12 do's and Don'ts for Every Bride and Groom ...

Know how much money you have to make your dream day perfect. Also know where the money is coming from. Are mom and dad helping or are the two of you responsible for everything? We planned for a long engagement because we knew how much money we needed to save for the big details like the reception hall and the wedding dress.

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Ask your spouse important questions like who to invite and what type of wedding you are having…i.e. traditional, low-key, extravagant, destination, etc. Will the wedding be indoor or outdoor and what colors will be incorporated? Also figure out what important traditions and religious aspects you would like to include in the ceremony and reception. We have decided to have an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception with 75 of our closest friends and family members. We will be having a spring time wedding with colors of teal and white.

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Book vendors that you truly want to have for your wedding. The longer you wait, the bigger chance you have of not getting the reception hall you want, or the florist who designs your favorite bouquets. We looked around and searched online for reception vendors that would also hold ceremonies and found the perfect location. We set up a meeting and were ready to book within a week; which was almost a year and a half from our wedding date.

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Try on more than one dress and if the first dress you tried is “the one” then try it on again after you have tried on others. Also search online for ideas before you go to the bridal shop. I have searched online for ideas of what might suit me, but I haven’t completely shut out the ones I don’t consider my favorites. I am looking forward to trying on many different shapes and designs. This coming May I will let you know how I made out!

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Help your bride out with details about the wedding that you might be interested in. Maybe you would like to pick out the DJ or the food. Trust me, she will appreciate your input and know that it’s as important to you as it is to her. My fiancé has given me great ideas of what he likes and doesn’t like. He also gives me his opinion on details that I have shown him. At first we were thinking of going with tiffany blue instead of teal, but when we both started to see the tiffany blue everywhere we decided to go with a different shade of blue…but still in the blue family!

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Let your groomsmen know details about where to rent a tux or if you are all going to shopping together. Maybe shop online first so you can give them a range of prices. Also let know them where you stand on bachelor parties and if you want your bestman to hold the rings for you. They need to know just as much as bridesmaids do. My fiance and I are still in the beginning stages of planning, but we both will be taking our bridal parties shopping to look for tuxes and dresses.

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Wedding Don'ts

Ask your mother, friends, maid of honor, and of coarse even your groom for help. Stuffing 100 invitations until 3 a.m. isn’t any fun by yourself. Make a party out of it; call some girlfriends over, turn on the music and stuff away! I cannot wait to start putting little details together and asking my maid of honor and mother for help. I can picture it now…we will be listening to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” soundtrack as we stuff 75 invitations with directions and little maps to the reception hall!

It can be a stressful time dealing with new ideas, different opinions, and money issues. But fighting about these details doesn’t make it easier on anyone. If it’s something you both disagree on, leave it alone for the time being and come back to it. Make this a fun time for the both of you. We try not to fight over anything, but if we do fight over anything it would probably be the money aspects of wedding planning. Whether it be spending too much on things other than the wedding...or choosing or wanting details that are way too expensive for our budget. Sometimes these things happen and we get through them.

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There is no need to rush to the alter, you will have each other for the rest of your lives. Take time to plan and save money if needed. My fiancé and I were thinking of getting married a year sooner than the date we chose. However, when we sat down to plan out the details we realized how long it would take to plan the wedding we really wanted. If you want things to go your way then time is definitely needed.

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This is a very important day for the both of you and you will probably have pictures and video to remember it. Really think about who matters most to you and who you think will be in your lives. You don’t want to look at your photos ten years from now and say, “Who is that girl/guy?”. Don’t just pick any random person because you think you have to have a certain amount of people in the bridal party. If you have two or even one close friend that’s OK. We have each chosen best friends and family members for our bridal party that is made up of three people on both sides.

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There are too many details to remember in your head and too many details to remember of what you already did. Check out online sources like TheKnot.comor Brides.comfor a checklist you can make and reminders that can be sent to your email. I have set up a free account on both sites to keep track of the budget, guest list, and seating arrangements. I have also gotten ideas for dresses and hair styles from both sites.

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DIY bridal techniques can save you money for bigger items like a certain DJ that was out of your budget…or the big table centerpieces that you just couldn’t afford. Making invitations, bridesmaids’ gifts, favors, ring bearer pillows, and place card holders can be made fun and easy when checking out blogs like WeddingBee.com. There are also boards on weddingbee that are helpful when looking for local vendors and asking important questions. I have gotten great feedback on how many people is too many people to bring when wedding dress shopping for the first time.
What are some wedding tips that you can offer to brides and grooms that you wish you had taken when planning your wedding?

Sources: WeddingBee.com, TheKnot.com, Brides.com

Photo Credit: Treehugger.com, With--this--ring.blogspot.com, Jenniferechols.wordpress.com, Datingdames.com, Planningmadesimple.com, big-wedding-tiny-budget.com, bridalwave.tv