Bridal Do's and Dont's

So to wrap up my wedding posts I thought I would share a list of Bridal Do's and Don'ts.  Obviously this is just my opinion but any future bride following may want to look at some of the things listed here. 

Bridal Do's

Do keep spreadsheets of your DJ playlist, Guest list, Shower list, Seating chart.  Trust me, it will make your life easier in the long run.

Do keep an email trail of all things "Wedding" . Make sure to save each correspondence between you and your DJ, photographer, wedding coordinator, florist, etc.

Do (or Don't) send out your Save the Dates to EVERYONE.  Make it all or nothing.  I made the mistake of sending out half of mine because I wasn't sure what the final guest list would be.

Do send your invitations out EARLY.  Especially if: 1. It’s the summer. 2. On a holiday weekend

Do make your husband help with things.

Do trust the vendors you have hired.  Sometimes you just have to let go and trust they will do a good job.

Do work on bridal bod.  You’ll appreciate it when the pictures come back and you look good on your honeymoon.

Do pick a bridesmaid dress that is flattering on everyone.

Do let your bridesmaids have a say in their shoes/accessories and hair.

Do get transportation for your guests.

Do spend money on the extras....specifically late night snacks! Huge hit at the wedding.

Do give your MOH/bridesmaids an idea of what you would like for your shower and bachelorette party.

Do go over a time line with your florist, DJ, photographer, and wedding coordinator.

Do have a plan B in case it rains on your outdoor venue.

Do practice dancing to your wedding song to make sure it works.

Do a practice wedding hair-do

Do drink a ton of water 1-2 weeks prior to the big day....may face was super clear!

Do smile at your husband while walking down the aisle.

Do introduce yourself to guests you may not know at your wedding.

Do a bouquet toss, they’re always fun.

Do delegate someone (other than your parents) to count your wedding cards and gifts during the reception.  My Dad was delegated this job at our wedding and his missed us cutting our cake and tossing the bouquet.

Do tell your husband to relax and sit down while having dinner at your wedding…especially if he is a antsy pantsy, chatty cathy.

Do print out booking confirmation of your honeymoon flights/reservations and bring them with you.

Do tell the people in your bridal party, friends and family how much you appreciate their help with everything…multiple times

Bridal Don'ts

Don’t worry/spend a lot of money on your programs.  More then half won't even be read and then will be thrown out.

Don’t underestimate the amount of detail you need to give your DJ....wayyyy more then what I expected.

Don’t settle for a wedding dress.  You will know when you have found the “one”

Don’t stress TOO much about RSVP’s.  It’s inevitable that some people won’t respond.

Don’t hold a grudge against people who don’t come.  It’s their loss!

Don’t feel bad about updating your engagement ring to by a set that looks nice together ;o)

Don’t spend a ton of money to get your make-up done if you are already good at doing it.

Don’t get ready with a bunch of women in one tiny hotel room.

Don’t worry about creating your vows from scratch, that’s what google is for ;o).

Don’t feel bad if you have one or two bridezilla moments…weddings are stressful!

Well that's the brial advice advice from Me to you.  Take it from someone who's been through the up's and downs ladies and gents! I'll leave you now with my two favorite pictures from our honey moon in Cancun:

Haha Yes, this is us smoking celebratory cigars :oP 

Wedding Part 4- The Reception

**Sigh of Relief** the hard part was over and now it was time to have some fun!

Wouldn't you know it that the weather had cleared up right AFTER our ceremony. Figures. But at least we got to take our professional pictures outside during our cocktail hour.  The Hyatt did a good job and put a whole cart or food and drinks outside for the wedding party to enjoy while taking pictures.  Thank goodness because we had picked out some BOMB apps for everyone to enjoy....think lobster ravioli. YUM!

Anyway, taking pictures was actually like pulling teeth.  Well not really that bad but I really couldn't wait to get them over with.  Having to stand there with a smile on your face for an hour is tough.  I had thought this was going to be one of my favorite parts of the wedding...you know...take some fun and funky pictures with the wedding party.  Get really creative with it.... Yeah, No.  I was so tired of taking pictures with our families that by the time it came to take our wedding party pics I was pretty much clocked out.  Hopefully they come out nice none the less but it will be my own fault if they don't.  What can I say, this girl wanted to celebrate instead of standing there with a pretty smile.  Can you blame me?

These aren't our professional pics but some that our friends and family took of us during the cocktail hour.

Now that the cocktail hour was over it was time to PaRtAy! Well not just yet actually.  Me and bridesmaids had to go back up to our room and re-touch our hair since the weather outside had COMPLETELY flattened it.  No big deal though, the groomsmen all sat in the lobby and took shots while they waited for us haha.
So we finished getting beautiful again and headed down to the ballroom for our introductions.  It was really funny standing outside of the ballroom watching our bridal party make up dances and practicing their moves.  I would have loved to see what they came up with and how the crowd reacted...I'm sure they got plenty of laughs!
After five or so minutes of our wedding party getting introduced it was me and Jordan's turn.  We heard the  intro to "Shipping off to Boston" by the Drop Kick Murphys and we were ready to go.  We walked in fist pumping to the music....I know how 'Jersey Shore' of us haha...and we made our way to the dance floor while everyone stood up and clapped.  Once we had made it to the dance floor we were expecting our wedding party to be there waiting and dancing for us but that was a no go.  They were all at their seats.  So when the intro music kept playing we kind of stood there and danced awkwardly but at least we got a few good twirls in for pictures :o)

Now it was time for our first dance as a married couple. We chose Tim McGraw and Faith Hills song "It's Your Love" to dance to.  We are both country fans and the first concert we ever saw together was Tim & Faith so it was fitting.  During our dance we kept talking about how surreal everything had been up to this point.  We couldn't believe that we were actually at "our" wedding doing "our" first dance.

