5 Wedding Myths Debunked By Someone Who Plans Events For a Living

Between the dress, jewels, makeup, hair there's no denying that brides end up looking incredibly beautiful on their wedding day. There’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way, even if no one will admit it out loud. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look your best — just don't let other people's comments mess with your psyche. I had a few hair trials and thought I wanted my hair pulled off my face during the ceremony. On the day off, I decided to keep my hair down as I walked down the aisle. I wanted to feel LIKE ME! I then decided to put my hair up for the reception as I knew I would be dancing, sweaty and hot, which is exactly what happened. I look at some of my photos and am like wow, I had fun. 

Yes, planning a wedding is stressful. But remember that at the end of the day, you are marrying your best friend. Planning is stressful at times. That part is not a myth. But try to enjoy the process. It is the most exciting time of your lives and hopefully only happens once. Know everything will work out just perfectly (or perfectly imperfectly) and no guests notice the small details. Brett, my husband, and I decided to go on an ‘earlymoon’ to Greece two months before our big day. One may call me crazy, but it was an awesome escape from the decisions and we came back fresh and recharged to finish the planning process.

This is the topic of conversation that is discussed for however long you are engaged until the day you get married (and sometimes at the Sunday brunch, after). Parents, relatives, friends, your dentist; it all comes down to the guest list. While you may feel pressure from either side of your family, remember that this is one of the most important days of YOUR life. Try not to feel obligated to share it with anyone you don’t want to share it with. For tough decisions, consider crossing guests off the list if you haven’t seen them in person in the past 9-12 months. I wanted to have an intimate enough setting that I could really notice and have time to speak with all of my guests.

I am an Aires and overall a very indecisive person. For most of the process, Brett let me come up with the ideas on my own and with my wedding planner (Amy Shey Jacobs of Chandelier Events). For florals, I knew I wanted everything to be white and green; no colors. On one of our visits to the venue with the florist, we saw this amazing live plant wall which would be the backdrop to the band. Brett decided to speak up and we went for tables of huge green palms. It ended being one of my favorite parts of the décor in entire the room. Brett also decided to call our band leader of Vali Entertainment and booked an electric violinist who took the stage towards the end of the reception into the after party.

During the planning process, brides inevitably speak to friends have gone through weddings. Everyone has crazy excel spreadsheets of venues, planners, photographers, florists, bands, videographers...you name it. While it’s certainly helpful to become familiar with those ‘names’, you must meet with the vendors before signing on with them. For me, it wasn’t about hiring the specific vendors I saw constantly tagged on social media. It was about building a relationship and feeling comfortable with the people I was working with.