1. Have an open mind as you approach planning.

Wedding planning is stressful. There will be arguments. A lot of drama can erupt when you have differing opinions from friends and family members about your day. How many guests, who to invite, DJ or band, bridesmaid dresses, venue…the list goes on. Remember at the end of the day, it is about you and your fiancé. Do what makes you two happy. Sometimes you may not agree with them, but step back, revisit later with an open mind and listen to each other. The only people who really need to be happy with the decisions about your wedding is you and your fiancé.

2. Don’t worry when things don’t go as planned. 

You don’t want to hear that something might go amiss on your special day, but it happens. Lots of times you think it is a big problem, but nobody even notices. One of my friends, a perfectionist, planned her wedding down to a timed schedule. She even built a mini model of her wedding cake to take to the cake shop so nothing would go wrong. On the wedding day, the cake arrived and it was leaning. My friend freaked out, but her florist had brought some extra lilies and was able to disguise the lean. Nobody knew except the bride, groom, and florist that it was not perfect. Just have a good time and let the little things go.

3. Consider an unplugged ceremony.

You spent months planning your special day- the last thing you want in your photos is the crowd on their phones taking photos. You want your guests to really enjoy this moment with you, and not through their camera phone. You hired me for a reason- to capture all those awkward moments, all those smiles, and the love you are surrounded by on your wedding day. So, go dark- no phones or cameras among your guests during the ceremony. You will thank me later when your images from me come in and you can see all those beautiful faces celebrating you.

4. Do a first look. 

One thing I wish we had told our officiant to do was to just take a minute and look at everyone in the crowd and really take it all in. I didn’t look into the crowd once. I was so nervous. I just looked at Robby the whole time. I think one of the best ways to ease nerves on a wedding day is doing a first look. Let the couple have a minute to themselves to remind each other the day is for them. It will calm those nerves.

5. Try a sparkler exit. 

I know, I know…rice is the classic and bubbles are the new norm, but consider an alternative: sparklers! They make for fantastic photos and represent something different than what everybody else is doing. A couple of caveats- get the LONG sparklers that last at least 2-3 minutes The little sparklers will not cut it. You need long sparklers to make a good tunnel for you to walk through (and not burn your hair off). You want the sparklers to last long enough to capture those beautiful exit photos.