If You Plan to Bake = Get Ingredients Delivered

My husband and I decided to save money and ensure we would have 100% organic baked goods at our dessert receptions by baking the desserts ourselves. We started about two weeks out with things that could easily be frozen and baked about one thing a day. It was a much bigger project than I imagined (you will be amazed at how many last minute details pop up that need to be dealt with RIGHT THEN and will suck your time away). The thing that made it doable was the fact that we were able to get many of the organic ingredients (apples,dried cranberries, milk, butter, bananas, carrots, etc.) delivered. We did one big shop at Whole Foods and then the supplemental Peapod order that saved the day.

Although not available in all parts of the country - I highly recommend using Peapod or a similar delivery service - like Fresh Direct - the week before your wedding, even if you are not doing the cooking. They also offer organic yoghurt, cereal, eggs and other staples.

Handmade Dress Fiasco

Even if you are good at sewing or have a close friend that is it might be best to let a professional make your wedding dress. A friend of mine is a designer and I hired her to make my dress. It ended up being more expensive than I expected and did not fit perfectly. Needless to say it was a very tough situation. - Anonymous

Note from Kate: If you do want to use a friend - or anyone really - it is probably wise to ask them to make you something else first. If they do a great job you can ask them to do the dress. If you are less than thrilled they don't even need to know you were thinking about asking. Also, If you sew yourself and you really want to be involved, but don't want the pressure of making a perfect dress, you can have someone else make the foundation of the dress(or buy a very simple dress) and do the embellishment by hand yourself.

Wedding Co-op = Brilliant

And now for a small excerpt from my book:

I don’t know who thought of the wedding co-op first, but it was immortalized in the “Offbeat Bride,” by Ariel Meadow Stallings and I love the idea. In a wedding co-op like-minded brides pool their resources to buy generic items that can be reused at each of their weddings. Participating in a wedding co-op (no matter how informal) decreases your costs and your ecological footprint in one fell swoop. It is probably easiest to do a co-op if you are getting married the same year as a number of your friends, but with the Internet, you can establish or join one in almost any community. Good co-op items include glasses, vases, folding chairs, tablecloths and napkins. When the last wedding is over, the co-op can resell the stuff and split the money evenly. You can also use the co-op to save on labor expenses if all of the brides pitch in and help set-up/break-down each others’ weddings. Genius I tell you – genius.

Take your honeymoon "off season"

If you go on your honeymoon off season - even one or two weeks before or after the peak - you can save a lot of money (about 40% on average) and still have good weather. To find off-season deals on flights click here: Off-Season Travel Deals

Buy a few extra

If you plan to bring your own glassware (vases, dishes, etc.) make sure to buy a few extra in case a few break en route. When you have extras be sure to add a note to the container you bring them in so whoever sets the items out knows they have not miscounted. The same "extra" principle goes for flower girl baskets, favors, gifts, etc. The day of our wedding we added an impromptu "bell boy" (little boy ringing a bell) as well as a flower girl. Having the extra supplies spared tears and allowed us to seamless integrate the tots into the event.

Do NOTHING new - and be careful!

Here are ten things you should not do the week before your wedding (collected from real life tragedies):

1. Try a new food (hello allergic reaction)
2. Wax anything you have never waxed before (bumpy red irritated skin... and itching)
3. Cook in the middle of the night (hello second degree burns - on my face!)
4. Overeat (it is a tight white dress after all)
5. Starve (it can be a loose white dress if you are not careful - and you can faint)
6. Do anythings too sporty (although the cast is white too - it just doesn't look so good with the dress)
7. Try new makeup (see number 1 and number 3)
8. Get a hair cut from a new beautician (I think this one is a no brainer)
9. Stay awake and worry (no makeup can hide truly dark circles)
10. Forget that it is just a party (down Brideziila! - down girl!).

SLEEP!

My husband and I planned a three day destination wedding with events that started Friday night and went straight through until Monday afternoon. Because we were so busy with last minute planning and organizing neither of us slept for the three nights leading up to the wedding. By the time guests started to arrive I was ready to go to sleep and by Monday morning, when all of the adrenaline had worn off, I felt physically ill. You wedding is such an incredible time, and there are so many people you will want to spend time with that you need to be well rested to really enjoy it. Do whatever it takes to get the rest and time off you need leading up to the big day! You will want to remember every moment - an impossible task if you are only half awake.

Reader Comment:
Although many brides opt for a prescription sleep aid - there are a number of natural ways to ensure a good night sleep. The most natural way to sleep is to avoid afternoon caffeine, exercise and practice deep breathing. If that doesn't work, and it never does for me, you can do what I do and take an herbal supplement like Valerian. Works like a charm.


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Let it go

Many brides report that they felt disproportionately sad or angry (a la bridezilla) when something went awry on their wedding day (and something always does). Instead of obsessing over the fact that the topiaries are in the wrong place, the frosting is the wrong color or the programs didn't get distributed just LET IT GO. Your wedding is an amazing day - an opportunity to spend time with friends and family and to enjoy all of your hard work. Think about how amazing it is to be getting married and to be sharing the day with all of your loved ones. They won't care that your first dance was to the "wrong" song or that the aisle runner was missing so neither should you. Just do your best to get everything organized before hand and then let it all go on the day of your wedding and just have fun!

Cleanup advice = communicate

One thing that I learned from our wedding was that no matter how good your intentions are it is essential to give the cleanup crew a list of what you want saved (the candles, the chargers, the framed table numbers, etc.) or some recyclable/reusable/resalable things WILL go into the trash can.  We lost almost $1000 worth of dishes and decorations because of bad communication!