Wedding Planning: 6 Lessons Learned
I was engaged for one year and two months to my now husband. Even though I did not procrastinate and I am very detailed oriented and organized, I did experience several hiccups in the process. So for all the brides out there here are some lessons learned from my wedding planning experience. Hope it helps!
1. Registries.
We registered at Crate and Barrel and Bed Bath and Beyond. Crate and Barrel provides a “thank you manager” that keeps track of who bought you what. On the other hand, we have several items marked as purchased since May 2013 at the Bed Bath and Beyond registry and have no idea who bought them and never got them. We called customer service and they said there was no way to provide information about who purchased these items even though they used our registry number.
2. Meet with ALL your vendors.
Our wedding was in Costa Rica (my home country) and we live in Atlanta, so some little details didn’t go as planned because I didn’t emphasize them in person since 95% of our conversations were via email. Face to face interaction is critical!
3. Enjoy that menu tasting.
Everyone says it and it’s true: you barely get to eat or enjoy the dinner at the reception. Everyone approaches you to say congratulations, you want to say hi to everyone, and you are so excited you lose your appetite. So really enjoy that menu tasting, you might not try all the food again on the big day!
4. Don’t assume.
My wedding was the first Costa Rican wedding I’ve ever attended, and given that I’ve been part of several American weddings now, I had a lot of Americanized expectations and assumptions that are not “traditional” in Costa Rica so it was a struggle at times. Be very thorough with your vision and talk through the details to make sure everyone is on the same page.
5. Vows back-up.
Send an extra copy of your vows to the event coordinator. My copy got lost at the hotel.
6. Don’t risk it.
If you or your groom have any known allergies to a specific metal, don’t risk it. We got a hypoallergenic titanium wedding band, and my husband was only able to wear it on the wedding day. We had to purchase a white gold ring after the honeymoon.
