The Day Before Spring.

3 years ago on the eve of spring we got married.
instead of going off about how magical it was (cause it was) i'm going to save you the cheese and give you some facts...some facts for those who are thinking, going, wanting to get married. some advise from yours truly.

10 Best Things: (that made my wedding)

--Photography. i was told from various people that this was one of there "regrets" not having professional photography. SPEND THE MONEY.

--Videography. my dad thought i was being bridezilla cause i insisted on spending $500 out of the budget for a videographer...$500 is nothing in the videography industry...that's a good deal believe it or not. Pictures say a 1,000 words but i think a video says 10,000 words. for examples of how beautiful film can be click here. 

--Family. having extended family there made it such a party. it makes the night. it makes the dancing. family is everything.

--Time. having an evening wedding was pretty great!! you do have to do pictures before, which makes the day feel longer  (BUT make sure to get your family on board with being on time to take pictures because the sun sets and that's it...game over). when it's the best day you want it to last as long as possible!

--DJ. i didn't see the importance of spending hundreds on a DJ, luckily my mother in-law did. best decision ever. you would think the DIY ipod thing is good, BUT it's not as good! it just isn't. you almost need that DJ to be the "host" the "MC" whatever you want to call it. you need someone who isn't family or a friend. someone who will work. if you want dancing you gotta get a DJ. i wasn't a believer int he DJ until after having one.

--Music. having live music makes everything so chic. don't know why, it just does. it instantly adds romance and elegance. i had my childhood piano teacher/family friend/babysat her kids play the harp. it was lovely. i had my cousin and sister sing a few numbers to add some entertainment. it's wonderful for guest to have some entertainment before the "party" begins.

--Venue. not having to set up is amazing. AMAZING. having trusted friends & some employees set up the venue is the best thing ever. the reason i don't put family in this set-up is because the family is to busy visiting family that traveled so far & they are busy getting ready cause they are in the wedding.
if you can keep family from not being in the set-up team that is the best.

--Makeup. get your makeup done by a trusted friend or trusted artist. do a RUN THROUGH ....so important. almost more important then the rehearsal. when i do clients for the first time you learn so much on what they want. how they see themselves. plus warms them up to the idea that you HAVE to wear a full face of makeup when it comes to your wedding.

--Food. good food, variety of food. people like to try & taste. little bites. lots of little bites. lots of desserts. in a way i feel like dessert is most important! just cake alone is not enough in my dessert book. desserts should be at every celebration & wedding is the biggest celebration!!

--Honeymoon. groupon. search, search search for deals. GO! don't say "oh we will go later" i'm sorry that IS NOT a honeymoon that's a vacation. a honeymoon begins right after the wedding...not a year after the wedding! ha even if it's just a few days, even if it's just a few hours away GO! it's the ONLY time SPECIAL time ONCE in a lifetime time. it's so special to go. i'm so glad andrew saved his pennies and took us on a honeymoon. it was worth every single penny. yeah it would be nice to have that money right now BUT that money would be spent on practical things & practical things aren't things you cherish for the rest of your life. oh & i will have to say after going on a honeymoon HAWAII is the way to GO! seriously the best place to vacation. i don't think we could have handled going abroad and finding our way through a new country...maps=fights. don't go there...just relax, eat, and do other things ;)

10 Things I would Change

--Photography. i wish i would have had TWO photographers at the reception. before you call me a photography snob let me explain. when you're at the reception so much is going on SO MUCH...it's hard to catch every single moment. i have photographed weddings & it is just plain hard to get it all. so if you have two then your chances of getting all the moments you want will be covered. trust me the more photos the better. oh & another thing i had no more money so i couldn't afford it BUT looking back i wish i would have just put it on my personal credit card and paid it later.

--Videography. once again i wish i would have just asked a classmate from the journalism school to film my wedding. the whole thing. my videographer did a great 12 min video of a bunch of clips BUT there are no long shots. just couple seconds here and there. i really wish i wouldn't had one person who shot  getting ready, seeing each other for the first time, interviewing us like "how we felt that day" just to hear us talk would have been good. i had my cousin go around with the camera during breakfast while i was getting ready & those are some of the most hilar shots, oh and the food (i don't even remember what food we had)...just to name a few of the shots i wish i would've gotten.

--Dress. i spent $200 to get my dress altered because i got it 5 sizes to large (i got a great deal on it so i thought oh i'll spend the money to get it taken in) i was right, BUT wrong that it will not fit how you want it to because it loses shape when a dress is taken in inches upon inches. i lost weight for my wedding so then the dress was loose...blah blah blah...anyways i was disappointed how it fitted. i wanted it tighter in waist. spend the extra money and get a dress that fits you! fit is almost more important then the style.

--Gifts. i wish andrew & i would have exchanged wedding gifts..something sentimental that we could pass down to our kids on their wedding day...something small, but something special. we were low on money BUT even a card to each other remembering the exact feeling, in the moment feelings written down to remember forever.

--Food. i wish i would have written down a list of the food we wanted to take with us. i told the venue coordinator to get a basket of food to take with us to the hotel because i knew we wouldn't have time to eat during the reception. in our basket we had two cupcakes & that was it. i wanted one of everything to try alllllll the desserts. i was pretty sad once i looked into my much anticipated basket.

--Sit. i wish i would have had someone serve us...ha... with a plate of food. if only i could have been able to chill. sat, talked, and ate. i was way to excited & didn't want to be pulled away from the action, but 15 minutes wouldn't have hurt.

--Nails. i wish i would have gone & gotten a manicure...put a acrylic with a light pink gel color over it.
i thought just painting them would be fine, BUT for me i have horrible cuticles and needed some TLC especially because you have so many close-ups of your hands & people want to see your ring. so basically what i'm saying is make sure you hands look dang good.

--Extensions. i wish i would have spent money on getting extensions or even just clip-ins...what a world of a difference extensions make. all those "pinterest up-dos" all have to do with MORE HAIR.

--House. having a house full of people and all their luggage can get a bit stressful when your trying to get ready/pack for your honeymoon. that being said have a designated area/closet/something that no one can put there stuff in so you don't forget stuff & can keep things organized. if only my camera & straightener wouldn't have been misplaced/lost/forgotten for the honeymoon.

--Venue. i don't know even know how we could have changed the venue...it was the ONLY place that could hold over 200 people BUT in a dream world there would have been a cool vintage home you could rent out with a big ballroom that you could bring your own food i would have been allllll over that. a lot of the venues require you to use THEIR food. i'm like welllll what if i want my favorite cookies from my fav bakery or my sister's amazing caramel apples? ya know what i mean!

the end.
gosh it was a great day.
today i looked through some never before seen footage.