Stacie's wedding tips

Yesterday I posted some wedding advice for my newly engaged friends.  Well one of my best friends Stacie commented on my post with some awesome advice.  Stacie, I've deleted your comment and re-posted it here.  Without your permission you've become my first guest blogger :)

So without further adieu, here's one of my best friend Stacie's wedding advice: 

I have a list of things I tell every girl that's planning a wedding, but it's less about the logistics and the financing and more about how to keep your sanity. Here it is in a nutshell...

     1) Remember it's YOUR wedding day.  Every mother, future mother-in-law, sister, bridesmaid and friend either has already had or will have in the future "their" day. They don't need to impede on yours. My mom thought some of my decisions were weird, but I always told her "Well then it's a good thing it's my wedding and not yours." :) Luckily, I had a mom that could respect that - if you don't, then you need to stand up for yourself.

     2) Pick your battles.  Like I said before, it is YOUR wedding, so the most important aspects of it are most definitely something that need to be unique to you. BUT...if your parents or in-laws are picking up some of the tab, you need to be flexible and at least hear them out when they have a suggestion or concern. For example, I didn't exactly pick the right battle once...my mom was adament about sending an invitation to a friend of hers in CO that she hadn't even seen in 4 years, but they emailed occasionally. I was totally against and it unwilling to break away from our "no invites to those we haven't seen in a year" rule. I didn't want to pay for the postage and her dinner when I had never even met her. We yelled and cried and couldn't agree. Finally, I relented. The lady ended up RSVP-ing "no" and sending us a check for $250. Glad I lost that battle. :)

     3) Remember what's important. (Amanda, you already sorta mentioned this.) At the end of your big day, you're gonna be married and that's ultimately why you went through all the fuss, so don't stress the details and don't go into debt just to have the "perfect day." Odds are, it won't be as perfect as you'd hoped. Most brides, when polled, will have at least 2 things they were unhappy about at their wedding.

     4) Be good to your wedding party. (I personally wish I would've done a better job at this.) Again, it's YOUR day, but be considerate of your friends and family that you've asked to be a part of your day. Consider everyone's financial situation when picking out bridesmaid dresses or suits/tuxes. Remember that it's not THEIR wedding, so taking loads of time off work and asking them to fork out lots of money for your wedding is a little inconsiderate and unrealistic. Take care of them as much as possible - I was a bridesmaid at a wedding once where they asked us to be at the church at 10am and we'd stay there until the wedding at 3pm. They didn't serve us lunch and it was such an inconvenience! I remember thinking, "I drove 6 hours to be here and bought a $150 dress and you can't even serve me lunch?"

I could go on, but to end, ENJOY THE PLANNING (I didn't do that enough) and ENJOY YOUR DAY! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so soak it up!

Can you guys see why she's been one of my best friend for almost 10 years?  Such amazing advice.  Click here to check out her blog.  I couldn't agree with her more, especially about picking your battles.  And just for fun, here are a few pictures of Stacie and I at each other's weddings. 



Thanks again Stacie for sharing!  Anybody else have some wedding advice?  Leave a comment below!