Weddingbee Blog

Tips I Learned from my sister, for the brides

1. Don’t stress. Even if something terrible happens, don’t stress about it. Sister Starfish’s videographer never showed up to the ceremony or reception. Instead of stressing about it, she pretty much said, “oh well, at least we have amazing photographers,” and enjoyed the rest of her night. This could have ruined her day, but she chose not to let it. She realized that in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that important.

2. Enjoy the time with friends and family. Sister Starfish used her wedding as an “excuse” to get her friends together. As you grow up it gets harder to coordinate schedules with friends. She made a point of including many girls’ days with her friends and family related to the wedding. I have so many fun memories from the past year with our closest friends and family—the engagement parties, Running of the Brides, a day at Priscilla of Boston and lunch downtown with the bridesmaids, bachelorette parties, the bridesmaids’ tea, the rehearsal dinner, the pampering the day before the wedding, and most importantly—the actual wedding. It was so nice to share in all of these special events.

Will you be my bridesmaid?

Bachelorette Party

Rehearsal Dinner

3. Read Contracts - After a fiasco with one vendor, I learned it is important to really read through the contract and make sure you are protecting yourself. Vendors need to protect themselves, which is why they have contracts, but make sure it has the interest of both parties involved.

4. Plan ahead - If you have a long engagement, don’t wait until the last minute to get things done. Enjoy your engagement by spreading out the duties and DIY projects. The week before Sister Starfish’s wedding was filled with relaxation. We actually had so much time, we ended up coming up with random projects to add on. It was nice to spend the days leading up to the wedding relaxing by going out to lunch together, getting our nails done and having some quality time together… not stressing about things that should have been completed earlier.

5. Make the day about we, not just the bride. Sister Starfish and BIL Starfish planned the wedding together, and all of the big decisions were made by the two of them. They also included elements from each of their personalities and it really shined through. I loved that the wedding was about the love between the couple, not just all about the bride.

6. If you are lucky enough to have a close friend engaged the same time as you are, cherish every moment of it. Don’t get competitive. The best part of my sister’s wedding was the bonding experience we shared being able to go through an exciting, although sometimes stressful, part of our lives together.

These were the big lessons learned.

All wedding photos taken by the amazing duo of Michael Sparks Keegan photography.

Were you lucky enough to be a part of a wedding party before planning your own wedding? Did you learn anything from the experience?