Today marks FIVE years since Adam and I were married! In some ways it feels like yesterday, in others it was a million lifetimes ago. Our two beautiful girls keep us busy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!

For those that didn’t know me back then, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that I poured my heart and soul into our wedding. I’d been a wedding coordinator in college, planned events for my sorority, and was just all-around wedding obsessed. I guess that hasn’t changed much!

Almost everything we used for the wedding was handmade or locally sourced, carefully chosen to fit the “nautical-but-not-beachy” vibe that still defines our style now. Our wedding day was incredible and everything I ever dreamed it would be, but five years and even more time in the wedding industry have given me some new perspectives! So today, I’m sharing a few things I’d do differently if I could. Enjoy, and I hope this helps my brides in their planning!

Spend less money on food

At the time, food for the wedding was REALLY important to me. I cared about my guests’ experience and I wanted them to enjoy a good meal. And that’s not a bad thing! However, plated meals for 160+ adds up fast, and took up so much of the budget. If I could do it all over again, I’d choose a venue that allowed us to bring in the caterer of our choice. Did you know that Mission Barbecue caters weddings? WHY did I not know this five years ago?!

Spend more money on photography

That’s probably a given now that I’m a wedding photographer myself! I don’t mean the actual coverage itself, though. I wish we’d budgeted for a professionally designed album. Our amazing wedding photographer offered them, but we felt like we could just do it on our own using a consumer lab. So, so wrong! It took me SO MANY frustrating hours to design an album. The software that most consumer labs use is not user-friendly at all, so it was an incredibly daunting process. Once the album finally arrived, it was … underwhelming, at best. I’m sad to report that it’s already falling apart just five years later. It doesn’t hold a candle to the gorgeous professional heirloom albums I offer my clients now, that are practically indestructible and so beautiful. Someday I’ll order a better wedding album for us, but I really wish we’d just sprung for the heirloom album when we were first married, because who knows when I’ll actually get around to it?

Have a rain plan (that you’re happy with!)

The forecast looked perfect the whole week leading up to the wedding. Which was great, because we had absolutely NO rain plan for our completely-outdoors celebration. The rain plan was basically: it can’t rain. So of course, it MONSOONED the day of our wedding. The ceremony location was under several inches of water, and our first look happened in the pouring rain under a tent. Fortunately the rain cleared out just before the ceremony, but I would have been majorly bummed if we’d had to get married in the reception tent (the only possible option). My advice is to deal with the possibility of rain and make sure your venue has a backup plan that makes you happy. And remember: rain is good luck! It cleared out all the humidity and we had a beautiful evening.

Those are the big ones for me! I hope this was helpful! If you’re planning a 2019 wedding, let’s chat! I’d love to serve you on your wedding day.