Top Three Mistakes Many Brides Make

We’ve all heard stories of the overbearing, obnoxious bride who demands everyone bow to her because, after all, SHE’S THE BRIDE.

Bridesmaids hide in the closet to escape from her. The groom works late shifts to avoid her. Even her mother doesn’t know how to deal with her.

When we hear of this bride … one word comes to mind.

Uhm. No. That’s not the “b” word I was thinking of …

It is Bridezilla.

Bridezilla is the bride who thinks she is the only woman who ever got married and feels as if the world owes her the wedding of her dreams.

But she isn’t the only “bride” we’ve seen with issues.

Here are the top three brides most often seen, the mistakes they make and tips on how to avoid becoming one of them.

1. SuperBride
Whether it comes from guilt at asking too much of others or out of egotistical pride at always doing everything well, many brides fail when it comes to asking for help-and they turn into SuperBride.

I was one of them. Almost.

See, I am usually the one other brides come to when they need help or have wedding-related questions, so it was hard for me to relinquish duties to others.

An easy solution for this bride is to ask friends or family members to help with
some of the DIY items or ask for help in researching certain aspects of the wedding.

2. The Incredible Shrinking Bride
So you’ve always dreamed of your special day, imagined the cake, the flowers, the dress-and thought, most of all, of how YOU would look when you walk down the aisle.

This is absolutely normal.

All brides want to look their best and we want to hear our guests gasping “Oh! She is just beauuutiful” as we march down the aisle. But that doesn’t mean we should go on crash diets, live at the gym or pledge to eat only cabbage soup until the Big Day.

Focusing too much on losing pre-wedding weight can add to an already stressful situation, can put a strain on your relationships and can easily spiral out of control.

Making life changing habits, such as healthy eating and regular exercise is one thing, trying to lose too much weight, too fast-just for your wedding day-is a mistake.

To help keep yourself on track from becoming this bride, try to eat more fruit and vegetables, exercise when you can and focus on a healthy lifestyle. In addition, considering purchasing a gown that has a corset back. These dresses fit brides one size larger and one size smaller than the dress size, thus eliminating the worry of whether your dress will fit on your Big Day.

3. The I-Can-Do-Anything-at-the-Last-Minute Bride
Thinking you can do anything the morning of your wedding, including place cards, flowers or decorating, is a mistake. Believe me, no matter what time your wedding starts, you won’t feel like you have enough time in the day to do the things you have to do-like shower, visit with your friends, have your hair done. You don’t want to add anything on top of this.

If there are certain things you feel must be done the morning of your wedding, get your friends and family members involved, create a detailed list and delegate. You’ll be glad you did.

What other mistakes do you think brides often make when planning their weddings? What advice can you offer them?

Photo courtesy of RockSee

Tips for an Informal Wedding

Extravagant ceremonies, huge numbers of people, food you don't recognize - these things are not for your wedding. You want it to be simple, informal and yet welcoming to all your guests. Don't skimp - it's your wedding after all, but there are many ways you can save and still have an informal, simple and stunning wedding when all is said and done.

1. Keep the guest list small.

If you can pull this one step off, the cost for just about everything else will go down and everything will be fairly simple in comparison. Invite only those relatives and friends who mean the most to you.

I realize that it’s customary to invite everyone your parents ever met and with whom you had a passing acquaintance, but when my cousin got married she limited her guest list to close relatives (the furthest out was first cousins of both parents) and close friends. She could have invited dozens and dozens more and ended up with a list of 150 when it could easily have emulated another cousin's list of 600. She was able to eat, spend time with all her guests and enjoy her day.

2. Use printable wedding invitations.

Traditional wedding invitations have a couple different envelopes, tissue paper, some other paper, and that’s all before you even get to the invitation itself. So printable invitations, from your printer, on stock stationary from an office supply store will save you lots of money and will enable you to personalize each invitation. Just because you are informal doesn't mean you can't be elegant.

3. Keep the wedding reception menu simple - and catered.

The biggest cost is usually food. Keep it to a reasonable level by not having an extravagant, fancy dinner. Remember the rule of three - three courses, three choices, three colors, etc. Keep your desserts simple as well. You are spending a fortune on the wedding cake, so serve it! Ask friends and family members to make some other desserts for the dessert buffet.

Except for dessert, however, make sure you have your wedding catered. Don't expect your family to cook food for 150 or so people and still want any part of you. And face it - you aren't going to have the time either. Hire folks to cook the food, serve it and clean up afterwards. If you are at a hall or another venue - restaurant, bed and breakfast or other locale that caters to weddings - it will be part of your expense.

4. Beat the wedding bell blues - delegate.

Just because your family is off the hook for cooking, recruit them to help you. This will save a fortune on wedding planners. There are many little details that need to be taken care of, and if you try to do everything yourself, you’ll be running around like crazy. Instead, allow others to help out, delegate certain tasks, and when they do them, check them off your list. It makes life a lot easier and less stressful.

Tomorrow, I'll talk about more ways to have an informal wedding that won't break the bank.