A wedding is a celebration of love, but beyond that, it might also be the biggest and priciest party you’ll throw.
I recently celebrated my wedding anniversary, and like every year I played my wedding video and went through pictures.
I am still amazed and proud of the event my husband and I hosted and some still say its the most fun they’ve had at a wedding!
However, I made some mistakes when planning my wedding that I hope to help you avoid.
It should be noted that I had not been to many weddings before planning my own so some of the mistakes I made were noticed way after my wedding.
Mistake #1 Not Enough Time To Plan
My first mistake was giving myself only six months to plan my wedding.
Today I recognize that six months to plan a wedding is recipe for a lot of mistakes to occur.
The earlier you start planning, the easier and less stressful it will be as the day approaches.
More time to plan also means more time to negotiate with vendors and find the best person for the job.
Mistake #2 Choosing My Bridesmaids
Choosing who will stand up with you on one of your most important days is not an easy decision.
Your bridesmaids are typically your support through the planning process.
After I shared the news of my engagement with my family, I posted it on Facebook.
Instantly some of my friends messaged me to choose them to be a bridesmaid.
I became overwhelmed, and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, which lead to poor choices.
As a result of my rushed bridesmaid selection, my wedding experience was not as memorable as one should be.
I ended up having to replace a bridesmaid a month before the wedding, so yes I much regret my rushed decisions.
Even if you know the person your whole life, it doesn’t automatically make them a good candidate.
The goal is to have a good group of people that are there for you and to make your day memorable.
Even still, choosing the wrong person or people to be in your bridal group can happen to anyone.
3 Tips to help you pick your wedding party
1. Include siblings
Who better to stand by your side than family, they will be around through all your marriage milestones. and you can rest assure that they are there for you and your husband.
2. Think it through before you ask or in my case respond.
Give yourself time to consider who should stand by you and be part of your special day, give yourself at least a month.
Ask yourself if you think you’ll be this close to the person in five years.
Also c
Once you ask someone to be in your bridal group, you can’t/
Finally, as soon as you have chosen them, set realistic expectations, let them know what you expect from them in advance.
3. Don’t pick people to match your partner’s bridal party.
This one is probably a common mistake, but remember that there is no rule and it is best to have quality over quantity.
Mistake #2 Not Dieting and Exercising
This might be a shock to those who know me, but I did not focus on my health and fitness at all while planning my wedding.
I was 3 months postpartum, breastfeeding and had just
This means that my diet was consistent with Spanish food, delicious but can be very high in fats and carbs.
Breastfeeding was the only thing I did that helped me shed some of the baby weight.
However, I was still 15 pounds over my ideal weight, and it wasn’t until my last dress fitting when I realized the mistake I had made.
Apart from the physical aspect, my heavy carb and sugar diet affected my health as well.
Weddings are very stressful, and if on top of that you are not living a healthy lifestyle your health could suffer.
For instance, the day of my wedding while everyone was enjoying the open bar, I was sipping on OJ thanks to being sick with a cold.
Therefore I strongly advise anyone planning a wedding to establish a healthy diet and fitness routine.
A healthy lifestyle will keep your stress levels down and help you stay healthy. In addition, it will help you feel and look great!
Check out my favorite Five Juicing Recipes as well as my 30 Minute Full-Body Workout to kickstart your healthy lifestyle.
Mistake #3 The Vows
So here is where I really messed up, I assumed my then fiancé would; like me, write his own vows.
In fact, there was no doubt in my mind, he’s a great writer and it’s one of the qualities that made me fall in love with him.
Well, he not only did not write a heartwarming vow, he had nothing!
He assumed that I wouldn’t be writing any so he winged it and let me tell you it was pretty sad.
The lesson is to never assume, make things as clear as possible and make sure you are both on the same page.
Mistake #4 My Hair & Makeup
First of all, I loved my hairstyle, however looking back I wish I had chosen a different style to better flatter my dress and face more.
While the hairstyle looked great, it made my face appear even more chubby than it already was!
My mistake was that I did not try any other style; I was set on this hairstyle.
Hair Tip: Be open to other options, try out different styles and take lots of pictures, so you know which one flatters you the best.
The most noteworthy mistake I made here was choosing makeup artist; first of all, I met her on my wedding day!
Before my final selection, I had a few trials with other makeup artists. However, they did not pan out.
A month before the wedding, and desperate I came across this makeup artist in Newbury st, her work looked terrific and I reached out.
It turned out she was on vacation at the time, and would not be available for a trial, but still, I felt she was the one.
Also, I based her ability, solely on the fact that she had been Best of Boston the year prior.
The day of the wedding she showed up on time, but rushing because she had another wedding after.
While the makeup wasn’t terrible, I wasn’t blown away and had to retouch it myself after she left.
There where other factors that I was disappointed with, but certainly a bride should always have a trial.
Mistake #5 Choosing an Outdoor Ceremony
Planning an outdoor wedding is a huge gamble especially if you live in New England.
The day of my wedding, instead of a sunny spring day, we were hit with rain and then a temperature drop.
I was shivering the whole time, and everyone else looked so cold and uncomfortable!
Looking back, I should have considered the unpredictable weather and had chosen an indoor ceremony.
Also, I feel that indoor ceremonies feel more intimate.
Mistake #6 Photography & Video
Ok so here’s where I messed up, I did not tell my video and photo people about my good angle!
I know I’m not alone here, we all have a side that we think looks better, and if you make the mistake of not informing this to people responsible of capturing your special day you are in for major disappointment!
Almost all the pictures captured on my wedding day are of my bad angle.
Let your photographer know your good side and if possible remind him again the day of the wedding.
I also wish that I had more pictures with my daughters and husband, so make sure to let them know who and what you want to be captured in advance.
Mistake #7 NO Dessert Bar
When we first booked and planned our day, one of the first must-have on the list was a dessert bar.
Both of us are major sweet lovers and felt it was necessary to have one, however as the expenses started to rise we had to start cutting some things out.
If I had a do-over I would have kept the dessert bar in since it really would have been the perfect touch.
There you have it, seven mistakes I made when planning my wedding, now tell me some mistakes you have seen made in weddings?
Here are some more pictures of my wedding day:
Above all, my wedding turned out better than I could have ever imagined and while there were bumps on the road I am so proud of my husband and
