tipoftheday

” I was thinking about getting me and the girls matching phone cases for the wedding day” one of my brides said to me “Look! Aren’t they cute!?” she said as she showed me her a picture on her phone.

“They are super cute! But can I just make a small suggestion…” I said as she started scrolling through the photos of the different colored cases. “don’t have your phone on you during your wedding day.” She looked at me with a blank expression. “I know… it sounds crazy, but you will thank me later!”

Unplug for the day. You aren’t going to need your phone. It will only distract you from one of the best days of your life! Give your phone to your Made of Honor and have her do all the answering. You can even put it on airplane mode and give all your vendors your bridesmaid number and have someone else be in charge of taking the selfies. You deserve to enjoy your wedding and take a break from the digital world. I mean, let’s be real, everyone important to you will either be in that getting ready room with you or see you in the next 5 hours. So, this is what you want to do. Wake up on your wedding day. Turn off the alarm. Hand that bad boy over to whoever is closest to you and enjoy every moment of your wedding. You have spent months, possibly years, working towards this day, don’t miss even one second of your magic. Have your bridesmaids and family take care of all the loose ends and last minute phone calls. Pour yourself a mimosa, put on your “Bride” robe and get ready to be the happiest girl alive.

“Do you think people will like this!?” one of my brides texted me. I waited for the screenshot to download. It was the cutest save-the-date. They looked happy, in love and stunning in every way. I started typing back, “YES!” but hesitated, shook my head and backspaced, “The more important question, is do YOU!?” I could just imagine my bride grinning ear to ear as she read my text and looked back at the screenshot of her card. A few seconds later my phone buzzed again “I really, really do.”

Does this make me happy? I know sometimes it is easy to get caught up with other peoples opinions, specially the mother’s of the world. Sometimes, and don’t get me wrong, I am no exception, we all can agonize over the little things… Should you have the pink champagne or a speciality drink? Do you pay extra for the bigger floral centerpieces? Do you splurge for the chiavari chairs?? Sometimes, you even find yourself comparing your plans with your best friend (who happen to be getting married a month after you), wedding plan’s. While you agonize, question and compare, please take a step back and ask yourself these questions…. “Do you like it!? Do you even really care? Is this thing you are stressing about now really going to add that extra little something to your big day?” If the answer is yes, then good! Keep doing what you are doing. If the answer is no, then stop your worrying! Everything will be beautiful, lovely and completely and totally you.

Let me fill you in on a little secret… Wedding guests really only care about three things; dancing, food and whether or not they had a good time. They don’t think about how much time and effort you put into handwriting, rewriting and then re-rewriting the seating chart. They don’t know how many hours you spent contemplating if there are enough peonies in the centerpieces. And they definitely don’t have any real understanding how many emails you sent questioning the number of candles on each table.   You are better off focusing on the bigger picture and most importantly, what makes YOU and your fiance happy. So, when in doubt, ask yourself this yes or no question…”Does this make me happy?”

xo,

Yael

“I feel like I haven’t seen him since he was down on one knee!” one of my 2019 bride’s said as we sat across from each other at Starbucks. I continued to listen and took a sip of my herbal tea. “All we do is plan, research, talk to our moms and then do more research. It is exhausting! I miss just hanging out with him” she explained. I waited for her to take a breath… “I have something for you.” I responded as I started sifting through my bag. I always keep a few extra gift cards on me just in case this happens… you’d be surprised how often I hand them out. “AHH!” I say, as I pull out an AMC movie theater gift card and hand it over.

“What’s this for?” she asked as she flipped it over to investigate further.

“When was the last time you guys went to a movie?” I asked. She didn’t respond. That’s what I thought. “This,” I said as I pointed to the gift card “Is your initiation into your weekly date night.” I explained. “Every week, you guys should put everything aside, maybe even leave your phone at home, and do something fun just the two of you. I don’t want you to talk about your wedding or your checklist once. Just go out and appreciate one another!” She smiled and nodded. I could already see some of the tension leave her shoulders and with that, I smiled and nodded right back.

Make time for just the two of you (and maybe your puppy too): Even though your wedding day is supposed to be just about you and your SO, planning a wedding is always more complicated than that. It’s about the caterers and the venue. It’s about mom’s wishes and dad’s family traditions. It’s about keeping up with your todo list, checking things off and quadruple inspecting every detail. Planning a wedding takes up a ton of physical, mental and emotional space and that is why weekly date nights are a YP must! Don’t get me wrong, I think date nights are immensely important in every stage of a relationship, but when you are waking up at 2am concerned about the guest list or you just re-did the seating chart for the 14th time, it is so vital to take a step back, put the checklists, schedules and planners down, grab your SO’s hand and go out! Take some time to remember exactly why you are doing all of this. You are getting ready to marry your best friend so you better take some time to appreciate them, love them and spend some time JUST the two of you… 

“So I think we found the perfect venue” one of my bride’s said as we were chatting on the phone.

“Oh great! Which one!?” I asked as I pull out my pen and notebook to jot it down.

As my excited YPbride continued, my heart sunk. I could tell she was thrilled! She found an amazing venue that fit her style, her budget and the coordinator even said they were still available for her preferred wedding date! She was over the moon excited! The only problem was, she was inviting over 350 people and the venue was slightly too small for her guest list.

As I waited for her to take a breath I calmly said “That all sounds great… but do you know the trick in figuring out how many guests can fit in the venue?”

She hesitated and said “oh… no, what is it.”

Friends and family come first. You want everyone there don’t you? That’s why you have to take into consideration how many people are near and dear in your heart before you find your venue. Ok, I will make this as easy as possible. If you are anything like me, numbers are not your friends. Your favorite number is now 30. All you have to do is multiply 30 x the number of names on that guest list and BAM, you have your number. The rule of thumb = 30 square feet per guest. It is that simple. I know, it sounds like a ton of space and you are probably wondering, “Yael, is that really necessary?!” I promise you it is! Think about it… you don’t JUST need a place for your incredible friends and family to sit.  You need room for not only the guests, but the tables they will sit at and enjoy the delicious food you chosen, a dance floor to show off their coolest dance moves, space for the amazing waiters and waitresses to move swiftly and comfortably and a good amount of space for the band, the cake, the incredible dessert table, the bar, and the other bar (because sometimes, one bar is just not enough). Your wedding is much more than a sit down affair and you and your guests deserve to be able to move around comfortably. So, when you start researching venues, pull out that calculator baby!