Obviously I’m not talking about our wedding… because that was definitely WORTH IT!
It’s so funny to think I had my wedding planned for 21 years… I think us women start planning our wedding the day we come out of the womb! (was that too dramatic?) But seriously, we start thinking about our wedding at a very early age, and I think almost every woman can agree with me on that.
I want to talk about things that were worth the money at our wedding and things that weren’t. I know Valentine’s Day is coming up and that means there will be A TON of proposals! So if you are a bride-to-be or maybe will be one soon… I hope this helps you in your wedding planning journey.
Wedding Planner
I definitely think you can have a wedding without a wedding planner and it will run smoothly. BUT, a wedding planner does take all of the stress off of the Bride and Mother of the Bride! Our wedding planner was AMAZING. She took care of everything. There were things that happened that I found out months after the wedding that I had no idea were going on during. She kept everyone on schedule and made sure everything was where it was supposed to be without stressing me AND my Mom out.
Final Verdict : Worth It
Assigned Seating
Everyone dreads the moment when you walk into the reception and look around and don’t see enough seats at one table for your group. We decided to go the route of assigning everyone a table to sit at. This made it so everyone wasn’t stressed about finding a seat and allowed everyone to enjoy their time at the cocktail hour.
Final Verdict : Worth It
First Look
Some people don’t want their future hubby to see them until they are actually walking down the aisle, and I am all for that! But, I felt that it was just as special for Bradley to see me before the wedding as it was walking down the aisle, so we did a first look. Our first look was SO SPECIAL. It allowed us to spend some time alone together, and really enjoy each other, before all of the craziness. It was very intimate and so special to see Bradley’s reaction without all of the nerves and butterflies of walking down the aisle.
Final Verdict : Worth It
DJ
One of the best times of my life was at our reception. I wish it could have lasted longer! A big part of the fun was our DJ. Our Dj was a family friend of Bradley’s and he did such a good job. The amount of people that said our wedding was the most fun wedding they’ve ever been too, is more than I can count on two hands! The music is a HUGE part of the reception and if you don’t have good music then you won’t have a good party!
Final Verdict : Worth It
Videographer
Our Videographer was also a family friend of Bradley’s. I watched his videos for years and knew I wanted to use him! I watch our wedding video at least a couple times a month. I’m so glad we have a video because unlike photos, it captured the real time emotion and happiness of everyone at the wedding. I would say this is a MUST at every wedding. You will be so glad you have it!
Final Verdict : Worth It
Favors
Bradley and I gave everyone koozies with our wedding date for our favors. I loved our wedding favors but I would say this is definitely something that you could save on. There are a lot of great DIY ideas for wedding favors that are just as cute and nice.
Final Verdict : Not
Leaving in a Different Outfit
I left in a Hello Molly jumpsuit. This allowed for my Mom to take my dress home with her, and Bradley and I to leave and start our honeymoon. I’m glad we didn’t have to worry about meeting someone to drop off my dress the next day. I didn’t change into the jumpsuit until the end of our reception so I could enjoy my wedding dress for as long as I could.
Final Verdict : Worth It
Extra Desserts
Bradley and I had a wedding cake and extra desserts. Everything was SO YUMMY but looking back I would say the extra desserts were over doing it. It definitely wasn’t necessary for us to have those extra desserts, the cake was enough. I will say we did have our two tier cake and also a sheet cake that stayed in the back. If we wouldn’t have had the sheet cake the extra desserts would have been necessary (we had about 200 guests).
Final Verdict : Not
If you have any friends that are planning a wedding or will be engaged soon… feel free to share this with them!
As always, all opinions and text are my own.
Stay Sweet! ♡
Photo Credit : Lunalee Photography
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