Blog Two (Part 1)

  Actually eat at or before the reception.

Before I got married everyone and their mom told me “make sure to take some time to eat at the reception! There will be so much going on you’ll forget!” Well listen, I tried my darnest to sit down and eat but nope, maybe got a couple bites in. Truth is eating takes time and your reception will feel like 30mins after it’s over so, eat before.

2.      Be very mindful of the time.

Assign someone reliable the very important task of keeping up with the time (& not the DJ). You’ll have to read my “anti-planner” post, don’t worry it’ll go live soon! Timing is a crucial element to the success of being able to enjoy all the your scheduled events during the evening (the slideshows, speeches, performances, videos, cake cutting, garter toss ,etc). You don’t want to be having all this fun then realize there’s only an hour left and you all haven’t had your expensive champagne toast! This person should most likely be your Wedding Coordinator or non-wedding party friend. Super important!

3.      The Rings, an obvious yet not so obvious detail.

Don’t only remember to bring the rings to your wedding location but who actually has them the day of. I’ve been to several weddings where just 10mins before showtime it’s ” can you tell (insert name) to the get the rings?” And named individual never even had them! Or the photographer has them or one of the parents have them who is outside greeting guests or somewhere crying! Not good. Plan ahead and assign a trustworthy person who will be in the vicinity of both parties ( 1 for the grooms and 1 for bride) to keep the rings.

4.      Where all your “stuff” will go after the wedding.

After your wedding is over, you will either be so tired you can’t think or so excited you want to keep the party going and not worry about “things”. Such as your change of clothes from earlier in the day, your rental items which need to be returned the day after, your phone/wallet/keys etc. those personal items may just be left in your hotel room, but will you be staying in the same room on your actual wedding night? Most likely the night before you and your partner’s things will be in separate places and will need to find its way together after the fun is all over. On the other hand, you do not want to be dealing with having to lug and pack up rental items which you may have not had delivered. Also, you’ve already spent enough money and don’t want to add some more with late return fees! It’s all about assignments! Before the big day, have either your Wedding Coordinator ( are you seeing a pattern here?) or trustworthy individual(s) be responsible for making sure your stuff makes is “somewhere” after the reception.

5.      Be mindful of your guests “age groups” and plan accordingly.

If your reception doesn’t start until 7pm, older guests or guests with young children may need to leave earlier than you think. Try to have all the typical ” wedding traditions” towards the beginning of the reception so those guests don’t miss out on your speeches, garter toss or even the beloved wedding CAKE cutting (guests want and love cake, period) Also, by getting that stuff out of the way you free up time for the real fun stuff like dancing, family mingling and people get a chance to hit up the photo booth !!!

6.      Budget for AFTER your wedding day.

Sadly, there’s no newlywed “you can float on your new marital cloud with no responsibilities” time in between! Life keeps going, and bills are still due! Make sure all your routine bills (house,car, cell phone, good ol’ Sallie Mae, insurance etc) are accounted for, especially before leaving for your honeymoon. Set your bills to auto-pay if possible, then you won’t have to worry!

I know I said 10 things but this is long enough, look out for part two!

Until next time pretty people,