Your wedding day will be perfectly imperfect. Things will go wrong (i.e. the violinist getting a flat tire and running up as the ceremony starts to play his part; a flower girl tripping right before we are about to walk down the aisle and having a meltdown, the cake baker calling while you are at your bridesmaids' luncheon THE DAY BEFORE YOUR WEDDING and saying, "Now this is a birthday cake, right?" etc.), but those things won't matter because at the end of the day, all of your favorite people are in one place and you are marrying your best friend. So you may end up eating fried chicken out of a bucket with a napkin-bib stuffed down your wedding dress (you can't make this stuff up), but it will also be the best day ever.

So, this is not a list about choosing the right flowers or caterer or picking a band over a DJ. Your big day will be perfectly imperfect and completely yours.  

Besides booking yours truly for wedding invitations and signage (obviously), I always find myself giving brides the same pieces of advice (and none have to do with the actual wedding day). You may think these are no-brainers, but I am going to pass along these tips nonetheless...

1. Pack a Breakfast

If you have an early flight out the next morning, you will probably have to leave before the hotel breakfast opens. And yes-- if you want to wake up even earlier to grab something at the airport, knock yourself out (Preferably, I would like every second of sleep I can get). Our caterer was nice enough to pack us some to-go boxes, but eating chicken salad in bed at 4 AM isn't exactly ideal. A protein bar would've probably tasted better. 

2. Lock Up Your Valuables

We were incredibly naïve and didn't lock up the cash we brought to the Dominican Republic. We stayed in a nice, all-inclusive resort and the staff was extremely friendly; it never even crossed my mind to be worried about leaving the room with my purse still inside. Insert panic on the third day of our honeymoon when we realize all of our money has been taken out of my purse and Kevin's wallet (which was buried in a pair of pants in his suitcase). People will steal without hesitation, y'all. It's sad but true.

3. Don't Go Parasailing

Because after we got all of our cash stolen, we obviously hadn't learned our lesson and thought, "Yeah, let's go parasailing in a foreign country!" I'm not a safety-obsessed person, but I'm pretty sure our parasailing instructor nor their procedures would have cut it in the U.S.. We received no instruction, hopped from one boat to another, and were up in the air before we knew what was happening. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful. But as my husband said once our feet were back on the ground, "I've seen stronger ropes in my dad's garage." Not a good feeling.

Photos by Rebecca Long Photography from our wedding day, June 2013