Wedding photos by the super talented Justin Salem Meyer

I'm a wife.

Back on March 7th of 2015 I married that tall, patient man I'm lucky enough to have as a roommate. On that day we promised to keep each other grounded, and to let each other dream big. And you guys, it's not always the easiest promise to keep, but we practice it, daily.

In retrospect everything seems simpler. I probably wouldn't have stressed about custom napkins or my non-traditional wedding get up or the weather. I would have let those weeks leading up to the wedding be filled with yoga and meditation and healthy eating. But alas, I'm not that relaxed of a human, ever. But I have no regrets about our big party. It was the very best day.

What advice do I have for brides prepping for their big day? I'm so glad you asked, people of the interwebs, because I have a few tips.

Decide what three things will make your night.
When the wedding planning starts it is SO easy to get overwhelmed with options. Paper goods, dresses, and the dreaded Pinterest: there are all the things. For us we narrowed it down to three things that were must-haves at the wedding for each of us. We picked one we agreed on (for us that was a dance party with our favorite local DJ) and went from there. After we narrowed down what was important it was easier to budget, and to make the choice to nix a few extras that just didn't matter to us.
Comfortable shoes are 100% the way to go.
I went for some fancy blue Ted Baker beauties, but should have stuck to wearing my favorite gold loafers (that just so happen to be from Old Navy). You will be standing, a lot. And why not keep your toes from swelling. Because your feet should be as happy as your heart on the wedding day.
Get personal.
My favorite parts of our wedding were the most personal: matchbooks I hand drew, fishing fly boutonnieres, desserts made with love by our friends, wedding photos of our guests hanging from the walls. And you know what, those are the things our guests remember the most too. The little bits of Kevin and Laura we sprinkled in were the most beautiful parts of the day [that and the Moscow Mules we served on your way into the ceremony.]
Write your thank you notes RIGHT AWAY [Seriously]
We failed on this. Big time. Instead of writing thank you notes, we took off and hit 33 states in our first year of marriage. Write your thank you notes as soon as possible - because thank yous are important and it's more fun to write them while riding your wedding high. [Shameless plug: if you need wedding thank you notes- I can help with that!]
Keep saying thank you.
A wedding is one day, a marriage is a lifetime. And while planning the wedding took work, so does being married. Yes we wrote thank you notes (very late), but our friends and family continue to support us as people and as a married couple, in so many ways. Keep saying thank you for that support. It matters.