The Top 14

My brides are always asking me what my best advice is and what tips could I give them. The truth is that every bride, every groom, every wedding, every marriage is so different that it's hard for my advice and my tips to canvass everyone in the same manner. But I'll take a shot at it here. No worries...there will be plenty more tips to come, but I'll start with these. :)

Danica's Wedding Tips

1. Plan for the marriage, not for the wedding


2. It's YOUR day! If parents are paying, yes, they get a say in how money is spent, but if you don't like it....don't take their money. It's YOUR day!


3. No, you do not need to invite someone to your wedding just because you were invited to their wedding five years ago.


4. Face it...most grooms don't care about wedding planning. Please don't force them to be involved in every single detail. Let them decide what they want to be involved with. You'll get much more out of them this way.


5. If your venue only holds 200 people max, please don't invite 300 people and then just hope that 100 RSVP 'no'.


6. Treat people kindly when planning. This may be your special day, but kindness doesn't simply go out the window just because you are a bride.


7. If you've hired reputable vendors, let them do their jobs. Micro-managing vendors is not a good start to a great wedding reception.


8. Negotiate with vendors. The worst they can say is 'no'.


9. If you can't handle the planning, don't want to plan, don't have time to plan...hire someone to do it for you or enlist a trusted and organized friend/family to assist.


10. Please try to be a happy bride on your Big Day!


11. Remember that all that matters is that the couple and the officiant show up that day. The rest of the details, while nice, simply won't matter in 50 years.


12. Stay organized with your planning and get as much done ahead of time as possible.


13. Trust your gut on every aspect of your planning, but don't over analyze the shade of purple a million times.


14. Not everyone is going to be interested in hearing about your wedding. Try to schedule a girl's night out every once in a while and don't talk wedding!