The 5 Important Lessons I Learned On My Wedding Day with Madeleine’s Daughter

This post was created in partnership with Madeleine’s Daughter, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Something no one tells you when you’re a few minutes into the blissful newly engaged stage of the wedding planning process, is that things start to get very stressful quite quickly.

As I outlined in my 7 Major Mistakes I made as a Bride to Help You Plan Your Wedding with Less Stress blog post, I made a lot of mistakes.

Below are my major learnings from the day of that you can take with you while on your journey.

 

 

Quell Your Wedding Worries in Advance

There are certain things that did worry me because they were out of my control. Number one on that worry list? Rain. Finally a month and a half before my wedding I purchased 5 massive white golf umbrellas that I planned to distribute to our parents and of course use myself. If it happened to rain on my wedding day, I would still be shining in white. Guess what? It worked. Rain was no longer that big of a concern.

Another major source of anxiety was wedding dress shopping. I had one and only one dress in mind for my big day. I picked it, revisited it on the website, and stressed about how it would look on me.

A lot of ladies make the mistake of not leaning a bit more on their bridal stylist. When working with Casi at Madeleine’s Daughter she very quickly understood my style while still indulging my bridal dreams.

Make sure you’re trying on the over the top dress, the total of-the-moment gown, and then look a bit more within your realm and go from there. Madeleine’s Daughter has the largest selection of wedding gowns in New England, so you can truly try it all on from the freshly arrived and unique pieces that will set you apart on your big day.

 

 

Focus on What Is Truly Important

Always easier said than done but there were certain things we absolutely would not compromise on. I went through the entire day repeatedly mapping out the experience of our guests. How would they be guided from one aspect to the next? What culinary options were available for varying dietary restrictions (thank you for being incredible during this process Timothy S Hopkins & staff and even incorporating some of Dan’s recipes!)

Don’t get me started on the music. We wanted to make sure people danced. We worked with our DJ to pick out a variety of dinner music and then dancing music through a portal. Our rule being, if we cannot picture our aunts dancing to a song, then it would go on the dinner music list.

We also asked to include all of our classic favorites that had been sampled by modern artists, creating a mashup that got both the younger and older audiences out of their chairs.

The same goes for your wedding dress (or dresses!) When picking out your gown, decide what is most important to you. Do you want to be that classic bride or is this a time for you to create a wedding fashion moment? Working with a bridal team that is dedicated and passionate ensures you will have an experience that is unique to your specific needs.

 

Don’t Believe Wedding Myths

Everyone told us the day flies by, you don’t remember a thing, you don’t have a chance to eat. That was not the case at all on our day because we designed it to ensure we had time to sit back and relax, and we made very sure we enjoyed all of our food.

Every part of the wedding planning and wedding day experience can be planned the way you wish. We are forever grateful to our wonderful wedding planner Kristen for handling everything that popped up with ease, and taking care of every aspect of our wedding weekend and every moment leading up to it.

 

Skip Right Over Tradition

If you don’t want to include a particular wedding tradition, then skip it! We did not do a garter or bouquet toss (our incredible, impossibly sweet florist was none other than Karla of Karla Cassidy Designs), we decided on a pie bar (with apple cider donuts and ice cream) instead of wedding cake, and we made sure we wrapped up photos in time to attend our cocktail hour.

Because of that, we were able to greet each and every guest during that time and got to enjoy dinner and dancing.

We also skipped the sweetheart table. Who wants to have everyone staring solely at them? Not us. We opted instead for a siblings table with farm tables and our guests had a wonderful family-style dining experience. As we decided not to have a wedding party, my sister was my witness, my nephew the ring bearer, Dan’s best childhood friend John was his witness, and both of his sisters did readings.

Everyone was involved in our day, without the stress of me telling them what color or kind of dress to wear.

If the traditional dress appointment just isn’t for you, there are other options! Madeleine’s Daughter also offers a “the salon is yours” experience where you and your friends and family have the salon to yourselves to laugh, cherish, and remember this day in a way that is special to you.

 

Lean Into All the Imperfections

There are going to be little things that go wrong, expect it from the beginning and they won’t throw you off. Lean into them, laugh, and move on.

When my father kissed my cheek and shook Dan’s hand after walking me down the aisle, he stepped on my cathedral length veil which snapped my head back a bit. I could have been embarrassed or even felt a bit upset. Instead I chose to laugh it off and continue on without another thought.

Madeleine’s Daughter sets every one of their brides up with the tools to succeed. When you find your dress at MD, you are welcomed into the MDBride community of brides where everyone shares their tips, tricks, and advice on wedding planning.

Meaning once you’ve gotten your gown, they don’t just send you on your way like a lot of other bridal salons do.

 

Wedding planning is certainly not for the faint of heart. Please feel free to comment with any other questions you have or email me privately.

 

What was your biggest takeaway from your wedding day?

 

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