I went into the wedding knowing I wanted to save it all. I wanted to cherish each second while it was happening and then be able to relive the exciting year of planning and celebrating. I wanted to soak in all the love and then have it available whenever we needed to drink from this pool of love.
This may seem a little much, but I have done this since middle school and never regretted it. I’ve been able to remember so much of my past that I would have completely forgotten. I’ve even been able to relive moments with loved ones that have passed away and reread their words in their handwriting- something that makes me feel very connected to them.
This ability to hang on to my past has helped me shape my future. It taught me that you should always express your love at every opportunity you get. It also made me aware that celebrating birthdays and big life moments IS important. They don’t happen for everyone, and you can’t predict the future or that you’ll get another chance to celebrate and express your love.
Life is exciting and unpredictable and so beautiful. I may be over enthusiastic and vocal about it, but I have no intention of stopping. It’s not worth the regret I’d feel if (God forbid) something happened.
Okay, that got way off track.
Save your stuff from your wedding, and start now if you’re engaged. Have it to show your future kids or just in case you end up wanting it 20 years down the road.
1. The things you used to plan: I planned our wedding (minus day-of), so I have everything and it’s all here. Here are some of the things I recommend you save from the planning period:
- The notebook you used (mine lists things like rehearsal dinner invites, notes to future bridesmaids, questions to ask the DJ, etc)
- Itinerary for the day of
- The readings you chose
- The lyrics to the music
- Pages from magazines that served as inspiration for my planning
- Receipts from vendors (and the dress)
- Timelines and to-do lists
- Drawings: I’m probably the only one to do this, but I drew out everything of how I wanted to reception to be decorated. No, I cannot draw one bit. I do that with everything, because I am weird and uber visual
2. Decorations: This is a little harder, but because we had so many handmade pieces that we didn’t have to return, I kept several decorations from the day of. Some of the bigger ones (like this sign I made) are now decorating our first home. Other things that are now lying around our home are the guest book and extra polaroids that didn’t fit in it.
Here are some other good things to save:
- Your “bride” and “groom” place cards
- Your cake topper (also, you’re traditionally supposed to save the top layer of the cake)
- The ribbon from your bouquet
- A flower (dried)
- Any signage (i.e. for a hashtag or photobooth)
- The drink menu
3. The custom paper stuff: There are so many invites when it comes to your wedding year, and it’s fun to keep them all and look back at all the celebrations. Here are a few of the things I’ve kept or think you should save:
- Engagement announcement
- Save the date
- The card you used to ask your bridal party
- Bridal shower invite
- Lingerie shower invite
- Rehearsal dinner invite
- Rehearsal dinner menu
- Full wedding invite suite and inserts
- Wedding timeline/bridal party list
- Wedding menu
- Wedding favor tags
- Thank you cards
4. The cards: I have them all from every shower and from the wedding. I have reread them once since last year, and it literally filled me with so much joy. Again, it’s these words and advice from people that you hold dear. They remind me again and again how to live out my marriage and how to be a more loving individual.
I would also advise you keep things like these speeches (most people have written theirs out and can easily email to you):
- Rehearsal dinner speech
- Maid of Honor speech
- Best Man speech
- Homily (not sure if that would be easy to obtain, but worth a shot)
- Parent speech at the wedding
5. Miscellaneous: There are other things to save that aren’t even in any of these photographs, because (as I already confessed) I’m kind of obsessive. The one “traditional” thing to save is the top layer of the wedding cake. We didn’t do that. Ha! I’m sure you’re thinking it’s because you know I’m a fatass, so you’re assuming I ate the whole cake… also, not true. We just knew that it wouldn’t be worth transporting it from Florida (where our wedding was) to NYC (where we live).
Here are few other things I recommend:
- The bouquet from your bridal shower (typically you also use for your rehearsal)
- The receipt from when you got your marriage license
- The ring box(es)
- The key to the hotel you stayed in your first night together
- Things from your honeymoon
- plane tickets
- brochures
- room keys
Last, but not least: save the flippin’ photos. Save them in multiple places. Print as many our as you can and put into an album. Don’t loose those. Ever. They are the most important things to save from your wedding. So important that I assume I didn’t even need to tell you.
