January 2006

I Do's...and Don'ts

Recent brides give their best wedding advice on what worked and what went wrong.

by Loukia Borrell

Planning a wedding is easier said than done. Of course you want it to go well, but there are no guarantees it will be as perfect as you’ve always pictured. That’s why Hampton Roads Bride wants to help make it go as crisis-free as possible. We spoke with recent brides about the good and not-so-good things that happened on the day they were married. Take their advice to heart, and use it when planning your own big day.

Bride and Groom: Kim and Ryan Fitzgerald
Married: April 2005
Guests: Approximately 100
Location: Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

Photo Finish: Kim says the photography was great, but she wishes she had made a list of pictures she wanted. “The day moves so quickly. I would have liked to put a list together of people to have been photographed with,” she says.

Best Thing: Key vendors she hired knew each other and worked with each other before. “It made the day go smoothly. People were comfortable with each other,” she says.

Tips:

• Make time for yourself the day of the wedding. Don’t plan any events, like lunch with family or running errands.
• Think positive. Rain or shine, your day will be perfect.
• Don’t have one person doing all the hair and makeup for the bride, bridesmaids and mothers of the bride and groom. Hire several stylists so the bridal party doesn’t spend all day at the salon.
• Go to trunk shows—you will be more likely to find dresses that are unique. Don’t leave for your honeymoon right away. The Fitzgeralds waited a week so they could spend some time with out-of-town guests and not worry about packing and other travel details. During the wedding, “you just don’t get an opportunity to really visit with everybody,” Kim says.

Bride and Groom: Tracy and Chris Shiplett
Married: July 2005
Guests: About 150
Location: Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

Good ideas: Tracy’s father, Ron Hauk of Hampton, announced the bridal party. Tracy says, “it was a nice touch.”

Made to Order: Tracy’s dress was custom-made and turned out to be less expensive than ready-to-wear. She gave her dressmaker photos of dresses she liked and had features from them incorporated into her dress.

Boogie Nights: Tracy and Chris had their first dance, and then dinner was served before the father-daughter, mother-son dance. Tracy says the break in between the dances was meant to keep more people focused on the dance floor than wondering when dinner was going to be served.

Tip:

• Pick up tuxedos early in the day. It can be a time-consuming process, and in many cases, the garments have to be tried on again. Don’t try to cram in this errand just before the wedding or rehearsal dinner or you might find yourself racing the clock.

Bride and Groom: Devona and Donta Wade
Married: July 2005
Guests: 200
Location: Wedding—Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Temple, Hampton; Reception—Omni Hotel, Newport News

Making a List, Checking It Twice: Devona used a wedding checklist to help her keep track of progress on the wedding plans. “I was able to see what I had to do over the course of a month. It made things seem not so rushed,” she says.

The Dress: Devona didn’t want to go from store to store looking for a dress, so she decided she would stop looking for a dress as soon as she tried on one she liked. She visited one place and within four hours, had made a decision.

Circle of Love: Members of the wedding party formed a circle around Devona and Donta during their first dance as husband and wife. “I just wanted them to witness that because they are our closest friends,” Devona says.

Tips:

• If you are feeling nervous about your walk down the aisle, try wearing no-nonsense, ballerina-style flats or low heels for the ceremony and switch into more of a party shoe for the reception.
• Do those proverbial last-minute things ahead of time.

Bride and Groom: Rainey and Nate Chase
Married: August 2005
Guests: 160
Location: Wedding—Norfolk Botanical Garden; Reception—Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach

Great Idea: Rainey says the vendors she chose made all the difference for her. “I just had a really good vibe when I met them and knew they could make the wedding I wanted happen,” she says.

Veggie Tales: Rainey is a vegetarian. Her reception fare did not include meat and focused mostly on vegetables and pasta.

Rain or Shine: Rainey and Nate had an outdoor wedding, and it rained almost until the minute the wedding was to begin. “We kept going back and forth about whether or not to move it. The rain stopped literally minutes before we were there. That was nerve-wracking—the most stressful part of the wedding,” she says.

Tips:

• Keep a notebook with all your wedding information in it. It will help keep you organized.
• Consider ordering your invitations off the Internet or making your own. It’s a good way to save money and still have nice invitations.
• Don’t give up on what you want, even if it’s not in your budget. There is always a way around something.