Be comfortable

Nothing is worse than having sore feet for two hours of your photos! While shoes can really tie your whole look together, if your dress is long enough some people won’t see them! So, consider breaking your shoes in before your wedding day, or maybe choose a shorter than normal heel. This can help you not feel stress about walking in super high heels or new and uncomfortable shoes. The last thing you want to worry about is making sure you know how to walk in your wedding shoes on top of everything else, so maybe even choose a shoe that is something that you’ve worn before than can also tie your look together! That way you know you’re comfortable in them, and don’t need to worry about it!

If necessary, have an alternate option for portraits if you really start to get uncomfortable (a practical option!)

Stop and smell the roses (literally)

It may be cheesy but honestly this is one of the best ways to enjoy your wedding days!

Does anyone else remember that Office episode where Pam and Jim took mental pictures of their wedding, and decided to capture it all! Well do it! Take mental pictures and SAVOR these moments. One of my favorite things on a wedding day is giving people the time (and permission) to stop and look around at the moments happening right before their eyes.  

I love it when an officiant pauses during the ceremony to tell the couple to look around at all the love surrounding them. The rest of the day should be no different.  Smell your flowers.  Have a private moment to cherish time with your new or soon to be spouse. This day passes by SO quickly, the best thing you can be is present!

Trust your vendors.

There’s nothing worse than fretting over every little detail going right on your wedding day.  The way to fix this is to fully trust your vendors. I know you’ve thought of exactly how every single detail is supposed to go all the way down to the smallest detail! That’s awesome, but if you focus on the imperfection of every little thing while your focus SHOULD be on your big day – you’ll drive yourself crazy!

 Your wedding vendors are experts in their field, and you chose them for a reason. Having full trust in everyone you hired for your big day will lead to less stress overall, and a wedding even more beautiful than you could’ve imagined! So, believe that they’re going to do their job well and according to plan. Leave the details to them.  They’ve got this.

Get sleep + eat

When I don’t sleep enough (or eat enough) I have such a hard time focusing. That’s not the way you want to enjoy your wedding day! So, as tempting as it is to stay up with your besties all night anticipating the big day, or to forgo eating to look your best, DON’T DO IT! Make sure you get enough sleep (8 hours would be stellar) AND eat a healthy breakfast in the morning! Have some food delivered to your prep location, so you can be sure to have a full and happy stomach.

Don’t have your phone on you

We love phones because it’s easy for photos and contacting people, but today I’m going to ask you to leave your phone at home and enjoy your wedding day with no distractions! Let me (your photographer) and your friends and family document the day for you.  Maybe creating a unique hashtag for all of your friends to post on social media for you to checkout after the ceremony is over! You get to see the day through their eyes while waiting for your wedding photos to be edited for you!

So, ditch your phone and give it to a friend to be in charge of for the day. Give your vendors the phone number of your Maid of Honor, if they need to get a hold of you. That way you can completely forget about any last minute needs and entrust any small problems to friends and family to handle!

Start early

There’s always some unexpected things that need our attention on the big day, so in order to enjoy your wedding day – start early! There is nothing worse than feeling behind on your timeline, so starting early on hair and makeup or any last-minute set up can help you get ahead of the day. This way you won’t spend all day stressing and trying to make up time.

It’s always better to be done, sipping champagne and hanging out, and actually enjoying your day than it is to be stressing about getting back on time.

Have an emergency kit

Things happen. Dresses get a stain, your hair faces humidity, lipstick wears off, threads get pulled.  Have a bridal emergency kit on you to make sure all these things can be fixed quickly when they happen! Some examples: clear nail polish, stain treater, dental floss, double sided tape, bobby pins, safety pins, mints, a sewing kit with needle and thread to sew a busted zipper or bustle), tissues, pain reliever, tampons, lip gloss and mini deodorant.

Make sure someone knows how to fix your bustle before the reception.

Don’t want to be stressing over that before your first dance!

Have a rain plan!

We’ve all heard the saying that rain on a wedding day is good luck, but we all don’t want to let the potential of rain ruin the big day. So, if the 5-day weather forecast calls for rain, buy some cute umbrellas in your wedding colors for you and your bridal party. Maybe some cute rain boots! Leave the tags on, and if it doesn’t rain you can return them! Embrace whatever happens on your wedding day because you can’t change it.

Let it go

Little things happen, and not everything goes 100% perfect all the time. I know sounds scary right?! But it’s true about life AND weddings!  Remember that no matter what, the only TRULY important thing that happens is that you say “I Do” and marry your sweetheart. If that’s the only thing that goes right that day, then you’re doing AMAZING! You’re wedding will always be a picture perfect moment, and if it doesn’t look EXACTLY the way you always imagined it, that’s okay. Allowing imperfection increases the beauty of the moment. Everything else going right is icing on the cake, so don’t let the little things bother you!

Savor

This is worth saying twice.  Your wedding day will go by fast.  So remember to savor the moments as their happening: be present. Have conversations! Dance like no one is watching! Have the time of your life with your friends and family! Actually ENJOY your wedding day!