The final instalment in my wedding advice series from my past real couples! I’ve loved reading and writing these, and hope you have enjoyed reading them too – and have been able to take some notes. These are obviously quite personal opinions from some of my past couples, so it’s not necessarily what might be right for you and your wedding, but it’s so valuable to hear it from those who have recently been through it – for me as well! As this is the final part, this instalment focuses on ‘Final Wise Words‘ and ‘From the Groom’s’ advice and tips. 😊
- See Part 1 here – for advice from my real past couples on ‘Initial stages of planning your wedding’ and ‘Suppliers/Venue’.
- See Part 2 here – for advice from my real past couples on ‘Vision, Décor & Styling’ and ‘Dry Hire Weddings’.
- See Part 3 here – for advice from my real past couples on ‘Traditions’ and ‘On The Wedding Day’.
I’m going to continue to review these myself and take what I can from them, so that I can make all my 2021 weddings even more amazing and special. Feedback is so important to me to allow me to always do better and be better at my job – so do keep them coming, good or bad, if you are one of my past couples!
So here is the fourth and final instalment! Over to my couples again!
(A consolidation of advice gratefully received from a few of my past couples of 2018-2019, who were happy to share on the blog for the benefit of future couples ❤️)
Final Wise Words…
- Stay at your ‘getting ready’ hotel for 2 nights – you never sleep well the first night in a new place.
- I wish I’d took spare shoes to the hotel for the morning after – I was barefoot at breakfast!
- I wish I hadn’t spent money on hair extensions! I went somewhere that was supposedly really good, with great reviews and it cost £££ but those damn extensions came out in about 3 weeks when they should’ve lasted 3 months, and they took out about 25% of my hair with them. I’m still getting it back to normal a year later. Use clip ins or don’t bother, would be my advice.
- If you don’t normally get a fake tan, your wedding day is not the time to try one out for the first time – make sure you’ve had a few trials and nailed the tan colour you want beforehand. And make sure your makeup artist knows in advance you’re getting one. Yes 100% agree! You still want to look like ‘you’ on the day and in your pics!
- While it’s nice to let the mums help, and I really wanted them both to feel involved too, just remember, they’ve had their day! This is your day! So don’t let them pressure you into anything that doesn’t feel ‘you’. I’ve heard this comment/advice piece sooo many times…
- I wish I had booked different transport (to Add Lee – there was traffic and they were late) – and drank less the night before!
- I now wish I’d had my mum and dad walk me down the aisle, instead of just my dad. That moment was lovely and I missed not having my mum with me at the bit just before when we were waiting to go into the town hall.
- We loved having a little in joke together… We have a tiny raggedy toy mouse at home, who repeatedly gets blamed for missing biscuits/cakes/cheese. I didn’t know this, but Philip made him a teeny tiny tie, and he sat Mousey poking out of his jacket breast pocket next to his buttonhole for the entirety of the day. No one really understood why the groom had a toy mouse with him, but it felt like our funny little secret.
- Don’t give yourself too much to do. We didn’t have the most complicated wedding logistically (I don’t think), but there were enough elements to it that I was worried about keeping everything running smoothly on the day. The solution? Laura! We used her ‘on-the-day’ coordination service (plus put up and take down), which meant we could focus on our friends and family and have fun. Best decision we made! Aww thank you!! I’ve got a variety of different pick + mix planning services, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
- RE Covid If you now have more time to plan than you originally had, this will help you have an even better day when you get there – think how grateful your guests will feel to see you and family, friends, having been through all of this pandemic. We’ll all hug each other a little tighter, I think, and a wedding is a great way to celebrate that.
And from the Grooms Directly…
- Go for as many catering tastings as you can… But beware you will likely have to pay for them! This is definitely a really fun part in the planning process though, so do take the time to enjoy it fully! They can make for great date nights!
- On the note of not giving yourself too much to do… I wish I hadn’t collected a sound system for the wedding on the actual morning of our wedding! Totally agree with this! Why give yourself more to do…!
- Remember to address your new wife in your speech! I was too busy trying to remember all the thank yous that I totally forgot to mention her…! (I corrected this later before the first dance!) This is actually super common! Groom’s; take note please!
- Try to be more proactive at addressing any gender stereotypes; we noticed that there felt like there was still a big gender divide between the questions/opinions that the bride got asked or “advised about” (loads) vs the groom (basically none). This is interesting although not wholly surprising. Unfortunately it was mainly only the brides who replied to my own advice and feedback requests though…!
Thanks so much to all my amazing past couples for sharing their wisdom and real wedding advice!
If you are a past bride or groom yourself, I’d love to hear if you have any wedding advice to share, or anything you wish you’d done differently? Even if you weren’t one of my couples! It’s so great to hear it from real couples, with honest accounts of what was memorable and what wasn’t, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch – I welcome honest guest blogs, or you could always voice note me, if easier 😊
Lots of love to you and your families, if I can help with any wedding planning woes while you navigate this strange year of being engaged, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. ❤️
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