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7 Things Brides Must Do In The Final Stages Of Wedding Planning

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s officially wedding season. 😉 If you’re a bride, this means you’re now in the FINAL stages of wedding planning and it’s all starting to feel very real. Yay!! We remember this stage of wedding planning so well… all of the big things are crossed off your to-do list, and all that remains to get done are the tiniest of details. Since you’re pretty much ready to go and just counting down the days via that app on your phone, now is the PERFECT time to take care of a few things that will make a world of a difference in your day! Here they are:

Think About Others

It sounds cliché, we know. However, so much of this season of life can be focused on you as the bride. Now is an awesome time to think about ways to intentionally bless others in your life who are invested in or involved with your wedding. For example, take an evening to write those letters to your mama, daddy, grandparents, future husband, or whoever you want to express gratitude to on your wedding day. This is also the perfect time to think about the gifts you want to give your parents, bridal party and future husband on your wedding day, as well! Lastly, this is the perfect time to budget for and prepare those thank you cards and gifts or tips for all of your vendors, from your officiant to your florist and others who are helping you out on your wedding day!

Tip: On our wedding day, we thanked friends and family members who showed up early and stayed late to help set up and tear down with a simple gift card for a date night out. They loved it!

 

Make Sure Everyone Is On The Same Page

Now is also the perfect time to be sure everyone is on the same page for your wedding day! Make sure your entire bridal party (including your flower girl/s and ring bearer/s’ parents) knows where to be, when, and that they have all the important addresses for your wedding day. Ensure your family knows where and when they are to arrive to take family portraits and that your florist knows to deliver the flowers to where the bride is getting ready (this is so that the photographer can use your florals in your detail photos!). Be sure your DJ knows what time you have booked your photographer until. Communicate, communicate, communicate- you get the idea! 🙂

Reassess Your Timeline

Another thing that is important to check up on is that timeline your photographer has been sending you for the past few months! 😉 How does it look? Does your current timing for your wedding day match up with what you told your photographer a few months ago? Are your hair and makeup appointments scheduled early enough to accommodate your first look? Have you allotted for all travel times? Is there a buffer of a few extra minutes here and there in case things run behind? (Hint: They will!) These are all incredibly important questions to ask about your timeline because NOW is the time to change things up if need be!

Tip: Be honest with yourself… check to see if you might need to add an extra hour of photography coverage to what you have booked! The last thing you want is to have to ask your photographer to stay for an extra hour if your reception timing runs an hour behind, and having more time than necessary on your wedding morning is always a good thing.

Allentown Rose Garden Wedding Portraits

Make Your Transportation Plan And Your Rain Plan

Now is the time to decide what you will do if it rains on your wedding day and how you are getting to and from everywhere. Take a few minutes to write out the specifics of these two plans and ensure the logistics make sense! Does the thought of rain on your wedding day stress you out?

Appoint a Person

Choose a bridesmaid (potentially your Maid or Matron of Honor) to be your “person” on your wedding day! This girl will be the buffer between you and anything crazy that goes on on your wedding day, so choose wisely! 😉 This girl can be in charge of everything from taking a phone call from a vendor, answering a text from a family member, fixing a stray piece of hair, holding your lipstick, you name it. We can’t stress enough how important it is to have a “person” on your wedding day so that you and your mama don’t have to worry about these sorts of things!

Reevaluate Your Budget

Now that most of your big purchases have been decided upon, committed to and invested in, take a few minutes to reevaluate your wedding budget! Do you have some funds leftover? Consider the best and wisest places to allocate that money! Here are a couple recommendations for where to allocate that extra budget are:
01. Increasing your photography coverage or investing in a wedding album (this is SO important!)
02. Upgrading your florals (I’ll be your best friend forever if you do this!)

Take A Break

We’re serious! Grab coffee with your mom, go get a pedicure, or plan a surprise date night with your fiancé where all wedding talk is off limits. Remember to be intentional about enjoying the season of engagement, because it goes by SO quickly. No one wants to remember this sweet season of life as a time filled with overworking, overwhelm and stress. The world (and your wedding!) will not fall apart if you take a night off to relax!

We’ve done this a couple of times! Let’s talk and we can help put your mind at ease.

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Meet Us

WEDDING & PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE LOVE TRUMPS ALL

We’re Tom and Jamie, a husband and wife team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that specialize in wedding photography and lifestyle portraiture.  We’re high school sweethearts who love a good story, whether it’s one we’re watching snuggled up on the couch or the story we’re telling of your wedding day.

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