There was a lot of things that happened that I wish I knew about before the wedding and there were also things that I did know that really saved the day. Read on for tips to make your big day extraordinary!

1) Create an Emergency Kit. One thing I’m glad I remembered to do was put together a kit containing sewing materials, tape, lipstick, powder, tissue and Tylenol just in case. I put the entire thing together in a plastic container and gave it to my coordinator to hold on to. Although fortunately I didn’t need to sew anything on that day, my husband was the best man at a wedding where the button on his rented tux fell off right before the ceremony. Lucky for the resources of his friend, a paper clip saved the day!

2) Get organized! Another thing I’m happy I did was get organized a few weeks before the wedding. The week of the wedding was so hectic I’m happy that I did everything early. I gathered things like checks for my hair stylist and makeup artist, my perfume, earrings and our wedding rings into one large plastic bag so that I wouldn’t have to scramble around looking for it that day.

3) Go over the details of your wedding day with everyone involved. I’m sad to say that this important detail was overlooked for our wedding. Although we had at different points of time met with our vendors and friends, we didn’t thoroughly go over everything right before the wedding. Emails and phone calls are easily forgotten so it’s best to meet with everyone, sit them down, and make sure they take detailed notes about what’s important to you.

4) Talk to your family before the wedding day. Getting married is emotional for everyone involved. I was lucky that my dad made me sit down with him the night before the wedding to talk about how he felt and what it meant to him that I was getting married. Although I was tired and anxious about the next day, I think that it was an important discussion that made the wedding day even more special for him and for me.

5) Make memories and savor moments with your new husband. The day went by so fast! I tried to take everything in but it was hard. The one thing that I treasured were the times I spent with my husband. Whether it was when we took pictures or when we danced, those are the moments I truly love and remember about my wedding day.

If you’re having an outdoor wedding like me, you may be spending much of your waking hours envisioning what the weather will be like on your special day. Don’t you wish you could predict things like that? If you’re getting married somewhere where the weather is pretty predictable and you’re not worried, you are very lucky. As for me, getting hitched in San Francisco during the summer is a little bit scary. Unlike other parts of the Bay Area, San Francisco summer’s have once been quoted by Mark Twain as being “the coldest winter [he has] ever spent.”

Wherever you are, check out Weather.com to help you ease some of the unknown. There you can type in your wedding date and see what the average highs and lows will be for your special day. They also offer valuable tips on ways to deal with the weather such as making your programs also function as fans in case of high heat or treading carefully on wet grass. Although you might not be able to control every little thing about your wedding, this site at least gives you the option of being prepared.

Meeting with a few of my vendors at the wedding site has been a thrill for me. Seeing a team of people I trust and chose work together for a common cause which happens to be my wedding is so exhilarating! Nothing makes me feel as special as seeing everyone involved. It has also inspired me to come up with more helpful tips for couples like me in wedding planning mode.

1. Using Google’s documents feature has been a lifesaver for me. Creating guest and to-do lists which can be shared with my fiance and anyone else that needs to be involved saves time and is easy to use.

1. Create an itinerary which details what each person will do at your wedding. Before the wedding give them lists with their names highlighted so that friends and family know specifically what they will be doing, when they need to do it and where they need to be.

1. Creating a timeline for yourself will be helpful as well from what time you need to wake up to when your vendors will need to start packing up.

1. Have a friend, family member or your coordinator distribute checks to the appropriate vendors. One of my friends feels terrible that at her wedding 5 years ago she forgot to pay her makeup and hair stylist. On the day of your wedding, leave those details to others so you can completely enjoy yourself.