Dream Day Memories

Saundra’s story:
"We were married at my aunt and uncle’s ranch in Amish country in Oklahoma. We wanted it to be personal, family-oriented and fun. We made the boutonnières out of braided wheat from my family's farm in Kansas, and my mother made homemade jams and jellies, tied with ribbons as place cards. I gathered copies of old wedding photos of each of our aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents and made them into wedding cards, with a handwritten note telling them how special they are to us and thanking them for everything they've done for us over the years."

Her tips:

Go pro with the photography. "The photography and the videography are areas you do NOT want to settle on. I know your Aunt Bertha says she can take your photos, but politely tell her no and hire a professional!"

This is your day, not your "year." "Try not to make the lives of everyone around you miserable in the months before the wedding, and they’ll be much more likely to celebrate wholeheartedly with you the day of the wedding, rather than trash talk you in the bathroom while you cut the cake."

Delegate, and don't worry! "When my girlfriends informed me that they had burned our pre-wedding lunch to a crisp, and filled the ‘honeymoon house’ with smoke, but saved my dress in the nick of time, I just laughed and let it go! Walt and I went out on the boat a few hours before the wedding, and made real memories for the day, rather than spending it worrying. I found out later that tornadoes had swept through Oklahoma that day, narrowly missing the ranch, but my family and friends had kept me blissfully unaware of the weather reports, and our day turned out perfect after all!"

Don’t procrastinate. "Do as much as you can before the ‘big day’ and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy it, rather than run around like a ninny. I took a walk by myself from the boat dock to my ‘cottage’ where I was supposed to already be getting ready. Those moments alone, walking across the hay meadow, just to breathe and to pray, are a special memory of that day. So what if my hair was still a bit damp when I walked down the grassy aisle? Oklahoma wind is the best hair dryer!!

Get a good band and forget about the dance lessons! "We took ballroom dance lessons for months before the wedding, and had ‘our song’ all picked out, but the studio put the wrong song on a CD for us. We went out for our first dance, and we pulled it off for about 30 seconds, all the while with me just trying to keep up and not fall flat on my face...then burst out laughing and cut the whole thing off. The videographer did such a great job—he put the dance in "slow motion" and dubbed another song over the ‘wrong" one.’ You’d never know how bad it all was!"