10 Things I Wish I Had Done for My Own Wedding

I just got married in July!! In truth, it was a wonderful, magical day and I had the BEST time. However, for someone who is such a planner and who had been planning this for a year, I wish I did not underestimate how long DIYing your wedding would take because I ended up having to skip on a lot of those details. And one thing about me, I LOVE details! Haha

At the end of the day, none of those mattered because the day was beautiful and I am now married to my favourite person in the whole world, but I wanted to provide some insight so that you can have EVERYTHING crossed off your to-do list for your dream day.

That's a big reason as to why I wanted to become a wedding planner too - I wanted to be able to bring those visions to life for other people!

Honoring Loved Ones Who Passed

For months, I had in mind that I wanted to pay tribute for those who were no longer with us. I love the concept of having a table with a picture frame of your grandparents or loved ones who passed, and considering all of my grandparents passed away, I really wanted a memory (in the form of a picture) to be here. But, I did not get the pictures on time and had to skip this one.

A beautifully arranged display with photos, candles, and personal touches would have served as a heartfelt reminder of their presence in our lives and the joyful spirit they would have brought to our day.

Slideshow Projection

Another component I wish I had incorporated is a slideshow showcasing our childhood memories. This would have not only entertained our guests but also allowed them to connect with us on a deeper level. By sharing pictures from our early years, we could have highlighted our journeys leading up to this special day, weaving a narrative of love and growth that our families might have cherished.

While I know that video projections is a trend at the moment, growing up, my family has always portrayed a slideshow at important events to allow people to reminisce on the good old days.

Plan B for Recording the Ceremony and Dances

So... our videographer was a no-show. And the video was one of the things I was looking forward to the most, simply beacuse I relive memories best through video rather than photos.

However, being the planner that I am, I feel ashamed for not having a plan B! HAHA

If I had an inkling that that might happen, I would have set up a tripod with a phone or camera, and added a lav mic to the officiant or my husband during the ceremony so we could get crisp audio with the video. Luckily, my uncle stepped up and recorded the whole ceremony, all the speeches and dances on his phone so we do have the memories on camera!!

Signs!! More Signs!!

I (greatly) UNDERESTIMATED how long DIYing... everything... would take! And I hate myself for it now!

I had the vision of soooo many signs - a welcome sign at the ceremony venue and one at the reception venue, directional signs because our ceremony was difficult to get to, etc etc. But I simply ran out of time!

I also wanted to add even more flair to our stationery but at the end, I did what I could but had to say no to a bunch! The DIY queen inside me is SCREAMINGGGG. Start EARLY!! Like... MONTHS BEFORE... early. Even if you have a printer and a cricut and think you can do it the month of. Aim to finish all your DIYs 3 months before and only leave the very minimum (e.g. if timelines need to be finalized) to a month out!

Finishing things earlier

In my plan (and in my head), everything was set to be finished around 2 weeks prior to the wedding. I am not sure what happened but I was still finishing up menus the night before and finishing the setup the morning of, which made some things a little messy, chaotic or simply stressful.

That's what I aim to help brides with the most - to actually be able to enjoy the last week or two of their weddings stress-free, because they want to be able to cherish this memory as a happy and peaceful one, not one filled with anxiety and stress.

Conclusion

My advice would be to get help early, because the last month flies by in the blink of an eye and you want to be as prepared as possible and ready to go, happy as a clam, the week before your wedding. Leave as much of the stress as possible to someone else if you can afford a wedding planner. If you cannot, at LEAST get a day-of-coordinator because, as chaotic as my week prior to my wedding was, I was fully able to enjoy my wedding DAY thanks to having someone tackle anything that crops up the day of!