Here are three pictures from one of my favorite weddings to date.  

Lauren & Jacob had a great wedding last year and one of the things that helped it go so smooth was good planning. They did all their formal photos before hand and right after the ceremony everyone went right on to the buffet, everyone EXCEPT for Lauren & Jacob. They were ushered into a secret room that no one knew about and had dinner alone. They had 30 minutes ALONE! That’s right. Alone. No one. Not mom and dad, not sister and brother, not even their super cool photographer was in there. I literally went in the room with them, took 1 minute’s worth of photos and did not come back in. They were able to enjoy a romantic little meal together and talk about their morning and everything leading up to the ceremony. Ask most people about their wedding day and I’ll bet you they can’t tell you about 5 minutes that they shared alone with their spouse, much less 30.

The picture of them walking out of the church was at 5:53, the one of them eating was at 5:59, and then at 6:31 they busted in to the reception.

Here’s the deal, no one missed them. It was perfect. The guests were having a great time eating and chatting it up, and then, once they did come out they were able to devote all their attention to saying hello and hugging everyone in sight. So many weddings that I have been to really are rushed and not thought out well, these two made a decision ahead of time to make time for themselves. So no matter what everyone tells you, make time for yourself. PLAN to see and spend time with each other. Write it down on your wedding day timeline and make it happen. I know Lauren and Jacob do not regret it, and you may look back on your day and realize planning 15 minutes of “nothing” was the best part of your day.