Disclaimer: This post is inspired by a wedding I’ve attended several months ago. If, at any point, you find the examples (which may or may not have actually happened) a bit extreme, please note that this is written by a single woman, whose idea of a perfect wedding, aside from the obvious fact of marrying the man of her dreams, consists of walking down the aisle in a Vera Wang gown and a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes.
10. Do Have Enough Time To Prepare For Your Wedding
I honestly have no idea how much time it takes to actually prepare for the wedding. I mean, does the clock start on the day you got engaged? Or is it the first phone call to a supplier? Or is it the first brainstorming session with your fiancé? Well, I haven’t done any of those yet, so I wouldn’t really know. My point is, I guess no matter how grand or intimate your wedding will be, there should be enough time to prepare for everything – and well, more time if you’re the type of bride who wants everything ‘perfect’ from the invitations’ font down to the hashtag to be used on her wedding day (sorry, but not my thing).
9. Do Make Sure Everything Technology-Related Is Working
I’ve never thought I’d say this, but apparently, electricity is something people take for granted during a wedding. I mean, it’s so obvious of a wedding MUST and yet so neglected that when it actually stops working, everybody freaks out. Well, unless you’d want a candlelit wedding under the stars, then I suggest you make sure everything’s working (and it never hurts to have a Plan B).
8. Do Prepare Your Vows
I can only the imagine the jitters – and I guess that’s why there are cases when the groom suddenly whips out a piece of paper from under his suit. We get it, it’s probably the most nervous you’ll ever going to be, speaking in front of your future wife/husband, pledging your undying love in a quivering voice in front of a lot of people. We get that. And we don’t mind (for some people, it’s actually one of the things they are excited about in a wedding). So please, you future grooms and brides, do prepare your vows – and no, it doesn’t have to be like something that’s written for the Palanca, it just have to be something from the heart.
7. Don’t Let Other People Decide Who Should Be On Your Guest List
I dunno if it’s the culture (or the fact that some people just really have a lot of relatives), but apparently, it’s common to have more than a hundred guests in a wedding. Again, whether you want an intimate gathering or a huge celebration, be sure you (and your partner) have a say on who should make it to the guest list. There are some weddings that require strict RSVP before you can even say ‘Congratulations’ and then there are the old school province weddings where almost half the town is invited, and most of the town’s political figures are part of the entourage.
6. Do Have The Right Wedding Host
I had the pleasure of hosting my cousin’s wedding last year (and yes, you read it right haha!) and it made me realize how nice and intimate it is to have a close friend/relative to host your wedding simply because there aren’t any bullshit, over-the-top, almost-robotic, and (sometimes) overused spiels that most of the wedding guests probably heard already. But hey, it’s still the couple’s choice whether they want to hire someone to do it. I just think that when you do, please don’t hire someone who reads the script like a 6 year-old trying to read a fairy tale and someone who calls out to the entourage like someone selling fish at a busy market.
Cheers!
5. At The Reception, Do Stick To The Program
Ah, the reception – the part where the guests are subjected to witness traditions done with a twist (I cannot, for the life of me, understand how the throwing of the bouquet evolved into some sort of musical chairs). I seriously cringe every time they start calling out ‘all the single ladies’. Also, it would be really great if the program makes sense (I mean, why cut the cake before everything else?!) so that’s why it’s very important to at least try to stick to the program… and not improvise on the spot just because one of the bridesmaids isn’t ready yet for her dance performance.
4. Do Respect Both Families
A wedding is not just a union between two lovers, it’s also a gathering of the both families. Sure, there may be people who will attend your wedding that you haven’t met before, but these things happen, especially if you have a lot of guests (see number 7). However, bear in mind that those people are there because they were invited (okay, maybe not all of them) and more often than not, they are related to your partner. Keeping the balance of guests/families can be tricky especially for destination weddings (and trickier if the destination is the hometown of either the groom or the bride – usually, it’s the bride’s) so the key here is to make sure that whoever it is who will ‘welcome’ the other party better be decent enough to acknowledge them properly (case in point, see number 4). Again, it’s not a question of whose side had the most number of attendees or whose side gave the largest amount in the money dance (it’s a wedding, not a contest).
3. Don’t Let The Little Things Get To You
I know, big words. And as much as I try to imagine, I have no idea how much stress one is subjected to before and during the wedding (after the wedding, now that’s another story), although I probably saw enough wedding reality shows to know how stressful it can be. Also? Try googling ‘Bridezilla’ and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Haha! But seriously, it’s your wedding day, and sure, there might be some things (in some cases, a LOT of things) that you haven’t thought about or will probably not work out the way you hoped/planned/expected, but is there really anything you do about it on the day of the wedding? One thing you should not do is be pissed off. You can do that AFTER the wedding, but do your best to pull yourself together. You wouldn’t want to walk down the aisle with a forced smile on your face, would you?
2. Don’t EVER Misplace The Wedding Rings
Whether they’re from your modest jeweler or Harry Winston, or (God bless my heart), Van Cleef & Arpels, I think everybody will agree with me that misplacing the wedding rings on the day of the wedding could probably be just as bad as being stood up at the altar. And although I’m not briefed on Wedding 101 and I have no idea on the ‘definitive ranking of wedding day mishaps’ (if such exists), I cannot think of a worse thing to misplace! I mean, can the ceremony push through without wedding rings? (That was a serious question).
1. Do Enjoy Your Wedding Day
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how expensive your wedding was, or how many guests were there, or who was the wedding organizer and who made the cake – because let’s face it, five years down the road, the only thing your family/friends would remember was how happy you were on your wedding day and how much they enjoyed being part of the celebration. They may remember the interesting bits (which they will probably write about in a blog, like this one), and it will probably stick to their minds for a long time, but come on, you didn’t go through all the preparations and pre-wedding drama (if any) just to frown on your wedding day! For what it’s worth, just look forward to being Mr. & Mrs. Whatever ; )
Just Married
something fishy 