I’ve been in contact with a few new brides lately, and I found myself giving them a great deal of advice. I then realized that it was basically what I didn’t know as a bride that I know now. I learned through reading blogs and working in the wedding industry, and basically just educating myself. However, as a new bride, the first thought usually isn’t to educate yourself…it’s to grab the newest wedding magazine and start flipping through it, marking the pages of things you like. That’s not a problem at all…revel in your engagement! You have to know what you like and what you want!

Photo by Todd Pellowe

I was the first out of my friends to get married. There were so many times that I thought, “I wish I had some sort of warning or preparation so I could’ve known about this!” Therefore, I thought I would do a quick list of some of the major things that come to mind that I wish I had known when I was bride.

1. BLOGS! As I’ve said before, I had no clue about what wedding blogs were, how to find them, and what information they had! Photographers’ blogs, inspiration blogs, planners’ blogs are SUCH great resources! I found SO many great ideas and inspiration on blogs…the only drawback was that I found blogs too late in my planning and I couldn’t do half of the things that I wanted to. So you’re on a great start by reading a blog!

2. Weddings are expensive. Just know that and be prepared. There are ways to have a great wedding without “breaking the bank”, but definitely know the running price for services. Do your homework. I was in shock when I found out what the price of an average photography package was. And so were my parents. But that was because we had no idea about what photography (and everything else wedding related) entailed. When we met with other (much better) photographers and saw the difference in pricing, things started to make a bit more sense. Bottom line- do your homework. It’s okay to shop around, but know WHAT you’re shopping for and the quality of the product/service. (More details on this in another post later)

3. You can plan your own wedding AND have a wedding planner! I thought that I wouldn’t be able to put my own touch on my wedding if I had a planner. Then I realized that it was incredibly beneficial to have someone who knew the industry, knew vendors, and would be able to handle everything on the day of. You’re still planning your wedding. A wedding planner just helps you implement the plans! If ANYTHING, a day-of coordinator will be some of the best money you spend, because you will be able to avoid so much stress on your wedding day!

4. You aren’t limited to only using vendors that are local. I didn’t know this, so I only looked at vendors that were in the town that I was getting married in. Little did I know, most vendors are willing to travel! Of course it depends on how far they are traveling, but there is always a way. If there is a vendor that you want to work with who doesn’t work exclusively in your town, you can most likely still work with them! It never hurts to ask!

5. Custom paper goods. Having custom invitations made is the best thing ever. You can get invitations exactly how you want them, to match your theme, style, or color scheme, for the same price (if not better) as the ones out the big giant books. AND they look ten times better, are totally custom, and no one else will have ever received the same invitation previously (which has happened in a few occasions to my parents). There are SO MANY cool ways to have invitations made too! Why wouldn’t someone have custom invites made? Oh wait, if you’re me and find out about custom invitations the MONTH that invites are supposed to be ordered.

Via Oh So Beautiful Paper

I learned about most of these things a little too late in my wedding planning process, which is why I felt the need to share them with you all. Of course there are more things that I wish I had known, but these are the major tidbits of information that I thought were crucial to share! My wedding was awesome, but I think it would have been even better if I had known about these things sooner!

I hope some of these tips can help you have the best wedding imaginable! Does anyone have anything else that you’ve learned along the way that you would like to add? Share it in the comments section!