If I could give each bride and groom one piece of advice for their wedding it would be to always be prepared…prepared for anything. During my consults with my couples I will get asked “What are things we can do to make our wedding day run smooth?”.  My immediate response is to be prepared for anything to happen.  No matter what, there is bound to be something that may not plan out just the way you want it to but you know what…its ok. There is no need to sweat the small things. Its your wedding day and you are getting married to your best friend so always try to remember what is more important.

With that in mind, here are a couple things you can do to keep your wedding a little more organized:

1. Think about having a Wedding Coordinator. They’re there to take away as much stress as possible.  They’ll make sure that everything behind the scenes will be done properly and just they way you want it. Check out Wedding Tip #4 for a list of some amazing Wedding Coordinators.

2. Call your venues and vendors one or two weeks before your wedding to confirm the times that they are scheduled to be there.

3. Make sure your wedding party knows their roles.  With your wedding party consisting of friends and family, they will be more than happy to help make your wedding run as smooth as possible.  Assign them small tasks to make sure it does…I promise you won’t be asking too much from them.

4. Wherever you two are getting dressed do you best to keep the rooms clean.  If you have your wedding party keep all their personal belongings and snacks in a designated location you don’t have to worry about seeing coke cans, chip bags or half eaten sandwiches in your pictures.

5. Have your special details that you are wanting photographed ready for your photographer.  Special details can consist of (wedding attire, special handmade hangers, wedding bands and engagement ring, invitations, grandmother’s handkerchief, grandfather’s pocket watch, etc…)  This will help out your photographer with time (your time) if you have your things ready to go for them once they arrive.

6. Make a list of your family portraits.  Now THIS will help out tremendously with being organized and saving some time.  Write down each grouping of family members (by first name) that you would like a picture of.  This way either your photographer or their assistant can gather everyone up and call out each grouping and snap the picture.

7.  Get a timeline in place so you know what is going on throughout the day.  Your photographer, dj, Wedding Coordinator, parents, Best Man, Maid of Honor, and venues should have a copy.  Those are the people you will see throughout the entire day. In case you were to lose your copy someone you will be with will have one.

Cheers to a BEAUTIFUL, FUN and STRESS FREE wedding!  See you soon!