#snowedin4life: {best wedding weekend advice}

Hi friends!

I have been getting all kinds of questions about our wedding, especially from newly engaged couples! So, I thought it would be kinda fun to put all of our "best wedding weekend advice" into one post.

We are far from perfect and everyone has different stuff that works for them and their wedding as a couple-- this is just what worked best for us!! Happy reading!

{Thanks to all the people I stole pictures from we haven't gotten ours back yet!!}

1. Have FUN!! Both Parker and I can honestly say if we had to go back and do anything again, it would be our entire wedding weekend. Beforehand, we had lots of people telling us "by the time the reception comes around, you will be exhausted and ready to leave." Maybe for them-- but we didn't want one second to end. We were so upset when it was time to leave.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Nenon

2. Take it all in. Our preacher told us a few days before the wedding, "You can't look at all of this hard enough." He could not have been more right. We tried to focus on each event as it came during the weekend, and enjoy what we were doing at that exact time. For example, at the rehearsal dinner we enjoyed every single second immersed in that and not worrying about the next day.

This is the only time in y'alls entire life that the people the two of you love the most in the world will all be together, celebrating the best day of your life! That's pretty freaking cool if you ask me.

3. RELAX. Don't sweat the small stuff. I am a control freak, crazy type A person if you have ever met one, and my wedding was the one thing I completely did NOT try to control. Something is ABSOLUTELY going to go wrong. I can assure you and promise you it will NOT all run smoothly. You can plan every single detail perfectly, but every single detail is NOT going to be perfect. Don't forget, no one else cares. They are just so happy to be able to celebrate your big day!

4. If you can't make a decision, let someone else make it and move on. Big one! I think my situation was a little different because my mom was so on top of everything, she was the best wedding planner in the entire world.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Nenon

I didn't really care about much, so I let her make a lot of the big decisions. Honestly, it helped me focus on preparing my heart for marriage versus worrying about flowers and decorations. Even one of my bridesmaids picked the band. By doing this, it saved me a boat load of stress and worry!

5. Trust the people you hire. Makeup, hair, photography, florist, wedding coordinator, etc. The girls who did our hair and make up have been doing mine and my sisters literally for close to 10 years. I didn't even do a trial. That took a ton of pressure off because I knew they were going to be great. Our photographer has been doing stuff for my family since I was in high school, so again I knew her work and I always love it. And my young life leader from high school took pictures too, I just knew she would be able to capture all of our friends on that special day so perfectly!

As far as our florist and reception designer (the same woman) was concerned, I fell in love with her the very second we met and knew she was going to do amazing! I wasn't even worried about what she did- I knew I would love it no matter what.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Nenon

And last but not least, our wedding coordinator was amazing and incredibly organized. Our reception was a bit overwhelming with so many people (ha!) and she handled it beautifully and perfectly!!

6. Focus on the ceremony. After all, this is the part where you get married. Our pastor was truly unbelievable in this. We wanted something short and sweet, but totally focused on our love for each other and Christ. I would say he totally hit the nail on the head. I can't describe the feeling, but my heart was bursting.

7. Don't leave the dance floor. Haha, kinda kidding but not really! The day after our wedding my sister said, "Did y'all even leave the dance floor all night?" At the beginning, we talked and mingled for a few minutes after the first dance and cutting the cakes-- but after that, we danced the night away! My family especially loves to dance... so everyone was out there and it was a blast to be with all of our best friends from so many different stages of life!!

8. Last but not least-- remember this is about the two of you!! This is YOUR wedding! There are no rules and you can do whatever you want. I can honestly say during the entire wedding planning process, we did not lose sight of this. It is so easy to get caught up in the flowers, the cake, dresses, etc. but at the end of the day, everyone is celebrating the beginning of a marriage, not a wedding!

Hope you enjoyed! I will do some other posts similar to this in a few weeks!

Happy Monday!