Advice From A Real Bride An Downtown Phoenix Icehouse Wedding

March 12, 2022

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Hi there! Welcome to the Fully Alive Photography blog, a journal about our clients, shoots, and my own personal life. Stay a while and say hello!

Hello, I'm Tracy

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Advice From A Real Bride An Downtown Phoenix Icehouse Wedding

Hello beautiful readers! Thank you so much for coming to my blog space!

Today I have such a beautiful downtown phoenix icehouse wedding to share AND our lovely bride Sarah actually wrote this blog post for me!!!!

Sarah gives us some seriously great and personal advice! and it’s SO good so keep reading, but first, let’s start with Sarah & Graemes story! And I hand it over to Sarah!

“Graeme and I met in a very modern way- thank you online dating.

He came out of the gates hot with a message I couldn’t resist (it was football smack talk). We met in August of 2016, had our first date that following month, and have been inseparable since. For those reading along, Graeme is the Old English way of spelling Graham. I learned how to pronounce his name on our first day. I usually call him G.
Fast forward to Christmas Day 2019- G PROPOSED! He asked in the heart of Downtown Detroit in front of hundreds of people watching- heâ€™s so brave! Graeme wanted to make sure we had a place that we could always go back and visit that meant something special to us. He is from Michigan originally so it makes his home state that much more special.

We share a lot in common.

Such as we love to be outdoors, riding our bikes, cooking together, hosting game nights, playing crash bandicoot, and dessert- SO much love and appreciation for dessert in this family. We also love taking Slug, our pug, out for walks and on new adventures.

After a little over five years of us being together, we have officially tied the knot. We were stuck in the wedding planning phase for 2 years- thank you COVID.

I loved the wedding planning process. There were so many moments along the way that I will forever cherish. It is (wildly) expensive but the photos, videos, and memories are so worth it. I also learned quite a bit before, during, and after all the events. Here are a few of my biggest takeaways:

1. It is your day.

One of the hardest things can be navigating the constant opinions you will receive. I suggest keeping your circle small and consistent to avoid confusion and maintain consistency.

2. Navigating wedding planning during a global pandemic is HARD.

There are SO many different variables that you have to take into consideration. The only thing you can do is what’s best for you and allow individuals to decide what’s best for them.

3. No matter how hard you try you cannot plan for every possible thing that can (and might) go wrong.

You should hire a vendor team that you trust and work well with. Things will likely go wrong but a strong vendor team can recover without you and your guests noticing. Connect and ask a lot of questions to make sure you both are well prepared and set up for success.

4. Listen to your groom.

The grooms don’t always want to be included in every detail or decision but they might have a few things that are important to them. Do not assume he does not want to be involved or he will always be as involved as you. Ask and when he provides an idea, listen.

5. No one really talks about what happens after everything is over.

The emotions will flood and the ‘wedding blues’ will creep in. You spend so much time building this day and it goes by faster than you can imagine. Slow down whatever you can and soak it all in. The following days will be hard. Allow yourself to go through the emotions but fill the days after with all your favorite things for some extra happiness. Don’t harp on what went wrong. There is nothing you can do to change it.

6. Lastly, allow yourself some grace.

You are a bride… who is also human. You physically cannot plan, remember or do everything by yourself. Allow yourself to ask for help. Allow yourself room to make mistakes and allow yourself the understanding when plans change. The wedding planning game is hard enough. Don’t sweat the small stuff and remember what the day is about. It will all come together how it should 🙂

You got this and happy wedding planning!”

Okay friends! Is Sarah and amazing writer or what???? She’s also an amazing person and you can learn more about how we became friends in her engagement blog HERE.