I was a bride, but I relate the most with whichever person has both hands on the wheel and is really steering the planning process. However, I completely understand that there is a different perspective in this whole wedding stuff that I might not have.
Therefore I’ve brought in reinforcements for all you gentleman. Ben and David were recently married at the beginning of summer and they’d like to share their 9 tips for grooms getting married. I’d also like to share their photos from Studio Laguna, because we all know how much Josey loves wedding photos.
Keep scrolling to get all you (a groom) need to know to get married!
- It won’t be cheap. At some point you might just forget about the budget. Luckily, we were smart about where we could save money. Also, we had a year and a half to plan, plenty of time which meant we could save up and avoid being stressed while being engaged.
- Do it yourself to keep costs low. We did all our own centerpiece, DIY, purchasing materials, instead of renting, and then selling them back after our wedding. We put together all of our own centerpiece floral arrangements and are glad we tested them out before the wedding, so extra tip: try any DIY out before the day of.
- Have a creative partner. It really helped with the design but also the logistics. We looked on Pinterest a lot for ideas and then made the ideas our own, finding vendors that filled the gaps of what we couldn’t do on our own.
- Use resources. We did use the Perfect Wedding Guide booklet for our timeline, it was really helpful. Ben, preened information from doing other weddings, so overall we had a great guideline to follow for the planning process.
- Agree. The only frustrating part of the wedding was changing our mind on suits, flip flopping on decisions that we thought we had made. Working together is so key, your wedding is a team effort. Certain things that were really important to one of us but not the other we compromised on. Really it’s so important that as a couple you don’t get stuck on arguing about the little things. Remember why you are having a wedding in the first place.
- Be with your guests. We had decided to sit amongst everyone, so no head table of sweetheart table. We really wanted to be at our wedding, so we sat with our parents and the people giving our toasts. We also had our moms sign our marriage license, very sentimental but also another way we involved our family in the wedding.
- Save the drama. It was easy to agree on things because we took the time to look at it from the other person’s perspective. On the wedding day and during the planning process. We definitely suggest premarital counseling, it was fun and we felt like we really benefited from it. We learned about our love languages – how do we interact with each other and then how do we feed that. Counseling was really a safe place that we could be in, be heard and work through topics that are tough for any couple.
- Be in the moment. This is the best advice we can give. Getting to know the minister really made the difference, he even cried at the wedding, which meant a lot to us. It was great to just be in the now, to soak it all in and to not worry about what was happening before or after that moment.
- Keep track of everything. Keep all of your receipts and bring everything with you when you go to meetings, we suggest a notebook or 3-ring binder. This serves as a point of reference, plus it shows vendors just how serious you are about your wedding.
Of course I whole-heartedly agree with all of that advice, it’s part of what a day of coordinator does, keeps you on track, in the moment, calm and worry free during your engagement and your wedding day. Now for those photos I promised you…
Check out Ben + David’s wedding vendors:
Venue // Saint Paul College Club
Photographer // Studio Laguna
Officiant // Reverend Pat Williamson
Cake // Queen of Cakes
Decor // Festivities
Florist // Soderberg’s
Invites // Litin Party Supply
Liquor // Thomas Liquor
Music // Rachel Holder Hennig & Ovation String Quartet
Photobooth Guestbook // Studio Veil
Prosperity, Love & Happiness,
