Image sourceThis is your big day. No. Your biggest day. The day where you cement your love in front of a crowd of rejoicing faces, your friends and family; the day where you can finally outdo Kim Kardashian in a game of Who Had The Most Cameras Pointed At Them. This day is going to be a spectacle that is written into the folklore of your family for generations to come, which is why there tends to be a million and one things to plan for your wedding.With that long list in mind, it is no surprise that one or two – or even a dozen – things fall through the cracks and land in the puddle of forgotten details. It is part and parcel of planning a wedding. It doesn’t matter whether your wedding is going to rival of fairytale stories you read as a child, or whether your wedding is going to be beautifully intimate, planning a wedding is overwhelming to say the very least. In fact, in many ways, wedding planning is more full-on than a full-time job. For some, it is actually their full-time job.
Close your eyes and think about what you need to plan the perfect wedding for a minute. Vendors. Flowers. Dress. Suit. Bridesmaids and Groomsmen. Location. Invites. Photographer. Cake. These are all the things that spring to mind, the big things that make a wedding spectacular. But the little things in life, the little details that often get overlooked, well, they’re not so little.
So help make sure these little big details don’t get overlooked in your wedding planning, we have compiled a little list of thing that you should really make a note of. After all, you don’t want to be the bride that kicks herself from now until death does us part, do you?
Image source- Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain
One of the biggest little details that often gets missed is the importance of having a rain plan. The reason it tends to get missed off the list is because preparing for heavy raindrops tends to come with a pretty big price tag, so Brides & Grooms bury their heads and ignore it instead. Wedding planners would rather bank on the chances of it being a summer day given you are having a spring or summer wedding. But betting is always safer when you cover as many bases as possible. So have a backup plan in place just in case. It doesn’t have to be huge changes to your wedding day, it could just be having a load of umbrellas on standby, a marquee with drop down sides, enough blankets in reserve, that sort of thing. Become a pluviophile because when life gives you rainy days, it’s best to put on some cute boots and jump in puddles.
- Have A Wrangler To Help The Photographer
We all know how important picking the right wedding photographer is. This part of your wedding planning tends to fall into the category labelled ‘Important Stuff’. You will have picked someone based on their style of photography, their uniqueness, and their eye for detail and the shot list they suggest. But you can help them be more proficient by designating a photo wrangler. This should be a family member; a sibling or a cousin. The reason you will need a photo wrangler is because there will be a time where the photographer says, “okay, beautiful, now can we have a photo of the Bride and Groom with their aunts and uncles.” Your photo wrangler can then go and round these people up with ease and keep your wedding running like the well-oiled machine you designed it to be.
- Light Up The Band
You may well have gone with a band that has got tens, if not hundreds, of weddings under their belts, in which case they will have mastered the art of performing at these big occasions and will know exactly what is needed. However, if you have gone with a band that you love, but one that hasn’t done many or any weddings before, then you will need to consider the lighting yourself. These bands tend to do gigs at venues where the lighting is all set up for them. On top of that, most wedding venues don’t tend to have in-house lighting. So just make sure have considered this and taken care of it. Lighting up the band is going to be a way to make your evening explode and encourage everyone to get their boogie on.
- The Long, Slow Walk Down The Aisle
This is the moment that gets your heart pounding so hard it is almost visible through your dress, and so everything you needed to remember can easily fly out of the window. That’s why it is important to rehearse it as much as possible and to have the little details thought out in their entirety. Think about who the ring bearer is going to be, how they are going to deliver the rings and how this will go with the style of ring you have chosen, which you can see come in all sorts of shape and sizes as you can see here. You will also want to think about the flower girl and what petals you will want gracing the aisle you walk, as well as anything you may want lining the aisle, and the music you enter and leave to. Having everything about this moment in your life thought out and let everyone know what they are to be doing at this moment in your life.
Image source- Everything Is Online & Your Wedding Should Be Too
The first thing to consider on this front is your wedding website, which should be setup before you send out your save the date invitations. It doesn’t have to be fully finished or impeccably designed, but it does have to be functional so that people can RSVP using the URL you put on your invites. It should also have the little bits of information they may need, things like venue, location and which hotels are nearby. You need to consider your guests who are travelling a long way to be at your place because they will have to make travel plans. While on the topic of online, it is also a great idea to set up a hashtag for your wedding. You will have an official photographer, but everyone will want to capture their own moments of your big day on their phones and post them on social media. That is where a personalised hashtag comes in. It will allow you to have an online photo album, a centralised place that is easy to scroll through. It is these candid snaps that will make remembering your wedding a real laugh.
- Enlighten Yourself To Any Food Allergies Out There
Everyone is different and so having guests with food allergies or preferences is not uncommon. So make sure you make a note of any guests that have a food allergy, or anyone that is vegetarian or even vegan. Then it is up to you whether you invite them or not. We’re kidding. By asking this simple question, you will then be able to supply your caterers with a list of what food allergies there are and exactly whereabouts these pains in the back… oops, we mean guests are sitting. Your caterer will absolutely adore you for doing this and taking as much of the stress out of their service as possible. Like we said, it is the little things that go a long way.
Image source- Their Presence Is Enough But Presents Will Arrive
It is traditional that the Bride & Groom send out a list of wedding gifts that they would like and the place where they would like their guests to get these gifts from. You may well have already begun constructing this list. They tend to be things that will be really useful as you move forward into married life. So, first off, you will want to have a designated somewhere for your cards and gifts to be left by each guest; a table or a chest or boat. Anything. However, what tends to be forgotten about all too often is what happens to these presents. As such, we recommend you designate someone to keep them safe at the end of the night. After all, you don’t want to be stood there in the wee hours of the morning, swaying under the influence of expensive champagne and trying to figure out what you are going to do with this pile of presents. So have a plan in place for this.
- Have An Overtime Contingency Plan In Place
It is always worth checking with your vendors, and your band, ahead of time to see whether they would be willing to stay a bit later on the night. You may not use this option or take advantage of it, but it is always worth having the option there because, well, you never know how you’ll feel when you’re drunk and drunk in love on your special day. However, if you are going to seek out this option then you need to put a little bit of extra cash to one side in order to pay for it. So find out what the cost will be for bar staff to stay late, for your band to play an extra six songs and anyone else you may need to stay and budget that in. If you don’t use it, then fine, but don’t let your lack of foresight be the reason the party comes to a close.