Wedding Planning Advice Every Bride Should Ignore

How many phone calls do you make when planning your wedding? Too many to count, right? Riddle me this, brides-to-be…how many phone calls do you get from friends, relatives, and in-laws giving their “advice” on how to go about planning your wedding? Probably just as many! Between the second your guy puts that engagement ring on your finger and the second you shut the hotel room door after the reception with a sigh of relief, you’ll get more advice then you could ever want. Some of it should probably be taken to heart, especially if it’s tips on how to save money or referrals to vendors from satisfied brides. Other advice, however, should definitely be dismissed with a wave of your chewed on fingernails:

“Stick to your budget, no matter what!”

While all brides can agree to having a budget and following it, it’s the “no matter what” part you should ignore. Nothing is worse than sacrificing a quality service of say a highly recommended photographer in favor of your Aunt Betty’s godson who is taking high school photography classes. Sure, it might be a money saver, but is it worth it when most of your pictures come out with heads cropped off and out of focus? Definitely follow your budget and your plan, but be prepared to stray a bit outside it sometimes. Look for reasonable bargains instead of cheap corner cutters.

“This is the bride’s day! Who cares what your groom wants?”

Ok, most grooms aren’t exactly able to tell a hydrangea from a peony. And bless their hearts; we listen when they want their favorite football team colors as the wedding colors. But just because men don’t usually throw themselves into planning like brides do, doesn’t mean you should brush off requests made by your fiancée. Sometimes, having an outside opinion from someone who knows you well can bring in ideas you never even thought of. Most importantly, this is their day, too. And while they’ll never admit to caring about chair covers, they still might want certain songs on the playlists or a certain arrangement for his family’s seating. Marriage is about compromise after all. Better get used to it, hon.

“________ is so cliché.

Toss that idea, everybody does it.” Yes, you want your wedding to be original and special. That’s every bride’s main goal. But remember, it’s about making it special for you two. So what if dancing to “Butterfly Kisses” with your daddy has been done a thousand times before? If that song is special to you and your dad, then by all means, dance away! If there is a certain tradition that you want in your wedding because you’ve always dreamt of it (say, the bouquet toss?) then no one should make you feel bad about choosing to have it in your wedding. Being original is important to planning a wedding, but so is making your day special. Remember that above all, and do whatever you want! You’ll get lots of people telling you what’s “been done” and “so overused”. But just ignore them and think about why you want that aspect in your wedding. After all, “something borrowed, something blue, something old, and something new” is still around for a reason.