wedding ‘special’ and affordable. I got our cake topper, hair pieces, bridesmaid gifts, flower girl gifts, escort card accessories, and probably more on this site. Don’t be shy about asking a vendor you like to do something “custom” for you; I’m so glad I asked.

• Letting go of those ‘fabulous’ little ideas I had in the beginning that just added work at the end. If it starts to make the wedding planning process stressful its not worth it! (Your guests don’t notice as much as you hope they will – so they won’t miss it.)
• Potted plant centerpieces. Our guests loved them, most still have them (4 months later) and they were a huge cost savings.

• Going for it during the cake cutting. You do it once, put a napkin over your clothes and get a little cake on your face. It made great pictures and even better memories.

• Sticking together. When points of conflict would arise (and they will) talk it out w/your future spouse and compromise on what is really important. Its true when they say wedding planning is a good test of your marriage to come.
• Waiting to go on our honeymoon. We didn’t take our honeymoon until about 3 months after our wedding. It wasn’t planned that way on purpose, but I’m so glad we didn’t have to pack up and leave right after our wedding. We were exhausted. We took a couple days off and did some mini road-trips, but saved the big trip for later. It was also great to have something to look forward to.

Not-so:
• We learned the hard way that despite everyone telling you ‘Its your wedding’, its really not. Your parents have expectations too. Its important to have a heart-to-heart with both sets of parents before you start making grand plans for your big day.
• Feeling pressure to buy right then and there. I found my dress unexpectedly on a lunch break one day. I loved it and was made to feel like not buying it right away would mean risking not being able to get it at all. It broke my heart and my Mom’s that she wasn’t there when I bought my dress. In reality, you have time and spending time with loved ones is ten times more important than a dress.
• Getting specifics on the budget PRIOR to starting to plan. Approximate isn’t good enough in this case. Planning the budget stinks and creates LOTS of awkward conversations. Just do it. It will make the planning process much easier if everyone is clear about who’s signing up to pay for what (and what they are willing to pay).
• Its hard to do a guest list so far in advance. Think twice about sending save the dates 9 months in advance if you aren’t having a destination wedding. People you are close with could change.

Thanks Krista!!

“1)Sweetheart Table and Extended Cocktail Hour
James and I had been told by so many people that we wouldn’t really get to enjoy our wedding let alone eat anything at the event. You will be too busy we were told, have to talk to too many people. Well, James and I not only ate a full meal (why not? After all that planning and tasting, etc!) we got to sit back and relax during dinner and take it all in, the whole day, just the two of us, as we opted for a sweetheart table. No one bothered us while we ate (thanks to the 2 staff members who guarded our table!) and we got to eat a full meal, and notice how much fun all of our family and friends were having. I think it was really important that we got that 15 minutes to ourselves. It is such a busy day, but it’s a day for the two of you, and you should get to enjoy it too. Also, having an extended cocktail hour meant we could also mingle with family and friends for a bit. We finished up our group and portrait photo’s and still got to grab a glass of wine and some appetizers! You shouldn’t miss your whole wedding!

2) Take dance lessons before
We received a lot of compliments on our dance. It was nothing special, but it was obvious we had practiced. It is an important moment in your life, and you should make the most of it! I notice at weddings now if the bride and groom have a practiced dance, and you definitely notice when they are doing the high school slow dance sway, and I think it takes away from the moment (and the photo op!). James and I had so much fun during our 2 dance lessons and it takes the stress out of the whole planning process, even if it is only for that 2-3 hours. We grabbed a nice dinner in Boston after, and looked forward to showing off our moves come the big day! ”

"3) Have your cake, and eat it too!
We loved, loved, our wedding cake from Montillio’s and didn’t want to wait a full year to eat the top which we saved and froze. So, my parents kept it at their beach house for a few weeks, and we ended up sharing it with my mom, dad, sister and close friends over Labor Day weekend with a nice bottle of wine on the back porch! It was fun to reminisce about the day and eat the cake before it was covered in a nice layer of freezer burn!"

"4) Take a day
Don’t leave for your honeymoon the following morning/day! We had a brunch the next afternoon, had to head back to Boston in Cape traffic, unpack our wedding stuff and make sure we were all packed for our trip to Puerto Rico. We never would have been able to do all that just one day after the wedding, so take at least one day to decompress and unpack all those details first. You will still have a fabulous trip and won’t be so frazzled! "

Thanks Erica!!!

