Wedding

1.  Embrace the Nerves 

My girls and I got ready in the venue and had tons of snacks to eat the morning of, while the others were getting hair/makeup done. It was a very emotional morning, I was sooo nervous and kept crying and shaking… but as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife all my nerves instantly went away! 

When I got into my dress, I had only my mom and sisters in the room with me which I loved, and then we did a surprise reveal to my bridesmaids it was a really cute moment!

It’s Wedding Planning time! You got engaged, celebrated and enjoyed the moments, and now you’re ready to plan the best day of your life. If you’re following our wedding planning checklist, it’s time to find your perfect wedding venue. 

Your wedding venue can be one of the most important things you will decide on, that will help set the feel for the whole day.

B and I knew right away that we would want an outdoor wedding in Southern California. But, we also didn’t want all inclusive, because we wanted the freedom to plan the day we wanted. So we went searching, and were so excited to find a brand new and upcoming DIY outdoor venue in Southern California, Heritage Hill in Murrieta. We can’t wait to share all the details with you!

1.  Accept help! 

My wedding was absolutely incredible, and would not have been that way without the help of my family, friends, and even some strangers! I was 1,300 miles away throughout the entire planning process, so allowing help was not an option for me. We didn’t have a coordinator, but everyone pitched in to plan, set up, and tear everything down. 

1.   Have the wedding that speaks to you.

Canmore Alberta is our favorite cozy mountain town, and getting engaged on the top of a mountain there made it the perfect place for us to get married. With Canmore being an 8 hour drive from home, it likely wasn’t a popular choice at first for many of our family and friends. Once we spotted the venue of our dreams, there was no going back, and we decided we would absolutely NOT settle on a different venue. Having a wedding in our hometown would have been the easy option, but we knew we would look back and regret not having the wedding of our dreams, in our favorite place.

1.  Set a budget and Secure your Venue and Photographer ASAP!

The most important step in wedding planning is setting a reasonable budget. There are many apps like “Wedding Wire” and “The Knot” to assist you with budgeting and wedding timelines. Be reasonable with your budget.  The worst thing is to start off your new union in debt! When your budget is set, you have an idea of the type of Venue and Photographer you could want for your special day. Do your research but try to book early, as most places are all booked up months or even years in advance.

Ever wonder about buying your Wedding Veil on Amazon?!  There are so many things you can buy on Amazon to save you money!  However, buying things online can be scary…sometimes its hard to know what you’re going to get.  But with the crazy prices some bridal salons are charging, brides are often wondering if it’s even worth it to buy a veil.  Well, thanks to Amazon, (and lots of our research), we’ve put together a list of real brides who have had success with their Amazon veils.

1.  Find your Budget! (and stick to it!) 

As tempting as it is to just start planning, establishing a budget is an absolute must.  Get everything out in the open with what you can spend and if your parents or future in-laws will contribute.  If you aren’t happy with your budget, maybe that means a longer engagement.  But just remember that there is an AMAZING wedding for every budget. 

1. VIDEOGRAPHER- GET ONE!!! 

Still photos provide an image of a moment in time, but wedding videos capture both movement and sound. With a wedding video, you’ll be able to hear your spouse gasp during your first look, your dad’s toast and your mom’s laughter. You’ll be able to watch your first kiss as newlyweds, your first dance, and your grandmother’s amazing dance moves. For as beautiful and artistic as still photos can be, they cannot capture motion or sound—which makes a wedding video a must-have. 

Asking “Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” to your favorite girls is such a fun time in the wedding planning process. And these new Bridesmaid Proposal Boxes are such a fun new trend.  Now that you’ve got your celebration on, with your own Bridal Box Subscription, and you’re getting use to your new bride status…it’s time for, what I believe to be, one of the most exciting parts of your wedding planning process…asking your bridesmaids to stand up with you as you say “I do”. Your bridesmaids are the girls in your life who are there for you during the crazy wedding planning phase. “Back in the day”, brides simply asked their girls to be bridesmaids, but now…there’s a fun trend to ask with a fun gift…also known as a “bridesmaid proposal.”  I personally love this trend, as I get to give my girls a special gift while I ask them to stand up with me as I marry my best friend. 

1.  YOU DO YOUR THING GIRL.

I spent a year planning our wedding and at the start it was a completely different vision. Halfway through, I realized that I was planning a traditional wedding that would be just like every other wedding I was at, even though it didn’t reflect what I had dreamt about my whole life. I am a free spirit and have my own unique tastes- I realized MY wedding wouldn’t be traditional. Some of the things I changed were: *I went from having all matching traditional bridesmaids dresses to having all different mis-matched patterened, non-traditional dresses * I changed the flowers from just some uniform smaller bouquets to bright, fun, crazy wildflowers spilling out from every which way.