A few tips on how to have a relaxed wedding that you will enjoy and remember for all the right reasons.
- Accept that the weather will do whatever it wants to
- Accept that your white dress may get dirty (sometimes within minutes)
- Ditch the long list of group shots
- Have a day that YOU want
- Only invite the people that you want there
- Accept that some things are out of your control
Tip 1. Accept that the weather will do whatever it wants to
Talking about the weather is pretty much the favourite past time of any person living in the UK. We get rain...... a LOT of rain. We also get wind, hail, snow, sunshine, sleet, fog and drizzle; sometimes all in the same day! We are at the mercy of the weather, especially when it comes to your wedding day.
You can have an August wedding date and be met with rain, wind and a chilly 16 degrees. You could have a March wedding date and be gifted a beautiful spring day, with sunshine and a balmy (for the time of year) 17 degrees.
What ever date you book for your wedding, the weather is the one thing that you can't pre order. You get what you're given.
So my advice..... is to accept that the weather will do whatever it wants to on your day. But trust me, you won't mind what it's doing.
Because...
Your day is here.
All of your family and friends are here.
You are about to marry your best friend.
And you have the best venue ever for your wedding day.
And besides, if the worst comes to the worst, we can still get fantastic photos of you in the rain, you won't get sunstroke and if you have a veil the wind will make it dance! So relax, 'chill' out and embrace what is going to be a part of your day.
If you do this you will have a more relaxed wedding day.
Tip 2. Accept that your white dress may get dirty (sometimes within minutes) and your shoes for that matter!
It's inevitable...... that gorgeous white dress is going to get dirty.
SPOILER: IT'S A WHITE DRESS THAT DRAGS ALONG THE FLOOR!
It's going to happen and the sooner you accept it, the more relaxed you'll be about it.
I can reassure you that it won't be so noticeable on your photos and it's not like you need to wear it the next day. Inevitably it will need cleaning anyway after being worn so why stress about it. Just enjoy your day knowing that it's inevitable.
If you let go of this worry, you will inevitably have a more relaxed wedding day.
Tip 3. Ditch the long list of group shots
This is probably the most stressful part of any wedding day.... both for the couple and the photographer. (Well, I always get an usher or bridesmaid to do the leg work for me so it's stressful for them).
I can guarantee that you will get fed up of these before I do. You will realise how difficult it is to locate the people that you want. Then, once they have been located, it sometimes takes them an age to actually come to you. Then they disappear to put their drink down, and find themselves talking to a relative who they haven't spoken to yet..... all while you're stressing because you have been standing in the same place for the past 10 minutes wasting precious time that you don't have to waste. Wouldn't it be better to spend those precious minutes chilling out and chatting with your friends.
I am only telling you this because after 18 years of photographing weddings, I know how it can go. I have had brides feeling like they haven't had a moment to just enjoy their day because it's been one thing after the other.
I would recommend that you have the following groups:
With parents
With siblings
With the bridal party
That is all you need.
Besides, those images aren't what I'm about. Being a creative photographer, I need time to work my magic, to capture those fab moments that often would go unnoticed. I'm hired by you to capture the magic not the mundane.
Ditching the group list will guarantee you have a more relaxed wedding day.
More tips on how to have a stress free relaxed wedding day...
Tip 4. Have a day that YOU want
Gone are the days of 'you have to do this because 'It's traditional''. It's your day and you can do what the heck you like! We aren't living in the dark ages any longer and let's face it, things are very different these days. And that's a good thing! So don't think that you have to do what your parents did on their wedding day. You are a new generation and you can make new rules.
So don't stress because you haven't put a sixpence in your shoe. Don't worry if you don't want to cut the cake. If the thought of doing speeches scares you, then don't do one. Or if you are a bride and you want to do a speech, do one! If the thought of doing an awkward shuffle on the dance floor in front of everyone makes you cringe, then don't do a first dance. You don't have to do these things.
It's your day and you can do whatever you want to help you have a relaxed wedding day!
Tip 5. Only invite the people that you want there
Gone are the days where the parents of the bride 'traditionally' paid for the wedding. Hence, great aunt Dolly (who isn't really an aunt) and your parents neighbour down the street had to be invited... even though you didn't know them.
This doesn't happen any more. Most couples these days pay for their own wedding, therefore you can invite who YOU want. So if you want a relaxed wedding day, don't feel pressured into inviting someone because someone else will be offended if you don't. You don't need to think this way any longer. It only causes you stress. It's your day and you can have who you want there.
Tip 6. Accept that some things are out of your control
The only true way to have a stress free relaxed wedding is to realise and accept that some things are totally out of your control. You can plan your day to the nth degree but there are some things that you have to let go of and just go with it. Only then will you have a truly relaxed wedding day.
If you want to have a chat about your day drop me a message on the Contact page or email me directly on deborah@stottweddings.com.
All the images in this blog were taken at my fave venue The Ashes. You can check out their website here.
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