It’s been just a few months since Eric and I got married on the Spirit of Norfolk, and I am SO happy and proud to be Mrs Soule! When I think back to my wedding day, I have lots of amazing memories and photos to help us remember the day, but there are things that I did (or wish I would have done) to make the day more memorable. So if you’re looking to make your wedding day easy, here are some tips for brides that can help!

Tips For Brides

Splurge on Perfume

Make it a date, and you and your fiancée go out together and pick a perfume/cologne for each other. We associate strong memory ties to smell, so whenever you use the fragrance after the wedding, it will transport you back to that wonderful day. This idea was suggested to me shortly before the wedding, and I am so glad that I followed through and did it! Eric and I both ended up getting a Dior fragrance (Miss Doir Blooming Bouquet for me, and Sauvage for him).

Kids Activities

Trust me on this one… you NEED to have activities for the kiddos at your wedding/reception, it will make everyone’s experience more enjoyable! For our reception, we knew all the children who were coming, so I made personalized bags for each of them. In the bags I included things like a Crayola Color Wonder Mini’s, a theater box of candy, small toy, etc. Not only did it make them feel special, those bags kept the kids occupied during the reception.

Personalized Hanger

Okay, I’ll be honest and say that I will probably never use this hanger again, but it definitely looked BEAUTIFUL to have my wedding gown hung up on a personalized hanger with my new last name!!! There are tons of places you can order these hangers online, but Etsy.com is where I found mine and I’m sure you will have plenty of luck on that site! If you are the super crafty type, you could even make one yourself (like this blogger does in the step-by-step tutorial).

Edible Wedding Favors

Think back to the last wedding you attended… did you take home one of the wedding favors? (do you even remember WHAT the favor was?!) Let’s face it, we all like to eat, so why not give your guests something sweet to remember your special day? Whether it be homemade cookies, personalized jams/honey jars, or a candy bar; edible favors are always a hit with guests! Plus, if there are leftovers, you won’t mind eating them yourself 😉

Cut the List – Guest List That Is

At our wedding, we knew that we wanted a small wedding, surrounded by our families and (literally) 4 close friends. However, even knowing that, we still had issues trying to keep the list short. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself  to figure out whether or not that person actually needs to be invited:

• Have you talked to this person in the last year?
• Do you spend time with them outside of work?
• Do you have a close personal/family connection to this person?
• Is it someone you would normally buy dinner for?
• Will they make your wedding more fun?!

Number Your R.S.V.P. Cards

This is something I totally wish I had done!!! There’s nothing worse than getting an response card back and wondering “who the heck sent this?!” (true story, this happened to us!) When you add a small number to each card, once you get it back you’ll know who sent it – even if the handwriting is illegible or missing the name. For the win!

Keep the Hangry Monster at Bay

Keep snacks on hand for the wedding party to enjoy for after the ceremony and before the reception – because we all know there’s gonna be “just one more” picture to take. Photos can take a long time to get through, so it helps to have something small for them to munch on between pictures. In our bridal party basket, we had a few small bottles of soda and water, M’n’M’s, pretzels, twizzlers, almonds, etc.

So there you have some of my top tips for brides that worked for me at our wedding (or I wish I had done it for our wedding!). What tips and tricks worked for YOU?!

Love What You See? Want to Chat About YOUR Wedding?!

If you’ve finished looking at these tips for brides and are thinking to yourself – I want you to come photograph my wedding! Awesome!!! We would LOVE to create a custom wedding package for you and the ones you love! Feel free to message me by hitting the { CONTACT ME } button or by giving me a call at 757-749-5350. I can’t wait to create some magic for you!