Sounds silly, but I can’t tell you how many guests ask me where to put gifts!

You probably made your gift/card box so cute that people mistake it for decor, and walk past it. Now don’t be tacky, but add a big sign that says, “Gift Box”.

Friday weddings are great. Thursday weddings, even better?

Saturday weddings are the norm because people have off. Friday weddings may be cheaper, or the only options if the weekend is booked.

If you have a wedding on Thursday, something magical happens. Guests use vacation time (taking off Friday too). They’re ready to let loose and party.

Many guests may stay till Saturday. This gives you time to catch up with family and friends on Friday, after the stress of last minute wedding details has passed. People can head home on Saturday, and the church-goers won’t feel rushed on Sunday.

I love attending Thursday weddings. It might make it harder for the DJ since many have full-time jobs, but consider this as an option for your wedding.

A half hour before our wedding ended, my wife and I tried to sneak out. Our family and friends decorated our car, so there was no hiding our exit.

I feel bad when seeing couples staying afterwards to help clean up. It’s your day! Feel entitled to leave if possible, and if you want to. Go start life with your partner… consummate the marriage, reminisce about the day, get excited about the honeymoon; don’t start it by emptying trash cans.

Fathers often give the most emotional speeches, so I’m sad when a their too nervous to give one. Talk to your father well in advance, and set a clear expectation that you’d like him to speak at your wedding. Dad’s usually have good senses of humor, so get him a toy microphone to practice on if he’s nervous.

Too often, the bride is unsure if her father wants to speak at all. She’ll tiptoe around the issue all the way up to her big day. When I walk over to ask the father if he’ll be speaking, he’ll say, “I didn’t know I was giving a speech”.

As a bride, tell your dad you’d like him to speak during your precious day.

Does your cocktail hour take place in three different rooms? Is your reception hall massive? Are you having a ceremony onsite too?

Let’s say all the above was true. Have you asked your DJ if they have enough speakers? If they don’t, he may decide to leave the bar area without music, or only cover half of the reception room. Or after the ceremony, you might see your DJ moving speakers from the ceremony room over to the reception area; it’s never good to mess around with the audio right before introductions are about to happen (too many things can go wrong while rushing and under-pressure).

Show your DJ where you’d like music to be, and ask them how many speakers they’ll be bringing.

This might sound silly until you realize smushing your face into someone’s looks funny (or even gross) in pictures. Giving him a small peck on the lips apparently looks better.

I’m not a photograph-kissing expert, but our photographer told us this during our wedding, and your photographer might do the same. I remember feeling awkward because I had never practiced this before. All the sudden, our wedding photos are being taken and I’m now focused on piercing my lips just right.

Maybe before your wedding, practice taking photos while kissing your fiancé in this manner. Do some research what couples’ poses look good. Set your phone’s camera on timer and do a mini practice photo shoot. Get comfortable now so you don’t look too staged during your big day.

Some grooms look so sharp, while others don’t.

Multiple things could be wrong:

• Dress shirt becomes untucked (or was never fully tucked in to begin with)

• Jacket, pants or shit is too big

• Tie is too loose (not tied properly)

• Tie or suit is out of fashion (chosen because it was on sale at Men’s Warehouse)

Ask yourself. Has my fiancé ever worn a suit before? In the past, men wore suits all the time. But if your wedding day is the first time he dons a tie, consider getting in some practice beforehand.

Have him try a few different suit styles so he’s comfortable in a slim-fit or tailored suit. Shop around to find a tie that’s newer looking than paisley. If you go, start dressing up for church during your engagement, or dress up for some fancy dates.

Dressing well takes time to learn what’s fashionable and find nice pieces that fit well. Don’t assume one visit to the college kid working at David’s Bridal will be enough. Spend time on this during your engagement.

Go onto TikTok and find the most epic way to walk down the aisle!

I had one Bride recently who planned out her walk perfectly. She played an instrumental version of a song while her family & bridal party walked in. Then the song switched to the normal version with words. She timed it so when she got to the end of the aisle, the song gave mention to her parents; she subtly gave them attention at this point (a sign of appreciation for getting her to this point in life) as her father then handed her off to the Groom. The song then played just long enough for her and her fiancé to take center stage as a bridesmaid fixed her dress (which was practiced more than once).

She knew exactly what she wanted, and I thought every detail was beautiful.

Just ask your DJ, “Will you be sitting during the reception? Dinner is one thing, but if they’ll be sitting at any other point, find a new DJ.

Even if they’re using a Spotify playlist during cocktail hour, standing behind their booth will give off better party vibes. People will feel they’re being served better.

The worst is when I see a few DJ’s sitting together behind the booth, chatting and looking at their phones. Guests are right to think they don’t take your event seriously.

Your wedding is the world series, the super bowl, the big day. If I’m smart, my feet won’t hurt too bad after DJ’ing your wedding; but they often do. But remember you’re worth it!

It happens every wedding. Guests circle around and start to cheer on an energetic dancer showing off their dance moves. Finally out of energy, or out of moves, the dancer flees the middle of the circle leaving an empty hole. Hopefully someone else jumps in (or is lured in) so the fun can continue. This usually lasts about five dancers before no one else is willing to jump in. This is when the awkwardness sets in. Right before it starts to get weird, It’s important for the DJ to help close the circle either using the mic, or jumping onto the dance floor to help out the guests.

He was drunk! The bar wasn’t opened yet, and the ceremony was still one hour away. Where was he getting his alcohol from? He kept retrieving beers from the back of his truck.

