Mountain Aloha | Mammoth Lakes Wedding 2

As promised, I have part two of this darling Mammoth Lakes wedding and some amazing Hindsight Advice from the bride. My favorite: front load your work so you’re not running around like a stressed out mess on the eve of your wedding. Oh, and you might also recognize Green Fox Events from a podcast I did with Sandra last spring about Eco-concious mountain weddings.

And I know you’ll love all of the lovely details today. Check out part 1 of this Mammoth Lakes Wedding.

Hindsight advice

What are some things you’re glad you did?

Let people show their personalities:
- We had the bridal party choose their attire within our color palette. Ladies really can wear their dresses again and I did not have to agonize to find one dress that fit the body type and taste of five different women. Men did not have to wear rented, ill-fitting tuxedos.
- We delegated various tasks to our mothers to give them ownership of various aspects of the wedding that were important to them and to also save me time on the overall timeline.
Family-style dinner- It was a great choice for us for so many reasons:
- Fit perfectly with our casual elegance vibe and encouraged interaction between guests at their tables.
- We did not have to ask guests for their entrée choice in the invitation.
- It saved us a little bit of budget without compromising the entrée choices.
Venue- Having a destination wedding worked wonderfully for us:
- It allowed us to show off a place that is very special to us. We loved the uniqueness of the gondola ride up to the reception and designed our printed collateral with scenery of Mammoth with a twist of our mid-century taste.
- It gave us the opportunity to spend time with family and friends over several days, as guests arrived throughout the week and stayed after the wedding.
- It helped me to stay on task. We drove up to Mammoth days before the wedding and I had to make sure most of the planning was done prior to leaving. That gave me a clear checklist to work from in the few days leading up to the wedding.

Things you wish you had done?

I came up with two things:

If I had a bigger budget, I would have hired a planner to research the endless blogs and websites with fabulous ideas. So, instead of me spending countless hours to come up with five options, I could have just seen the five options and chose one.
We had an on-site planner assisting us the week of the wedding. I would have wanted to involve her with more of the meetings at the reception venue, so she was aware of the decisions we made and could make sure they were implemented during the reception.

Three things you wish you hadn’t done?

The only part of the wedding that was not exactly how we planned was our first dance. Since we did not have a predetermined song that is significant to our relationship, we agonized for a long time over trying to find THE song. We finally chose a song, but had waited until the last-minute. In the end, the DJ played the wrong version of the song (right song, wrong artist).
I wish we would have not put so much pressure on ourselves to find the perfect song and just chosen one with enough time for us to confirm the DJ was set with our choice.

Three things you wish you hadn’t worried about?

I think my background in event planning (I have done charity fundraising and community outreach events for over 12 years) helped me out here because I know that events are never perfect. There are always unforeseen challenges that are out of your control and all you can do is find a solution.
So, I would like to think that while I was mindful about staying on track of the planning timeline, aiming to start the ceremony on time, wondering why the line at the bar was so long, it was only because we wanted to make sure our guests were having the best experience that we could provide.

What is your very best hindsight advice?

Try not to get overwhelmed with the planning; just take things one step at a time. Recognize that not every detail is going to be the most fun or your most favorite, but making the decisions ahead of time will all pay off in the end.
Do the work upfront, so that your budget and timeline guide you through the process; it will help you to eliminate frustration and unpleasant surprises later.
Vendors and planners are the experts so definitely listen to their advice. At the same time, though, make sure to stick with your instincts on the elements of your wedding that you want to prioritize and don’t let people talk you into something you don’t want.
Enjoy the day. This is the most obvious, yet most important thing to keep in mind. My husband and I had been a couple for long time before our wedding, owned a home and had already committed to our lives to each other. I thought of the wedding as our way of celebrating our commitment with our family and friends. It was so much more than that. It was such an amazing experience to have with those we love all together in one place. It was truly humbling to look around the room and know that everyone had gathered to support us and celebrate our new married life together.