emily howard

publishing professional

The best wedding day advice from my friends

WeddingEmily HowardComment
Photo by Katelyn James, click photo for a link to our engagement shoot blog post!


Grant and I are THREE days away from our wedding (AH!) and as we're finishing final errands and details, I thought I'd seek out some sage wisdom for the day-of. 

While wedding blogs are a great resource for advice, I thought there was no better source or inspiration than asking the amazing women whose weddings I've been to over the years! Their advice is sweet and practical, and there was one theme that popped up over and over. Let me know what advice you have in the comments below!

Take it all in 

"Pre-plan a time during the reception to step away, completely away, with your new spouse and take a moment to take it all in. With all of the commotion and stress of the big day, this is the first opportunity you'll have to revel in the moment and your new marriage. Even if it's only for 60 seconds, take your moment." 

"Take a second to just sit with Grant alone and soak it all in without anyone else! That was the first moment it really felt real to me."

"My favorite moment was being in a room with him after the wedding ceremony was over and to savor a few minutes of alone time away from family and all the guests and just take in the huge commitment and milestone we just made!"

Even if it’s only for 60 seconds, take your moment.

"We snuck away to get a different vantage point of the wedding. We went off so we could watch all of our favorite people in one place having a blast together. It was so cool."

"Make sure you have a little alone time with hubby. We had about 5 minutes after we got married and it was so nice just being alone away from everyone."

"We went to the corner of the room and looked at everyone there who traveled to celebrate with us.. it really is so special."


"You will feel guilty for not spending more time with family and friends. They are OK with it and understand."

Take a moment with your parents! ... They’ve waited for this day their whole lives too.

"Take a moment with your parents! My photographer suggested that and I loved it. They've waited for this day their whole lives too."

"Everyone will react off of you. If you look like you're stressed, it will send weird vibes to everyone. You'll have fun so you don't have to worry about it."

"We had our dads as our witnesses to signing the license on the wedding day! So that was special."

"Have someone record Grant practicing his vows. I keep that video on my phone, and watch it whenever I get annoyed with him. It reminds me why I married him!"

"Other than pregnancy and sickness, never in your life will people be so willing to get you anything you want and wait on you hand and foot. It doesn't feel normal so don't feel bad and take advantage of it."

On food and drink

"Make sure you eat."

"Don't drink a milkshake and dance. It will curdle in your stomach."

"Good luck getting drunk. Even if you try, chances are it won't happen."

Shit's gonna happen

"You have to just accept that something WILL go wrong. I promise whatever it is, one day you'll laugh at it so it's not even worth letting it phase you on your wedding day. Roll with any surprises you may get! Everything that happens is what makes your day uniquely yours."

"Something will go wrong. Accept it. If it makes you cry, grab siblings, cry about it, then leave it in that room."

"It's so easy to get caught up and obsess over the details or worry about where so-and-so is because everyone wanders off at some point during the day. Let others do the running around for you."

The bottom line

"Don't sweat the small stuff if things didn't go exactly according to plan on the day of. If you and Grant are married at the end of the day, then everything went according to plan!"


THANK YOU dear friends for helping me keep my focus on what really matters on Saturday  getting married to my best bud and celebrating with everyone! :)