Real advice: the best wedding planning tips from brides who've been there

Did I mention that I'm kind of a professional wedding attender? Since graduating college last May, I've attended nine weddings. When I got engaged, I felt like I had somewhat of an idea what the next months would entail, as I'd just seen so many friends go through the process.

But some folks will tell you that everything you think you know about wedding planning is wrong. Dead wrong.

And, oftentimes, you will get advice – lots of advice. Lots of different advice. Everyone from your great aunt to the cake lady at that wedding show you attended last weekend will have something to say about your planning.

But it's hard to know what applies best to your individual situation. I've had people inform me that I am so far behind in my wedding planning that I'll be lucky to find any vendors open for my date. And then I've heard I'm right on track or even ahead of the game. So, how do you sort out the bad advice from the good advice?

The best place to start is asking those you are close to and whom you trust. I simply sent out a Facebook message to the new brides whose weddings I attended last year and asked for their wisdom. These gorgeous girls all planned a wedding in 2012, so their advice is fresh and authentic. We'll start with three tried-and-true tips:

"One of the most difficult things can be managing everyone's expectations (e.g. moms and mother-in-laws). My suggestion would be to determine a few things that are not incredibly important to you, and let that be something that they can take care of and 'own' (e.g. wedding cake, minor decoration details, etc.)."
— Stacey Macri

"Shop at Goodwill/other thrift stores! I like Goodwill a bit more than the normal person, but it's definitely cheaper and more unique to find things there! The candelabra centerpieces at our wedding were all from Goodwill, and they were SO much cheaper than ordering them new online. Plus, we knew we were going to return them anyways (because who needs 20 candelabras?), so we just gave them all back to Goodwill after the wedding."
— Leanne Fuhs

"Have specific days/evenings/weekends where you DON'T talk about ANYTHING wedding-related! It was so much easier to accomplish things and enjoy planning when we knew exactly what we had to get one Friday and that we wouldn’t be doing anything Saturday! It also helped us stay normal as a couple and gave us time to focus on 'marriage planning.' I joked a lot that we spent so much time wedding planning we didn’t have time left for marriage planning, which is way more important!"
— Samantha Wallace

You'll be hearing more from these women as we go along, and you'll also hear advice from the professionals. My hope is that this series will result in a real, helpful, confidence-boosting conversation about what works and doesn't work in wedding planning.

That means we need to hear from you, too. What was the best (or worst!) wedding planning advice you received when it was your turn? Leave a comment or send me an email at jessica@todayspublications.com. I'd love to feature your advice on my next post. (Seriously, help a sister out – I am young and naïve!)

Also, if you are in need of a goofy person to attend your upcoming wedding, I am currently booking for 2013.

— Jessica Smith, Assistant Editor/Designer