Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, and you’ve certainly devoted plenty of time to plan it. But while you’re thinking about all the little napkin-ring-sized details, you might be forgetting the big picture. Here’s a quick guide to making sure you’re focusing on what really matters on the big day.
Give yourself time
When you wake up on your wedding day, there’s only one thing you should be thinking about: getting married to the person you love. This means that all of your planning ends the night before. There are no last-minute touch-ups, calling and greeting the vendors or anything other than having fun with your closest ones. This means you’ll need a dedicated fixer-upper for the day: the person who will take on and take care of anything that pops up during the day. If you have a wedding planner or coordinator, it will naturally be them, but if not, find a good friend with excellent managing skills and give them the task. This is also when you need to stop being a perfectionist. You can’t be in a million places at once and you definitely don’t want your day to be ruined because you’re thinking about how the flowers aren’t in the exact place where you imagined them. By relaxing and giving yourself time, you’ll be able to get ready in peace, stay hydrated and nourished and have fun.
Prepare and rehearse
Have you ever told someone a plan, and you thought you’re on the same page, but you ended up in completely different spots? This is because people perceive things differently, and if you want to make sure everything’s going to be the way you imagine it, you will want to try it once beforehand and iron out any misunderstandings. Make sure you try your dress on at least once before the big day, complete with all the accessories and then put them all in the same spot so nothing gets lost. Find a makeup artist and agree on bridal makeup that fits you, then try it at least once before the wedding and look at it under different kinds of light. Have a rehearsal before the wedding where everyone knows where they are supposed to walk and sit when which song is playing and when the balloons will fall from the ceiling. Some things cannot be prepared too far ahead of time, but everything you can – get it done.
Spend time with the guests
You’ve done all you can to prepare the wedding and thinking about wedding business and coordination during the wedding can only do one thing – ruin it! The reason all of your guests are there is you. They want to talk to you, dance with you and see you have a good time. Not to even mention your partner who probably hasn’t seen you from all the planning that has been eating up your time. You don’t want to look back on your wedding day and only remember it from photos. Make sure that the party is small enough so you have enough time to exchange a few words with each one of your guests (and while we’re at it, fill your glass with watered down alcohol, because you’ll be toasting a lot). Most importantly, spend time with your partner. Yes, it’s a day when you’re seeing a lot of friends you haven’t seen in a long time and everyone you love is in one place, but it’s a day devoted completely to your love for one another, and you basically threw a big party to celebrate your love – to be together.
There’s always going to be something that goes wrong. The catering will forget the vegan options, someone’s heel will break, a baby will be crying during the big “I do” or you’ll get a stain on your dress in the first few hours. But guess what? None of it matters. You’re with the ones you love and you are marrying your favorite person, so literally, anything that happens shouldn’t matter. As long as you have a smile on your face and you’re having a good time, the wedding has served its purpose, and you’re seeing the bigger picture.