My Top 5 Wedding Tips
So you've found the love of your life, you're madly in love, you're dreaming about your future and the ultimate question is asked... 'Will you marry me?' Of course, you said yes, a thousand times yes... You kissed, maybe cried a little, you looked at the gorgeous ring and and now you're planning the biggest party you've ever had to celebrate your love and the rest of your lives together! CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm so SO thrilled for you!!! I honestly believe that marriage is the best and that planning your wedding should be fun and exciting and all about you guys and what your love stands for. So I thought i'd share just a handful of my top tips to think about as you count down the days until the white dress, the 'I do's', the stolen kisses, the yummy food, the love, the champagne and the outrageous dance moves!
#1 - Drink Plenty of Water
Every body wants to look and feel their best on their wedding day. My advice is to start drinking the recommended amount of water now, which is 6-8 regular glasses and keep it up until the wedding. Water increases your metabolic rate and improves digestive system to flush out toxins from the body. It keeps you feeling good on the inside and this in turn gives you a healthy and glowing skin on the outside. Water also stops dehydration, obviously, so will help keep headaches, bloating and tiredness at bay all day. It will also keep the consequence of all the champagne you'll drink to a minimum and allow you to enjoy the start of your honeymoon as fresh as a daisy.
The best part about water is that it' totally FREE! Maybe buy yourself a funky water bottle so it's more fun to get that water down!
#2 - Discuss What Matters Most Together
Every couple is different but I believe that the wedding day is about both of you equally. Therefore it's important to discuss together what elements of your wedding are a priority and will take up your budget. It's good to get a vision of what your day looks like to both of you and create something to reflect that. Perhaps it's the food you serve, or whether you'll have a live band or DJ. Or maybe it's what type of venue or theme you'll have. Of course, I would always suggest that you prioritise your photographer and videographer because they will provide the tangible memories of the perfect day you created and those memories will be passed down through the generations to remind your family of how much you love one another.
#3 - Supply Confetti
People rarely bring their own confetti to a wedding any more. So if you'd like those gorgeous confetti photos for your album then you'll have to supply it and hand it out to your guests. Most venues ask you to bring biodegradable confetti, which is really great, but avoid the little dried flower confetti because it gets stuck EVERYWHERE and is a nightmare to get out of hair and veils! You can buy biodegradable paper confetti, or use bubbles or even party streamers - all of which are perfect!
#4 - Leave Wiggle Room
No matter how prepared or organised you are, NO wedding goes EXACTLY as planned. Inevitably there will be a hiccup or two, and that's absolutely fine. But I would advise you to leave wiggle room between transitions in your time line to avoid any stress or feelings of being rushed. If you think make up will take 25 minutes, give it 35, if the journey to the venue will take 15 minutes, give it 20. If you think the speeches will take 30 minutes, give it 45. You get the idea... Allowing that wiggle room gives you the space to enjoy your wedding day without rushing or panicking.
#5 - Make the Most of Golden Hour
Golden hour is the 30 minutes just before the sun sets. It's when you get the soft glow of the sun on the horizon and it makes everything look dreamy and completely romantic. It's my most favourite time of day to photograph and it's also a perfect opportunity to step away from your party for 5 minutes at the end of the day and reflect on what an amazing day you've had and how much you love each other. It's also a great opportunity and talk about how embarrassing it was to see your drunk mate make a move on a bridesmaid and all the other stuff that didn't go unnoticed... As a photographer, I always ask my couple to have their portrait session after the ceremony but before their reception because at this point everyone is still looking fresh and I don't have to pull anyone away from people telling them how wonderful everything is, the couple can just enjoy their reception. But I also make sure to ask if we can step outside during golden hour because I know just how special it can be.
I have plenty more tips to share! And part of my job as a wedding photographer is to help my couples feel at ease and confident on their wedding day and I will do all that I can to make that happen. The experience i've gained from photographing many weddings has given me answers to a lot of questions about getting married. If you'd like to chat more, please do get in touch - i'd love to hear from you!
Thank you for taking the time to read my post, hope you have a great day!
Jess x