Next up was the Father-Daughter dance and the Mother-Son dance.

It was time to sit down and take a load off after all of that excitement.  The weight staff was exceptional and ALWAYS made sure Jordan and I were all set with drinks any anything else we may have needed.  The food was delicious, (a fillet and chicken combo), and I ate just enough to get me through the night. 

During dinner we had the speeches.  Jordan's Best Men, Brock and Adam, two of my best girlfiriends, Aimee and Whitney, and my two Uncles, Barry and Brian all stood up and spoke such kind words for us.  They weren't the tear jerker-type speeches, just all around happy and funny words that made us smile and feel welcomed into each others family.

The cutting of the Wedding Cake was next.  Don't think for a minute that I didn't tell Jordan I would kill him if he smeared cake on my face and ruined my make-up haha.  Even with this strong warning I wasn't so sure....

He got the message loud and clear...no mess to be cleaned up thank god haha!

After cutting the cake all of the "formalities" were through.  It was time to party on the dance floor.  I can honestly say I didn't stop dancing unless it was to go to the bathroom...see below

This picture was too funny to NOT put it in.  Sim was a TROOPER and went with me all night haha.

Or to grab a drink.  Our D.J. was great and played almost everything I had requested from the list I had sent him prior to the wedding.  Here are the highlights I remember.....Oh no...OH YES...I was that bride that had a couple drinks to many and has a hard time remember every small detail.  But what I do remember was dancing all night with my niece who kept telling me a looked like a princess, dance offs, standard wedding dances to get the crowd going (cupid shuffle etc), people drinking out of the center piece "goblets",and getting tossed in the air on the shoulders of Jordans friends.  It was FABULOUS and I had the time of my life. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it one of the best nights of my life!



Wedding Part 3- The Ceremony

The time had finally come.  The wedding coordinator had made herself up my hotel room and it was time to go downstairs and get in line for the processional.

Me, my Mom and Dad and bridesmaids all cramped ourselves into the elevator and descended down to the first floor.  As we got out of the elevator a serious surge of excitement hit.  We had to walk through the lobby of the Hyatt and everyone was staring and smiling at my beautiful bridesmaids and me.  We even had a few random people taking our picture as we glided to the ballroom.

Things happened pretty quick after we stepped into our places.  Kelsey was the first bridesmaid to go and boy did she look nervous haha.  Sim followed her like a pro since she's been in like 5 weddings in the past 2 years.  Holly was nervous but totally held it together.  Beth was the last one to go and walked down the aisle calm, cool, and collected.

This is the only pic of them I have all together so far...disregard the lack of smiles haha

Now it was Me and my Dad's turn to go.  I wasn't really nervous to walk down the aisle, just really pumped up.  I had an intense amount of adrenaline running through my body.  I'll never forget what one of my friends told me when she got married last summer;  "There is no reason to be nervous.  Just think of it as a HUGE soccer game and get yourself pumped to walk to down the aisle.  It's GAME TIME".  I'm pretty sure that was the best advice I had received throughout the entire wedding process.

So I hear my bridal entrance song, the Celtic version of Cannon in D, and see the big white doors open.  Me and my dad set a good pace from the get go and I see my groom waiting for me at the end of the aisle.  I started to trip a little bit on the front of my dress but quickly recovered and altered my steps so I wouldn't fall down and take my Dad with me haha.  Jordan looked a little nervous but had a smile on his face waiting for me.  I was so happy to see him, the bridal party, and all of our friends and family around us. 

 Me starting to trip on my dress haha

My Dad gave me away when we reached or Justice of the Peace and Jordan at the end of the aisle.  It was so nice to hold Jordan's hands and gage how he was feeling.  I think we both had nervous beaming smiles on our faces. 

Our JP welcomed us and our friends and family and discussed the importance or marriage and supporting one another.  She then called my Aunt Lisa and my Mom in Law Kathy to come up and deliver their readings.  Both of them spoke very clear and confident.  It was so nice having them stand by our sides and read such encouraging words.

After the readings it was time for the big moment....saying our vows.  I was so opposed to writing and saying our own vows in the beginning of this whole process because I thought I would be too nervous speaking in front of all of those people but in the end I'm glad we did it.  It was much more meaningful to hear Jordan speak his own words from his heart rather then him repeating vows after the JP. When it was my turn a got a little teary eyed but I have to say we both held it together pretty well.  My absolute FAVORITE thing about our vows is that we had each hand printed them...on Hyatt hotel and Best Western hotel paper hahaha.  I had a huge smile on my face when Jordy was reading his vows to me not only because they were sweet, but because I had noticed we were on the exact same page.  It was so "us".  We are definitely not 'that' couple that has every little detail planned so it was awesome to see that we had both written our vows on hotel paper.  Clearly we had also both written ours that day haha.

Next we exchanged our rings and completed our sand ceremony.  Of course Jordan put my ring on as smooth as can be...me on the other hand struggled a little bit getting it over those hockey knuckles haha.  I was also cracking up when we did the sand ceremony because the bride and the groom are supposed to slowly mix the sand together and Jordan ended up just dumping his in all at once.  Can't say I didn't know what I was getting into ;o)

Finally we kissed and were announced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Fox! Wohooo!!

That's pretty much it as far as the ceremony goes.....check back in a few days to hear all about Part 4-The Reception. Trust me...you don't want to miss it!