Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

Bri
Dedicated August 2018

Better late than ever B.a.m

Bri, on January 21, 2019 at 1:35 PM Posted in Married Life 0 51
Better late than never BAM.
I got married August 24 which was a Friday. We had a 6:30pm start which allowed guest to miss rush hour traffic as our venue was downtown . I know alot of people have qualms about Friday weddings but only a few guest declined. I would say if you can save money having a Friday wedding go for it !

Our wedding was at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cleveland. We invited 64 guest ; 57 rsvp'd yes,6 declined,1 no show. No shows suck!! Our venue coordinator advised us to underestimate our final count to accommodate no shows. Thank you for that tip!
We decided to spend the night before together at the hotel. I know alot of people dont agree with this but it was a perfect way for us to relax and practice our first dance lol.

Our wedding day was pretty stress free. I got up around 7am and was off to the hair salon by 8am. I was back to the hotel by noon . We had a few sandwich trays and snacks in our room to munch on. This was a big hit because everyone apparently forgot to eat . Make sure you eat even if you arent hungry.
The make up artist and photographer both arrived around 2pm . At that point the groom was kick out and sent to his moms room to get ready. Our first look/pre ceremony pictures were scheduled for 4pm. Those took about 2 hours. We were back to the hotel by 6pm. I let the photographer take full control of all things photo wise. She was amazing!!

To my surprise majority of our guest were already seated at 6pm. Our folks are always late so I was excited. Our ceremony started promptly at 6:30pm and lasted about 30 minutes . After the ceremony the hotel staff had drinks waiting for us ! Yay!!big bonus. I was finally able to take off my 4 inch heels and put on my Kate Spade Keds !! This was by far my best wedding purchase . If you are on the fence about comfy shoes . Do it !

We took family photos at the start cocktail hour. Those took about 30 minutes, so were able to mingle with our guest afterwards. For cocktail hour we had a full open bar and 2 signature drinks. Our yummy appetizers included; mini beef wellingtons, veggie spring rolls, chicken satay and bruschetta crostini. Having great food and drinks were so important to us so we splurged a lot here.
Our reception was held in a separate ballroom from the ceremony. That was hubby's only request. Separate rooms within the same venue. I highly recommend using one venue if at all possible. It's so much more convenient and saves time.
There was one small snag at the start of reception. I forgot to double check the placecards so an entire table was missing! I did have a mini freak out but the venue coordinator handled it. No biggie. We served a plated dinner . Our guest picked from either a semi boneless chicken breast or bonless braised beef short ribs with garlic mash and roasted carrots . For dessert, we had 5 different types of cupcakes. Everything was really delicious. It didnt taste like the typically wedding banquet food which was my biggest concern.
If you want a party at your reception hire a great DJ! Our DJ had the dance floor full all night long. I was terribly afraid no one would dance because we had such a small guest list. So bonus points for the DJ. One issue only I noticed was the DJ went didnt follow the timeline. So we had our first dance way before we should've but no one knew!
During the cake cutting my husband fed himself cake instead of me lol! That was hilarious . He said he didnt know he was supposed to feed me. We have it on video so he will never live that down. That leads me to say if you can in anyway figure out how to have a videographer or have some record your event. Please do so! Pictures are great but videos capture everything. We had an amateur videographer, who did a really great job. I was always anti-wedding video and I have watched ours 6 times ! So if you think you wont watch it, trust me you will.
My last piece of advised would be to enjoy every minute of your day. Eat your dinner, drink a few drinks and dance the night away because it will go so fast. No one will know if the cake cutting was supposed to be after the toast or if you wear sneakers under your dress. Dont stress the small stuff. The only thing that matters is that you married your forever person!!

Now some pictures.



Better late than ever B.a.m 1

Better late than ever B.a.m 2

Better late than ever B.a.m 3

Better late than ever B.a.m 4

Better late than ever B.a.m 5

Better late than ever B.a.m 6

Better late than ever B.a.m 7

Better late than ever B.a.m 8

Better late than ever B.a.m 9

Better late than ever B.a.m 10

Better late than ever B.a.m 11

Better late than ever B.a.m 12

Better late than ever B.a.m 13

Better late than ever B.a.m 14

Better late than ever B.a.m 15

Better late than ever B.a.m 16

Better late than ever B.a.m 17

Better late than ever B.a.m 18

Better late than ever B.a.m 19

Better late than ever B.a.m 20

Better late than ever B.a.m 21

Better late than ever B.a.m 22

51 Comments

Latest activity by Alyrae, on January 11, 2020 at 7:26 PM
  • Kenisha
    Champion June 2019
    Kenisha ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Congratulations 🎊🎉🍾🎈 You had a beautiful wedding 👰🏽 Thank you for the advice.
    • Reply
  • Bri
    Dedicated August 2018
    Bri ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    More pictures

