Five Quick Wedding Planning Tips with Amber Gustafson of Amber Events

Photo credit: Picotte Photography  

Today's Five Quick Wedding Tips come from Southern California planner Amber Gustafson of Amber Events. Amber is a (hilarious) Los Angeles-based wedding planner. You can tell she is a ton of fun from the moment that you meet her. For more behind the scenes at Amber Events and to see some of her work, check out Amber's blog.

Here are Amber's 5 Quick Wedding Planning Tips:

1. Like all of your vendors but puffy-heart-love your photographer and wedding planner as we see you in some fairly delicate circumstances (both physical and emotional) and you need to feel completely comfortable with us.

2. If you start to get overwhelmed with the design of your wedding, stop reading the blogs. Yes, the eye candy is pretty, but there is such thing as too much of a good thing!

3. Be careful not to say or do anything you'll regret after the wedding and the dust has settled. Some of these little details are truly, truly molehills, not mountains. I promise.

4. Don't hire anyone to do your hair and makeup that does not specializes in weddings. Hair & makeup artists are somehow (in general) the flakiest people on the planet and getting a text the morning of your wedding from your girl from Craigslist canceling on you because she got another (better paying) gig or she's hung over is not a good way to start your wedding day.

5. Don't ever, ever use the words: "It's my day". Ever.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
We recently celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary(!) and looking back on it, it's just a happy, happy blur. I love that there was this one moment in time where the people that we love came together to celebrate our union. It was magical and things like the bridesmaid dresses, precious details, and favors just don't matter to me at all. It's the people. It's the love. It's the laughter and tears. It's saying your vows in front of your community. It's pure magic.

If you could change one thing about your wedding, what would it be?
We would have fed our guests! You have to understand that in Tontitown, Arkansas in 2001 weddings consisted of a ceremony at church and cake and punch in the fellowship hall next door. We didn't want to do that so we had an evening wedding on my parent's property. Not having any money, we had things like cheese and crackers. I'm sure our guess left after the dancing and drove straight to Sonic.....

Thank you, Amber, for these great tips!


If you would like to be featured in our Five Quick Tips column, please contact me at info AT amynichols DOT com.