Wedding season is in full swing. And I’m super excited to see two of my good friends tie the knot this Saturday. They inspired a post last year on practical to tips to getting married. So in honor of their big day, I wanted to remind you all of those tips to making your wedding the day you’ve always dreamed of.
It Can Be Whatever You Want It to Be
Above anything else, remember that it’s your day and you get to make it whatever you want. I still remember the excitement of my proposal to Ben and the anticipation of our wedding day. A great thing about the newness of marriage equality is that there isn’t a traditional type of ceremony or process that you have to follow. In fact, our friends didn’t have a typical engagement, where one person asks another. They decided together that it was time and started planning.
One of the first things you should do is decide what you both want and find a way to meet your desires. This includes things like the amount of people, type of ceremony, and how much you want to spend. Ben and I wrote down what we wanted individually and then shared, keeping the things we agreed on and compromising on the rest. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s what you want, not what other people tell you it “should” be.
Book Your Venue Early
One of the hardest parts for us was deciding on a place to have the ceremony. And we found out quickly that venues book up well in advance, especially in a place like Chicago. Once you’ve decide what type of ceremony that you want, you have to start searching for the venue that will meet your needs. You may have a better luck (and a cheaper bill) if you choose an off day like a Friday or Sunday, rather than a Saturday. Luckily, our friends found the right venue with the first place that they saw. But I wouldn’t count on that. You’ll likely need to see several places.
It’s Okay to Fight
Planning a wedding is stressful. Trying to mesh your ideas on the ceremony, find the right venue, decide who to cut from the guest list will likely lead to a few arguments. That’s okay. The best thing you can do during that time is remember why you’re getting married (because you love each other) and that you will get it figured out eventually. And sometimes it’s nice to take a break from planning and do something else that you enjoy to relieve some stress.
Don’t Forget the Photographer
For a split second, I was ready to forgo a photographer at our wedding. My thinking was that all of our family and friends would be taking pictures, and we didn’t need to pay someone to do the same thing. I was also trying to save us money; we were paying for the wedding and buying a house at the same time. Luckily Ben wasn’t hearing any of that. He was adamant about the photographer, and I’ve never been so happy to have been so wrong. We ended up getting a great photographer, who captured the day perfectly. And now we get to relive the moments and share them with people that didn’t get a chance to come. It’s a day that you will never forget that will pass by in the blink of an eye. Make sure to have someone there capturing it for you.
Try to Enjoy the Process
The time goes so fast. Ben and I were both saying to our friends that we can’t believe it’s been almost two years since our ceremony. And hearing Ben say he enjoyed “everything about that day” really makes me happy. Yes, there will be stress and hard times, but try to do all that you can to enjoy the moments of the planning process.
So that’s my two cents on the practical side of getting married. I’ve also offered tips for the personal financial side as well. I hope those of you getting married in the next couple of weeks have the happiest of weddings.