Quick Words of Advice for Brides & Grooms!

Another one of my close friends, Heather, got married today :)!  Which made me realize that I wanted to follow up from my last post about weddings.  Heather - this goes to you, too, since you are going to have a big reception later!

If I could give three pieces of advice to any bride & groom (especially brides), this is what they would be:

1)  Do NOT book a honeymoon that requires you to leave early the next day (or preferably not the next day at all).  Jason and I flew out of Columbus at 11:00 a.m. (or around there) the day after our wedding, which meant leaving Charleston at 5:00 a.m. and driving to Columbus!  That wasn't so bad at all, but we really regretted it in hindsight because apparently our entire wedding party (bridesmaids, groomsmen and guests) went out afterwards.  We really wished that we could have spent that additional time with our family members, especially since so many of them came from FAR away to be there with us.  A lot of our friends traveled from great distances as well, and we really were bummed out that we didn't get to spend more time with them.  My friend Allison came from California, Heather from Florida, Brittany from almost Virginia Beach, and then there were our family members!  My brother Andy flew in from Colorado and my brother Thomas flew in from AFRICA! I had only seen him once in a year, so it would have been nice to hang out w/ the whole family for that extra day. My brother, Justin, and his wife, Nina, drove down from the D.C. area, which is still quite a hike.  I also had friends from Maryland, Tennessee, and New Jersey make the drive, and family members from Mississippi and South Carolina as well.  Jason's family flew in from Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado,  Maryland, Virginia, and some drove down from Grafton.  The point is:  you will want to go out with your friends and family members after the wedding (if it is an evening wedding) or at least have brunch with them the next day.  Plus, you want to be able to sleep in and relax :)

2. Have a bouncer by your food table - seriously.  Jason and I had a sweetheart table set up at the front of the room for just the two of us.  Our plan was to eat and then to go around to each table and thank everyone for coming and take a picture at every table (instead of doing a formal "receiving line").  This was an excellent plan, in theory.  However, a lot of people stopped by our table to congratulate us on their way to the food line, which we really appreciated and we were so happy to see everyone!!  But then we realized that a lot of time had elapsed, the food on our plate was cold and uneaten, I was gabbing away with people, and we still hadn't started our rounds.  I've gotten so many compliments about the quality of the food at our wedding, and I only had a few bites.  You're (or your parents are) paying for it, so you might as well make sure that you can enjoy it!!!

3.  Brides - let yourself cry.  I put this last, but really, it would be my first piece of advice.  Leading up to the wedding, every time that I read the vows that Jason and I were going to make to one another, I would get choked up.  Every time that I heard the song that we would share our first dance to (Brad Paisley - Then), I would start crying (happy tears!).  To this day, I tear up when I listen to that song.  And don't even get me started about my dad.  I have always thought of myself as a "Daddy's girl," and I am the baby and only girl out of 4 kids.  When I would think about him walking me down the aisle and giving me away, I would instinctively tear up.  Even before I was engaged!! Especially hearing songs like "I Loved Her First" (which he walked me down the aisle to - instrumental only, or I would have cried all of the way down, ha) or "Butterfly Kisses" - I would turn into a tear factory!!! But on the big day, I joked my way through the ceremony and dances so that I wouldn't cry, and, in hind sight, I wish I would have just taken in the moment and, if that meant crying - so be it.  I picked the song "My Girl" as the song to dance with my dad to.  This was a strategic choice.  He has also been known to shed a tear or two, and if he cried at all, it was a sure-thing that I would lose it.  Also, my dad LOVES the Temptations. So, I figured if we danced to that song, we would just sing our way through it.  It was a success, and I don't regret it, but, again, I wish that I had taken in the moment instead of joking (when I wasn't singing).  I also didn't let myself cry when I saw Jason for the first time, when we were saying our vows, or when we were dancing.  I was SO happy, but I was concentrating so hard on not crying that I missed out on feeling things fully that I will never experience again.  Although, Jason was sweating profusely throughout our vows, thanks to the 96 degree heat and shining lights in our faces in front of 150 people, so I probably would have laughed through the vows no matter what :)

OK Brides - that is my advice.  Take it or leave it, but, coming from a semi-newlywed, I think it is pretty good advice :)