Our favourite blog posts are ones that we didn’t write – not because we’re lazy – but because it’s an independent view that we have little control over.
Therefore we’re delighted to post this contribution from one of our 2018 brides – Jodie Mercier! We hugely appreciate her taking the time to sit down and write this little treasure trove of genuine advice and tips for your big day.
MAKE LITTLE SAVINGS
It's a known thing, weddings are expensive, which is why it can sometimes be useful to make little savings where possible. It's also a known thing that as soon as you mention the word “wedding" prices go up! Which leads me to my first tip on saving some pennies – the invites. The average cost we were looking at was around £200-£250 for “proper wedding invites”, which I thought was a lot for something most people will throw away. So instead one of my friends kindly designed them on Photoshop (although you could do this on Word as I did our Order of Service's myself on there) & we got them printed as flyers on premier paper on Vistaprint for £37.88 – bloney bargain!!
The other big money saving tip we came across was having artificial flowers instead of real ones. Now I love having real flowers in the house (hint to the husband if you are reading this!) but I wasn't prepared to pay around £1,000 for flowers, which will sadly die & I won't be able to enjoy after the day. We had a lot of flowers to get (I had 8 bridesmaids & 2 flowergirls) so the price of real flowers was in line with the amount we needed but I started thinking of alternatives & came across foam flowers on Etsy. With them being artificial, I could have some music note paper flowers in the bouquets which looked amazing. For all of the bouquets & buttonholes we didn't spend more than £400!
"And what is even better, is they could be kept forever, mine is in a clear box with my husband’s buttonhole, my wedding shoes & our cake topper on our shelf unit – it looks amazing!"
The last saving tip is a small one, but every little helps! I really wanted the wedding hangers which are so popular, with the person's name & bridesmaid/flowergirl written on them. I looked into getting these made & it was quite a bit of money for 10 of them. Instead, I looked on Amazon for a pack of white wooden hangars & got a box relatively cheaply & personalised them myself with a sharpie pen. It was actually very therapeutic to do & much cheaper!
WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES
Most of us have had that experience where we have been on a night out wearing heels & by the time we reach the taxi rank we are barefoot, holding our shoes because our feet hurt. It's so painful, so why do it on your wedding day?
"Be comfortable girl! Sure, if you are used to wearing heels, go for it."
But if you're not, don't feel the pressure to. I have been to a few weddings/wedding dances when come the evening the bride is having to walk around holding her dress up because it's now too long because her 5-inch heels are off & is complaining her feet hurt. Don't feel you have to wear fancy heels, because if you're in a long dress the chances of people even seeing your feet is slim! I wore converse & it was the best decision shoe wise! I absolutely love mine, I had them personalised with my married name & our wedding date & I was SO comfortable – I even got knock off converse style shoes for my bridesmaids & they loved them. Screw tradition, this bride & her girls were going to be comfy as hell!
TURN AROUND
This is a short but sweet tip, but ask your husband to turn around to look at you before you reach the end of the aisle – that way your photographer can get an amazing shot of his reaction! You won't be able to remember it exactly once the day passes, so getting it in a photograph is great.
FRIENDS
The day will go so fast & you'll speak to so many people on your big day, but you may not get the chance to take photos with everyone.
"Normally you get the bridal party/ushers/family etc in the shot list but we also added friends too, we wanted to make sure we had a photo with each of our close friends so added some groups to the photos."
We are so glad we had these, as there wasn't a huge amount of guest photos on the day because people were having too much fun & didn't have their phones out (which was great to know!) but we may have then missed photos with all our friends so we are so glad we added these to the shot list!
YOU TIME
Most of the time at weddings the bride & groom will go off after the ceremony for their photos with the photographer, before arriving at the reception. We did things a little differently & went off for our photos in between the reception & the evening, which was a brilliant idea by Caleb.
"We loved it because it broke up the time we were alone together, we had the ceremony, the car journey to the reception & then the time at the photos in the middle of the “full on" part. "
This gave us some time to talk about the day so far & just spend some quality time together. The whole day is quite overwhelming (in the most amazing way) but we really appreciated being able to “escape" for an hour for our photos together. Plus an added bonus is you get a different sky scape to the afternoon photos you may have at the reception with family/bridal party/friends & also if it's a really hot day it will be cooler come the evening & you'll both probably feel more relaxed for it.
SOCIAL MEDIA
This is a bit of a new thing for most weddings, but social media is such a big part of our lives now but not everyone has the same thoughts on it – which is completely fine, there is no right or wrong how much people put on there etc. However, don't be afraid to put social media rules in place on the day.
"I have heard of a couple of weddings were guests have put photos of the bride & groom up in the day & it turns out the bride & groom weren't too happy about it, as they didn't want the evening guests to see photos before coming."
We decided that we wanted to be the first to put up a photo so we asked all guests to refrain from putting photos up that include us until we have posted one. If you have a preference, don't be afraid to ask as everyone is different & no one will mind!
TAKE 10
Sure, everyone says the day will go quickly but oh my goodness it really does!! You will not believe how quick it goes & you will also not believe how much time you & your husband will spend chatting to all the guests & having a laugh with them, which is amazing, you want to see everyone you love but you also want to speak to your new husband.
"So my tip to get the best of both worlds is to take 10 minutes when everyone is eating & just go to sit somewhere together for a drink for 10 minutes, soak up the day so far & just be."
It's so overwhelming & amazing having everyone you both love in one place, so just take some time together to soak it alllll in.
SNEAK OFF FOR NIGHTTIME PHOTOS
As much fun as the evening is of the wedding, try & take just 10-minutes to pop outside of the venue for some photos in the dark – you won't regret it! My dress was sooo sparkly at the bottom & the night time photos really did it justice. Plus, as mentioned earlier, it gives the 2 of you a little bit of alone time where you can again chat about the evening & spend some time together. It also gives you another good sky scape for photos!
If you loved this article and found it useful then why not check out our other blog post I Wish I'd Done Things Differently - A Bride's View! Please feel welcome to view our Wedding Packages or get in touch. #guernseyweddings #guernseyweddingphotographers #guernsey #weddings #evokeguernsey #evokeweddings