Wedding planning can be fun, and for a lot of us, it’s not something we do a lot, or more than once or twice for that matter. Let’s talk about a few ways to make it even easier and stress free.

1. Ask your officiant to include in their speech that once you are both at the end of the aisle together to instruct you to hold hands. Otherwise, you will both be standing there with your arms at your side.

2. When picking out a veil, make sure the color compliments your dress. For example, a white veil will photograph with a hint of blue and will have a stark contrast to an ivory or off-white dress.

3. Ask the DJ to hold off on the lighting until after the formalities. It’s important to not have green spots on your faces during your first dances.

4. Details! Let’s talk about your details, you want your photographer to be able to have them all in one spot and make them look elegant. This includes your invitation, ring, veil, jewelry, shoes. Put them all together and make sure you have a designated person that morning who knows where it all is.

5. Most guests will throw away wedding favors, we encourage you to think about something that people will use that night, like a glass or a koozie, or honestly you could not even include favors, most people will never notice.

6. The best way to make sure a ceremony is truly unplugged is to have the officiant ask everyone to hold off photographing until the end.

7. Build buffer time into your timeline.

8. Receiving lines take about an hour, if you are doing buffet style, have each table come take a photo with you before they go up for food, saves on time, and gets you a photo with each of your guests.

9. Remember why you are doing this, LOVE! Celebrate in ways that make the two of you the happiest!

Other quick notes, make sure you have a photo location plan like the Wade Lagoon, or Cuyahoga Vallery National Park. Also, designate one person to help keep you on track for the day with time, your most responsible friend.

HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER!