
In March 2008, I wrote about the things I would do differently for my own wedding. I got many great responses, and really loved hearing from former brides. I wanted to ask a new group of readers what they would do differently now that their wedding has come and gone, possibly helping out some current brides who are planning.
This time around, I also included the list of things I would do exactly the same - something I had not done previously.
What I Would NOT Change
1. The Guy - Greg is the only guy for me.
2. The Location - I absolutely fell in love with St. Cecilia's Music Society and I always wanted to get married in my church, which is conveniently located right next door to St. Cecilia's.
3. The Day - we were married on a Friday afternoon, and I loved having Saturday to relax, open gifts with our parents and pack before we headed to Bermuda for our honeymoon.
4. The Photographer - I still look at our wedding photos and cannot believe how much I love them. Jen is amazing and highly recommended in my book.
5. The Favors - I knew I wanted something edible, and something that added color to the tables. I got a steal on Jones Sodas from our local beverage distributor (88¢ a piece!) and had my sister create a custom thank you tag to hang around the bottle. We had a few extras, but enjoyed them the month following our wedding.
Okay, now for the things I'd tweak...
Same Budget
1. I would have chosen comfort over style in the shoe department. I decided to wear 3.25" Grace Bianca heels. They were gorgeous candlelight silk that matched my gown, and were tall enough so I didn't need to have my gown hemmed, but my feet were killing me. All night long.
2. I would have done a mixture of flowers, instead of an all-rose bouquet. The roses smelled great and all my life I thought I wanted to carry roses, but looking back at photos, I think mixed flowers would have been a better choice.
3. Even though we loved our cake centerpieces, looking back, I'm a bit bummed that I didn't do floral centerpieces. I am SO practical sometimes, and it was hard for me to spend all that money
4. I would have made more time for group photos. Our photographer did an amazing job with the time we had, but I wish I had more images of our gorgeous bridal party. I was adamant about our bridal party enjoying cocktail hour, and in hindsight, I wish we would have used that time for fun photos downtown Grand Rapids.
Dream Budget
1. I would have hired an amazing videographer. We had my cousin, a film student at the time, film a video for us, but if we would have had an extra $3000+, I would have hired professionals. Our video captured the day, but it does not look like a Hollywood production.
2. Gorgeous linens - I would have gone nuts with textures, colors and special touches. The all-white linens, with the brown runner were good in our venue, but I would have loved champagne, chocolate and ivory instead.
3. I would have added a Photobooth. I didn't even know this place existed when I was planning three years ago and our guests (and us!) would have had a blast!
4. Our honeymoon to Bermuda was relaxing and fun, but it would have been amazing to spend 4 times the amount of money and go to The Maldives or somewhere equally as exotic.
So, what would you do differently? Please share with brides reading along. Maybe you will inspire them to tweak their plans.
[images copyright Jen Kroll Photography]