What Do You Wish That You’d Known Earlier?

There really are a lot of little details. I was so focused on the big stuff (cake, photographer, etc.) that I forgot how time-consuming the little things are — things like directions, maps of locations, getting stamps, etc.
— MEGAN S., GREENSBORO
MARRIED 9/27/08

Keep a binder to write down all your thoughts, even the smallest ones. Start planning as early as you can, that way you can allow enough time to be sure that nothing gets overlooked.
— TIFFANY P., PILOT MOUNTAIN
MARRIED 12/13/08

I learned to let things go. If something didn’t go exactly as planned, no one else noticed but me ... so sweating the small stuff is just going to be unnecessarily stressful.
— MEGHAN C., WINSTON-SALEM
MARRIED 5/31/08

Have a meeting with both families early on to establish what everyone wants for the day.
— CAROLINE W., FERGUSON
MARRIED 7/12/08

Factor in the little costs early, such as favors, guest bags and other small items that you may want. They will catch up to you ...
— GRIFFIN M., MORRISVILLE
MARRIED 4/11/09

Not everything is going to go as planned, so be flexible.
— PAIGE A., WINSTON-SALEM
MARRIED 7/12/08

Traditions can be broken! There may be a few raised eyebrows, but this is your wedding day, and if you want to forego the veil, or not have the men in suits or tuxes, you should! We skipped the traditional inner envelope inside the invitation envelope (and saved money!), we chose not to have a guestbook, and I didn’t worry about finding things to fulfill the “Something old, something new ...” adage, among other things, and we couldn’t have been happier with the way our wedding turned out. Some things you may be required to include, by state law or religious affiliation, but, beyond that, don’t be afraid to break tradition to create the perfect wedding for you.
— SUSAN S.-H., CHARLOTTE
MARRIED 11/8/08

Don’t stress as much ... it will all get done. If it is not a priority to get done before the wedding, then it isn’t important enough to do for the wedding! Bring your bridesmaids along to help make decisions.
— TIFFANY C., WILMINGTON
MARRIED 7/19/08

Don’t ask for too many opinions because then you lose your vision — everyone is always going to have a different opinion, so go with what you want and what best fits your style.
— ELIZABETH P., ADVANCE
MARRIED 5/24/08    

We started the process with the idea of just having fun. After that, nothing stressed me out as long as whatever we decided was what we wanted, and something our friends and family would enjoy.
— PAIGE A., WINSTON-SALEM
MARRIED 7/12/08

By focusing on the bigger picture. This day is not about a dress, or flowers, or the perfect wine — this is the first day of the rest of your life with your best friend. You’ve done the hard part, which is to find someone who brings joy to your life to spend the rest of your life with. Sit back and enjoy the day for what it is — a celebration of your love!
— ELIZABETH P., ADVANCE
MARRIED 5/24/08

I made a conscious effort to hire competent, creative vendors. For my florist, I gave him a budget and a color, and I told him to design whatever he
wanted. I can’t design floral arrangements, so why would I micromanage that? If he wasn’t amazing, I wouldn’t have hired him. Knowing he would come up with something spectacular allowed me to stay calm and balanced. And, yes, his arrangements were gorgeous. I was not disappointed. Plus, he loved having creative control.
— MEGAN S., GREENSBORO
MARRIED 9/27/08

I thought about how much fun we were going to have on the honeymoon. I also did not let little things bother me because I knew that in the end I would be married!
— SARA W., RANDLEMAN
MARRIED 7/26/08

I just reminded myself over and over that of course, if something can go wrong, it will. And it did. At the end of the day, if dirt was on my dress, my nails chipped, the flowers wilted — or whatever — I was still getting married to the man I love more than anything in the world, and that’s all that actually matters. The rest are just minor details that most people won’t even notice or remember. My favorite quote of the wedding week: ‘I’m too blessed to be stressed.’
— EMILY J., WOODBERRY FOREST, VA.
MARRIED 9/27/08

You have to go ahead and let yourself know that things are going to go wrong. Nothing is perfect, and boy did we have things happen that we weren’t expecting, but just roll with the punches and don’t let it spoil your day.
— COURTNEY J., LEXINGTON
MARRIED 3/28/09

I wish we had gotten a videographer.Our photos are beautiful, but we decided against a video, and with it being such a whirlwind and how pretty everyone says it was, I would love to be able to see it over and over again ...
— CAROLINE W., FERGUSON
MARRIED 7/12/08

I left my fiancé’s ring in our dressing room. After being adamant that we were going to have a serious ceremony, it was priceless that I was the reason for the entire congregation to be laughing out loud. Never to fear, my brother-in-law came to the rescue and ran back to the dressing room to retrieve the ring.  By the way, we got some incredible pictures of that moment and now it’s something I will cherish for a lifetime!
— GRIFFIN M., MORRISVILLE
MARRIED 4/11/09

I forgot to enjoy myself at the reception. Family pictures took so much of my time away that I didn’t get to spend time with my friends. We had an evening wedding and left for our honeymoon that night, so we didn’t get to enjoy having all our friends around for the celebration.
— MEGHAN C., WINSTON-SALEM
MARRIED 5/31/08

I almost chose not to do a bridal luncheon in order to save money, but I am so glad I did.  It is a great time to spend with your bridesmaids and mothers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers, etc. that is different from your bachelorette party.  It is your chance to tell them how much they mean to you and why you chose them for your special day.
— TIFFANY C., WILMINGTON
MARRIED 7/19/08