I'll start with saying that my wedding day was perfect. The weather was stunning. The venue was amazing. Our family and friends were the absolute best (and most fun) guests!
I am a Virgo though. So, there is always room for improvement. Here are a few things I might do a little differently after seeing the day unfold.
Hydrate
Fun fact, I almost fainted about 20 minutes before our first dance. Not in an I felt a little dizzy way, but in an I started seeing stars and I lost all of my color kind of way. I was so dehydrated towards the end of portraits that I overheated. Shoutout to my sister/maid-of-honor for being quick thinking and covering me in cold wet paper towels to get my body temperature down.
It was a hot August day, and my dress had A LOT of layers, but this could have probably been avoided had I focused on hydrating leading up to the wedding. There was a lot of sitting around during the getting ready process. I could have been sipping on some water. You live and you learn, right?
There was a moment that I honestly thought I would miss our reception. Thankfully, I had the right people around me. I was able to enter my reception as if nothing had happened. Most guests won't have heard this story until they read this post!
Consider doing a first look with Brian
I wanted Brian to see me for the first time walking down the aisle. It was a beautiful moment that I am happy we were able to have. I also live for drama.
One thing I did not consider - the timing. We did portraits during cocktail hour. So, things felt a bit rushed. This was not the photographer's fault. She did a great job with the time she had.
I did do a first look with my father. So in the end, I wouldn't change things because I was able to have two special moments.
Hire a full service wedding coordinator
We hired a month-of-coordinator, Events by Tyra. I cannot explain the joy I felt to passing off this wedding to Tyra in July. Wedding planning took a huge toll on me mentally. The work is never done, especially when you're a perfectionist. So, safe to say I was STRESSED.
In our initial call, I just knew that Tyra would be the ideal person to execute my wedding day exactly the way I envisioned it. And I was not wrong. My only mistake was not hiring her to handle things from start to finish.
I thought because I'm organized and I like planning that I'd love to plan our wedding. The lie detector determined that was a lie. There are so many details. Every time you think that you're finished, something new pops up to say, "Ha, so you thought!".
The reason I chose to forgo hiring a full-service wedding coordinator was that I feared that I would show up on my wedding day and not see the vision I had in mind. Tyra was so communicative and willing to go over every single minute detail, during the month leading up to the wedding though. So, I know this wouldn't have happened with her.
More on working with Events by Tyra coming in a later post!
What I wouldn't change
Everything. So, while there were some things I might change. My wedding was everything I wanted and more. If ain't broke, don't fix it, as they say. It was one of the best days of my life, near fainting spell and all.
This story is a part one of a six week wedding series. Check back next Friday for part two!
