From a Marriage Celebrant & Wedding DJ: A Few Do's & Don'ts For Your Wedding Day

Whether it's from wedding celebrants, wedding planners, florists, photographers, stylists, there's no shortage of advice out there for what you should and should not do for your wedding day. But that's not going to stop me from throwing my 2 cents in yet again. Here's my humble opinion as a marriage celebrant on some stuff you should do, and some stuff to avoid, in no particular order:

DON'T get too hung up on male or female when it comes to your bridal party. People's closest friends are mostly the same gender as them, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if your bestie happens to be of the opposite sex, don't feel like they can't be your best woman or man of honour! You're never gonna look back on your wedding photos and regret the time you bent the rules of tradition to include a close friend in your moment.

DO think about the angle of the sun when deciding where to get married. We all love a good sunset in WA, so it's only natural some of us try to squeeze one into our wedding ceremony. Don't get me wrong, as a wedding celebrant I've been involved in many ceremonies with the sun setting in the background, and it looks great on the day! But intense backlighting is kryptonite for wedding photos, and even the best photographer is going to have a hell of a time editing ceremony photos with the sun bursting in from behind you.

DON'T buy non-biodegradable confetti. Yes, it's probably cheaper, but if you're getting married in natural surrounds there's a good chance that biodegradable confetti is required by the venue. And even if it isn't, using synthetic confetti is just a nicer looking way to litter! Check out Whole Bride, there's a great range of confetti there that won't end up anywhere it shouldn't.

DO use confetti though. It makes for amazing photos and you'll definitely regret it if you don't!

DON'T assume a cocktail-style setup is a magic bullet for a more social wedding. If you've only been to a few weddings, it might seem obvious that cocktail means people will be moving around more, so they're more likely to socialise, dance and have fun, right? Not really! One thing I've noticed in my years as a marriage celebrant and wedding dj is this: anyone who loves to get on the dancefloor isn't gonna let being seated a table for dinner stop them, and guests will naturally move around to socialise regardless of the table setup. But if you do go with a cocktail setup, make sure there's still plenty of seating available - nobody's gonna dance if their legs are tired.

DO hand-write your vows or get your wedding celebrant to print them out (if they don't already do this for you), by which I mean…

DON'T read your vows off your phone!! There's no way to look nice holding an iphone in a wedding photo, there just isn't.

Obviously there's plenty more do's and don'ts when it comes to getting married, so if you've got any questions, shoot me an email or slide into my dm's!