“We got married November 29, 2008 and the reception was at the fabulous Hawthorne Hotel in Salem. Everything was amazing. My Not-So-Fabulous (which actually turned into a Fabulous) has to do with our so-called first dance. If we could do it all over again, I think my husband and I both agree that we would change our song. We picked some slow-dance Elvis song because we really didn’t have a song and it was the best “appropriate” song we could come up with after poring over iTunes for hours and hours. Who knows which one we actually picked – I can’t remember, and I’m certain that our guests and family members don’t remember (we’d have to watch the wedding video again to remind ourselves). We were too chicken to pick the song we really liked/wanted/that explained “us”… Survivor’s “The Search is Over.” We thought our guests would think we were stuck in the 80’s (the song came out in the early 80’s – 1984 to be exact) or that Bill really was a cradle robber…since I was 9 when the song came out. Thankfully (very thankfully!!) you stuck around until the last party shoe dropped and took pictures as our fabulous DJ played the song. I think you were actually packed up and had said goodbye, but you walked back to the dance floor and kept shooting. I’m so glad you did. It was my favorite moment of the night (Bill sang the whole song in my ear, I still laugh thinking about that) and has turned out to be my favorite picture from the wedding – I was so happy and the picture really shows it.”

Seriously, could they look any happier?? I don't think so. Thanks Deb!!!

Here is the first entry in my fabulous/not-so-fabulous contest. I’m asking all my 2008 & 2009 brides to tell me their stories from their wedding, things that they loved, and/or things they wished they had done differently.

The first entry is from Casey, who is probably the quickest email responder of anyone I know!!! Casey had a few issues keeping track of everything the morning of her wedding…and wished her ceremony had been a little longer.

“So I wish I had put someone in charge of all the things I needed for the
big day..i.e. my shoes..so dan and I did one last practice dance in our
living room before we headed down to Plymouth on the Thursday before our
wedding. So Sat morning comes around and my mom goes “where’s grandpa’s
ring”…I immediately panic and start balling (I’m a crier) and search
everywhere for it and find it in its trusty spot, ring box with my under
garments and garter. I looked for it everywhere as if I had completely
lost my mind and had no clue where it was. So once we found that my
maid of honor and I were off to the salon to meet the other girls. I am
on my way out of the hotel and my mom goes “where are your shoes” again
frantic I look everywhere and cant find them anywhere, so my mom goes to
my hotel room where dan was getting ready and looks everywhere in there,
mind you dan has the highest anxietyyyyyyyyy ever so this is helping him
tremendously, ha. We then realize that maybe after our last dance
practice I took my shoes off and left them instead of bringing them with
us…so my cousin was driving by Franklin and stopped by and got them
for us (luckily everyone knows the code to our garage).”

"So little things like that kept happening, I had completely lost my memory....I forgot
the cards for all the bridesmaid gifts so I gave out vera bradley bags
and had no clue which pattern was for who so the girls just picked what
they liked ha.
I lovedddddd my dress. I got it at klienfelds which I highly recommend
every girl to go to to at least experience it, it was sooo much fun."

I wish my reception was 5 hrs longer, I had so much fun. I do wish we had
about 100 less people so we wouldn't have had to spend 2 hrs saying hi
to 300 people, ha, bygones. I loved that we did stations, I think it got
everyone to walk around and meet each other and talk instead of sitting
for hrs before you can dance. I do wish I did an ice cream station or
some sort of fun dessert station. We had a photo booth which was really
fun I do wish we had the DJ remind people about it like halfway through
the reception because a lot of people missed it or forgot about it. We
also had a bbq at our house the day after the wedding and left for our
honeymoon on mon morning which I also highly recommend, it was a blast
and fun to have all your closest family and friends together to spend
more time with. I am really glad I had my grandpas ring as part of my
bouquet because it meant a lot to my mom."

Thanks for getting the ball rolling Casey! As you know, there will be two big winners - one drawn at random, and one with the most comments on their post. Also, everyone who submits an entry will get a free 8x10!

More entries coming soon!