What I would have done differently
I recently celebrated four years since I said ‘I Do’ and it got me thinking about the actual day and how far we have come since then. I live a pretty chaotic life and in the space of four years I have had two baby boys, a full time job, part time lecturing and keeping on top of this blog and all it entails. Life passes so quickly and its so easy to get caught up in just getting through the day mode. To celebrate our four year anniversary, we took an evening to ourselves to actually properly eat a dinner without running after a toddler and wrestling solids in to my baby…….so glam! It’s the little wins these days.
Anyway, back to four years ago…..what would I have done differently…….believe it or not…..quite a few things.
Decor wise etc, very little. I was really happy with the decor and my DIY efforts. I may have got a photo-booth if they were around but it was actually more of the emotional things that I would have approached differently
- Speeches: My husband couldn’t enjoy his meal along with my Dad and his best man. Everyone was wound up. It was horrible. I would have done speeches before the meal and in a less formal manner. No top table big audience, more along the lines of standing around in the courtyard. I was so conscious from my hotel days that if the speeches went over it would affect the quality of the food but we had a BBQ and cooked to order so it was a non-issue! Lesson learnt.
- My Speech: I really really really regret not getting up and doing a speech. This one really sits with me. Given the level of work I put in to the wedding, I really wish I said a few words. I think some of the guests expected it too.
- Delegation: I wish I delegated more and sooner. I did so much myself and the few days before the wedding, I wasn’t prepared enough to allocate jobs to people. If I could go back, a month prior, I would have set out jobs for others so as to take the pressure off me in the week of the wedding.
- Us Time: We had some short time before the dinner to ourselves but other than that we probably didn’t properly see each other until we set off on Honeymoon. I can’t reiterate enough….take time out for just you two on the day. Have at least a full drink together.
- Drank More Water: I was running around so much and definitely not looking after myself enough. I was so dehydrated on the day and as we know, when dehydration hits, you get tired. I ended up in bed by 1am.
- Bridal Party: I had my nearest and dearest as my bride squad but I really should have asked my friend Sandra aka Doris too…..to be fair, she’s god mother to one of my children now.
- Milked Dress Shopping: I found my first wedding dress on Pinterest and bought it when I went to Vegas as it couldn’t be sourced within the EU. It was a Vera Wang. I loved it initially but the more i tried it on, I just realised it wasn’t me. I was at the Wedding Journal Show in City West and by chance my bridesmaid Sharon spotted a Tea Length dress which wasn’t readily available at the time. I always had in my head that I wanted a Tea Length. Anyway, I ended up buying that dress then and there. I spent a few months shopping for my sister in laws wedding dress and it was such an occasion and really wished I did more dress shopping. I also feel bad that my mum didn’t get to enjoy that process.
- Honeymoon: I wish I spent less time in Orlando and more time in Cancun. Orlando was ‘alright’….not ideal for honeymoon but the outlets were great.
Other than that, I had a pretty phenomenal wedding day and if you want to read more about my DIY wedding, Click Here!
