Pearls of Wisdom – Advice from our Brides
Today, we’re embarking on a new segment with some of our Persnickety ladies. This time, we have two lovely brides who agreed to answer some questions in regards to their wedding “I win”s and “I wishes”!
Katie & Ali - HK Photography
Danielle & Rick - Melani Lust Photograp
1. IF YOU COULD PLAN YOUR WEDDING AGAIN, WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY?
Danielle: I wish I had worked with the venue to get the price per guest lower. I didn’t know that people did that until after the wedding! Katie: Elope. I was definitely an anti-bride. I don’t like being the center of attention. I wasn’t interested in having a big ceremony and huge party. I just wanted to go to Vegas or simply down to the city hall to get married. I didn’t want to deal with the stress. Unfortunately I was over-ruled by both sides of the family, so we ended up having exactly what I didn’t want – a large wedding complete with a 30 minute ceremony. Looking back at it, my husband tells me I was right – we should have eloped.
2. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU HAD DONE BEFORE YOUR WEDDING? (PREPARING-WISE)
Danielle: We had a large bridal party and booked two suites (one for girls and the other for guys) to use to get ready before the ceremony. Although I booked the rooms in advance I didn’t look at the suites until the day before when we checked in and they were a little too small for so many people =)
Katie: I wish we had hired a planner – even if it was only a day-of planner. It would have saved us so much stress and aggravation. I feel like our day would have gone more smoothly with someone else helping us and taking charge besides the wedding event coordinator.
3. What were two things you are glad you splurged on for your wedding?
Danielle: Our photographer, Melani Lust, and my dress by Heidi Elnora from A Little Something White in Darien. Melani captured such great photographs and my dress was perfect for me =)
Katie: I was over the moon about our florist and our photographers. The florist created an amazing arch and aisle for the ceremony along with gorgeous bouquets, Boutonnières and tall/ short centerpieces for the reception.
Our photographers were just wonderful. We had a first look session and family photos before the ceremony. They loved my mother grabbing them to take relative photographs!! They even stayed an hour later than they normally would have! They created a beautiful photo album for us as well. I highly recommend Sharon Elizabeth’s Floral Design and HK Photography!!
4. What is your biggest wedding regret (if there are any)?
Danielle: Getting a spray tan!! They always say that you shouldn’t change your beauty routine right before the wedding and I wasn’t happy when it started coming off on my dress! Other than that our day was perfect!!!
Katie: I would say my biggest regret was the wedding venue itself. While it was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for what we were looking for, the venue/staff were fairly new to weddings. They house many large events throughout the year, but recently got into weddings. There were a lot of moving pieces with our wedding that I’m not sure they were quite prepared for, so a lot of things went wrong. I’m sure with a smaller wedding, the venue is just fine. I also regret not being able to relax and enjoy the day.