What’s the problem here? Yes, he may be a distraction during the ceremony and reception, but also he’s a liability. The venue can get in big trouble if he drives drunk and kills someone; he may lie and say the venue served him and didn’t cut him off.

The bar tender noticed this man was drunk, and went out to confront him. “You need to stop, this venue could face financial ruin for your actions. You cannot be here if you’re going to act in this manner”.

The venue and bartender were absolutely right to do this. I suggest maybe putting some groomsmen or uncles in charge of keeping the peace if you know some guests may get out of hand.

Since I bought my ring off of Amazon for $14, I decided to get an extra one (one size bigger) in case I got fat. Fortunately I haven’t needed it yet.

I tested out a silver ring; it got scratched up immediately. Then I got a tungsten carbide ring from Amazon, and almost seven years later, it still looks new.

It’s just silly how much some things cost just because they’re associated with weddings. The ring doesn’t make me love my wife, but I will always wear it because I’ll love her till the day I die.

I moved to Ohio to be close to family. My wife grew up here. If 20 years from now, our children start families in a different state, we may move at that point. But until that happens, we’re staying put.

Ask your DJ what their future plans are. Sometimes Brides book DJ’s one to two years out. A lot can change in a person’s life. If they don’t have solid roots, they may be tempted to a different area for a fresh start and new opportunities.

Play a slow song by Elvis, here they come. Up out of their seats, they slowly descend to the dance floor.

It’s funny, a lot of the older people wait at their tables, watching the dance floor, just waiting for that slow song. This is why it’s important to play a slow song, and maybe some other music they’ll like earlier in the night. If you don’t tend to your older guests, they’ll get bored, and leave even earlier than they were planning. They’ll say things like, “I don’t know why the DJ didn’t play any slow songs”.

But if you play a few songs for the older crowd, they’ll be very grateful. Often, you’ll see some remain on the dance floor, even when the music picks back up to newer, faster songs.

This is purely a method to save money. My wife and I did this at our wedding.

Since the venue or caterer may not let you bring your own appetizers (which can often be gotten very cheaply compared to what the caterer will charge you), we put cookies on our tables. The caterers will not stop you from providing desserts. And here is the trick, not all the desserts have to be sweet. You can put out savoury desserts instead. Put a large plate on each tables with mostly cookies, and then hide some pretzels and nuts in there too.

Yes, this is sneaky, but you know you’re spending a premium for many wedding services. If you’re very budget conscious, and this helps you out even a little, I’m happy for you!

Also buy your house in cash. Haha, it sounds like I’m joking, but this is what my wife and I did.

I’m going to put this out there, because no one else will tell you this. You can get out of debt faster than you thought possible. You can get rid of your credit cards. You can never have a car payment again. And you can live without regret that you just put your honeymoon on a credit card.

In my humble opinion, you don’t want to start out a marriage worried about money. But, many couples do. They let their wedding spending get out of control simply because it’s their big day, so they justify foolishness in their heads.

We as humans do this all the time, we convince ourselves it’s okay to do something that is actually harmful to ourselves; I do this everyday with cookies and beer.

Money is such a personal topic to people, maybe because of shame. It’s easy to look at Instagram and think everyone else must be doing great with money, “Why am I not?”

From personal experience, don’t try to impress others with a big wedding, a super nice car, and the biggest ring. Focus on serving others, smiling, and being so grateful for the life and family members you do have.

I love when Bride’s spend lots of money on real flowers, because I get to take them home to my wife.

While I’m cleaning up my gear at the end of the night, I watch as flowers get piled high on the tables. Family members and staff tell me to take them home because if not, they’re going in the trash cans.

I have no recommendation but to tell you what my wife and I did. We got our flowers from Trader Joe’s, mostly Baby’s Breath. My wife put them into old bottles and it looked great. There may have been some eucalyptus leaves in there too.

Again, I have no problem with you spending a lot on flowers. I’ll certainly be impressed because I’m there setting up before anyone else arrives. Maybe the question is, how much will you or your guests notice them amongst all the other activities going on that day?

Does your DJ consider many guests may get upset if they’re not told the bar will close during dinner? Even last call, they would like to be informed. Some of them want to run over and grab two more drinks before they can’t any longer.

My wife was upset during my brother’s wedding because she was nursing and couldn’t get to the bar in time. She wasn’t getting drunk, she just wanted a little red wine.

Make sure your DJ always is considering your guests, what they want, and how they’re feeling.

You might feel weird asking others for money. Nowadays, some couples wait till they’re older to marry. They have worked and saved, and can take care of themselves. They’re not 19 with no savings and no plates.

In my experience, couples aren’t making that much money off the Money Dance (also called Dollar Dance). Realistically, it’s just a fun time to connect with each guest. You might have an aunt who’s slightly timid; she may want to talk with you, but not want to fight off the hoards of others preening for your attention. The Money Dance is a great time for her to connect with you one-on-one. That can mean a lot to some family members. When announcing this dance, I always focus on the connection aspect. “Come share a quick moment with the Bride and Groom”. Then it feels less tacky, and more about the connections and relationships.

Don’t get all your guests to kiss, just some of them.

The Kissing Game is a fun way to entertain guests during dinner.

The DJ calls for a couple to come up and do a kiss which the Bride and Groom then must replicate. Around four to six couples can be called during dinner, with around 10 minutes in between each.

If you’d like to do this at your wedding, give a list of couples to your DJ. Make sure to at least tell the first couple your plan so they’re on board and willing. Pick couples you know will have fun or be silly and enjoy!