    Better late than ever B.a.m 23

    Better late than ever B.a.m 24

    Better late than ever B.a.m 25

    Better late than ever B.a.m 26

    Better late than ever B.a.m 27

    Better late than ever B.a.m 28

    Better late than ever B.a.m 29

    Better late than ever B.a.m 30

    Better late than ever B.a.m 31
    • Reply
  • Katie
    Dedicated October 2019
    Katie ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Congratulations! You look so beautiful and it sound alike you've had an amazing day!!!!!!
    • Reply
  • Arkilia
    Super November 2021
    Arkilia ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    You look amazing and your groom looks handsome. Better late than never lol. Congratulations
    • Reply
  • Grace
    Super May 2019
    Grace ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Your wedding looks like a dream 😍! The photos turned out amazing, your decor is stunning, your make up is lovely, your dress is to die for, you both look SO happy... congratulations!!!
    • Reply
  • Victoria
    VIP October 2018
    Victoria ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Beautiful! You're dress was gorgeous! As we're you and your new husband. 😊

    What's the story behind your Cookie monster cupcakes? (If that's what they are...)
    • Reply
  • Cadence
    Dedicated August 2019
    Cadence ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I'm so glad it went so well for you; everything looks gorgeous. Many wishes for your continued happiness.

    • Reply
  • Cierra
    Devoted October 2020
    Cierra ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    CONGRATS!! Your pictures all look beautiful, and you can truly see the joy on both of your faces!!! May you have nothing but happiness in your marriage!! ❤
    • Reply
  • Danielle K
    VIP June 2019
    Danielle K ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    What a beautiful wedding! Sounds and looks like it was such an amazing day! Congratulations!!

    • Reply
  • MrsD
    Legend July 2019
    MrsD ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Great advice & congratulations! My fiance are spending the night before together also, I think it will be nice. I'm glad everything went on schedule & according to plan for you!

    • Reply
  • Kelly
    Legend October 2022
    Kelly ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Congratulations, Bri!!! Smiley ring Everything looks so beautiful, I love the colors!!! You look stunning, your dress and shoes are amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing with us! Best wishes to you! Smiley heart

    • Reply
  • A
    Dedicated June 2019
    Alejandra ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Everything looks so beautiful! i LOVE your dress! I think I bought the same heels as you for my wedding! Are they from Jcpenney?? Were they comfortable??? I'm debating buying another pair with a shorter heel just because i don't typically wear heels and i'm worried I might get tired of wearing them. I also love your wedding guest "book".
    • Reply
  • Jayla
    Champion October 2025
    Jayla ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Wow your photos are so beautiful and you look amazing!!! I love your dress and both of the shoes that you wore, they were so cute! The decor looked great!

    Congratulations BriSmiley heart

    • Reply
  • Martha
    Devoted September 2019
    Martha ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    So beautiful, and I love your dress! Congrats!
    • Reply
  • Erika
    Expert April 2019
    Erika ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Congratulations. I love your photos.

    • Reply
  • Mrs. J Robinson
    Super March 2019
    Mrs. J Robinson ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Omg! Beautiful! Congrats!!
    • Reply
  • Sherry
    Master September 2019
    Sherry ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Great tips and congratulations. The wedding looked beautiful!!

    • Reply
  • H
    Savvy July 2020
    Hannah ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I think you just sold me on a Friday wedding! And that dress is GORGEOUS

    • Reply
  • Bri
    Dedicated August 2018
    Bri ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    View Quoted Comment
    Thank you! Spending the night before together was just so peaceful. It was like the calm before the storm. Lol .
    • Reply
  • Bri
    Dedicated August 2018
    Bri ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    View Quoted Comment
    Do it. Friday weddings rock!! Thank You, my dress was actually a sample that I purchased online . Smiley smile
    • Reply

You voted for . Add a comment 👇

×

Related articles

WeddingWire celebrates love ...and so does everyone on our site! Learn more

Groups

WeddingWire article topics