Before You Get Married

Back towards the beginning of the 2006 wedding season I got hitched. Since then I've been to half-a-dozen more weddings as a bunch of friends (and family -- mine is huge!) tied the knot too and let me tell you, going to all those weddings is a lot of work! Especially when you're in some of them. But actually being the bride or groom is harder by a longshot.

And so, although this year's wedding season is just about over, I've got a few indispensable tips for next season's lovebirds.

1 ) Write down every task that needs to get done for the wedding. Flowers, Favors, Reception Hall, everything. Be clear about who is responsible for each task. Most problems begin with poor communication, so doing this will help cut many problems off at the source.

2 ) Don't decide to take care of [insert any wedding-related task here] next week. You're going to let it go until the last minute and then you'll be kicking yourself and going nuts. This closes in on 100% probability exponentially as the number of tasks you put off rises. If you have more than 3 tasks you're not taking care of right away, one of them is almost definitey going to come back to bite you in the backside.

3 ) If you haven't set a date yet, set one as far off as possible and stick to it. Just remind yourself of #2 every week.

4 ) Be careful with your money. You'll be spending quite a lot of it between the reception hall, the florist, Band/DJ, etc. All that other stuff is local, but some of the stuff you can take care of on the web quickly, easily, and most importantly, cheaply. I recommend http://www.GiftsAndOtherwise.com for cheap groomsmen gifts and bridesmaid gifts. Their stuff is nice and they guarantee the lowest price. Since chances are you're not buying all that stuff right at this moment, bookmark that site for future reference so you don't forget. In fact, you should probably make a bookmark/favorites folder called "Wedding Resources" or something so you have all your wedding stuff in one place. I suppose that's tip 4 1/2 actually.

5 ) The final, and perhaps most important piece of advice I have for you is this: stay out of politics. I'm quite serious. The complaints and feuds that pop up between families, and yes, even future spouses, are inevitable. Oh, sure! Right now you're saying to yourself that won't happen to you because your family/relationship is different. Let me be the first to dispel that illusion. It'll happen to you so be prepared for it and come up with a couple of ready-made plans to calm flaring tempers.

I can't promise that if you follow the above guidelines that everything will be just swell and you won't have any problems, but at the very least you will have fewer. Good luck. :)

That's it!

Alex Daniels is a wedding consultant for Gifts and Otherwise, an online retailer of cheap wedding favors.Anita Blog88604
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