17 Recent Brides Share Their Best Wedding Advice

Wedding planning can be difficult and unfortunately, most weddings are only one day that goes by so quickly. I crowdsourced the best advice from 17 recent brides about what they recommend to make everything go by more smoothly and enjoyable.

1. “Try your wedding undergarments on with your dress before the wedding day. Dresses can be see-through.” - Rachel A. , Arvada, CO

2. “Eloping is perfectly fine.” -Seyanna D., Denver, CO

3. “The show will go on! No one will notice if one small detail is missing.” - Sarah H., Denver, CO

4. “Write your own vows and get married by a friend.” - Chelsea F., Wheatridge, CO

5. My husband said, "Be in the moment and enjoy it. Ask people to remind you throughout the day/night." Mine is, "The people who want to be there, will be there. The rest don't matter." -Zoe C., Denver, CO

6. “Only invite the ‘good energy’ family and friends... don't invite people just because you feel obligated. The ‘negative energy’ guests bring unwanted energy and drama. We only invited the family and friends we wanted there... and it turned out perfect! We had seen how ‘bad energy’ people can affect the turn out in other peoples' wedding photographs and videos - we didn't want that.” -Erica C, Arvada, CO

7. “Eat the food you paid for!!! Don’t let family or a wedding planner rush you through anything you don’t want to rush through. It’s your day. Enjoy the important parts. My favorite part of the evening was sitting down with my new husband, eating delicious food, and watching all of our friends and family interact so happily with us and for us.” - Sarah H., NYC, NY

8. “Write a number on the back of the rsvp cards you send out with your invitations and coordinate them with numbers on a guest spreadsheet, so when people forget to write their name on the rsvp AND the return envelope (which happened a lot more than I expected), you have a way of looking up who sent the rsvp. My mom had me do this, and I am so glad I did!” -Emily S, Denver, CO

9. “At one point in the night (we chose after all the groom/bride, father of bride, etc. dances) we took a step back and just looked at everyone and everything going on around us. All the stressful wedding planning/arguments that you went through was worth it in that moment to see your loved ones there celebrating your marriage.” -Taylor G., Denver, CO

10. “If you don't hire a wedding planner (because you can't afford one or are just very organized) or your venue doesn't have one, try to still budget for a day-of wedding planner, someone who can execute your vision on the day-of, so you don't have to worry about it! This can even be a very organized friend or acquaintance. Should run around $500.” Dana W., Denver, CO

11. “The centrifugal force of wedding traditions is SO. STRONG. but try to stay true to what you want your day to include. Don’t want to be walked down the aisle? Great! Do you want to wear a skirt and top instead of a dress? Great! There will be a lot of pressure to conform but this is the first day of your marriage and you should start it off the way you want it.” - Wren R., Chicago, Il

12. “We hated our photography/videography package and we wish we’d gone with someone local instead of a big national place.” Hannah D., NYC, NY

13. “Set a time to stop planning and stick to it. So on ‘this date’ I will stop planning and just enjoy.” Brooke W., Arvada, CO

14. “I would say to take in every moment, because I feel like some times I was so worried about being on time or getting something done right away that I forgot to take everything in.” - Carissa M, Seattle, WA

15. “Get a wedding planner. The reason I think they are so important is because they have things that you may not think of that are important, and you can always tell them no if you don’t want to do something. Also a wedding planner is a must only if they do day-of coordinating. Otherwise, you can plan a wedding on your own; it’s the day that's the hard part.” Lauren M., Arvada, CO

16. “When it comes to planning, go with what you truly love. People will try to change your mind sometimes (and be open to this if need be), but if it’s something you’ve dreamt about and wanted for your wedding day, then it make it happen! If that makes sense. And when it comes to your wedding day, enjoy the day - all the ups and downs - because you won’t remember a ton of it.” Christa G., Seward, NE

17. “Don’t stress about details on your wedding, you will be taken care of by everyone around you! Enjoy every step of preparation on your wedding day!” -Jessie P., Parker, CO

Cassandra Vagher Creative LLC is a wedding and elopement photographer based out of Denver, Colorado; however, she is happy to travel anywhere. See Cassandra's weddings here.

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