Happy Friday, friends! There was so much goodness on the web this week. In case you missed it, our friend Chris at Postcards and Pretties whipped up a delightful inspiration board || The Sweetest Occasion featured a very special party we planned and designed || and At First Blush & Co. had lots of loveliness going on. Oh, and what did you think about our site makeover with our water colored illustrations? Aleah and her brother had fun creating these little bits!

As we ramp up for a very busy season of wedding and parties we wanted to share an oft-overlooked set of tips pertaining to the all-important wedding rehearsal. We hear so many articles about planning your wedding itself and thought it our due diligence to share our tips, found through many a rehearsal, to plan a seamless and stress-less rehearsal.

No. 1: inviting the masses. We’ve seen many a rehearsal back in the day {before we started recommending this tip} where couples would invite guests coming to the rehearsal dinner, out of towners or other guests that don’t have a role in the ceremony. The result can be chaos with the excitement of hellos, kiddos running about and a stressful undertone. Keep it simple and just ask those walking down the aisle, reading or playing music during the ceremony to attend.

No. 2: forgetting your marriage license. A big key for the wedding, bring your marriage license with you to the rehearsal so you can pass onto your officiant for safe keeping. They can also review to ensure you’ve gotten your ts crossed and is dotted.

No . 3: over-choreographing. The rehearsal is meant to instruct the wedding party and key players on where to stand, what to do and any other roles they might have. Over-choreographing can add stress and cause your beloved friends and family {and yourselves!} to feel overwhelmed. Simply run through the first round casually, tell people where they should be, and then stage another run through so everyone is comfortable.

No. 4: having people walk down the aisle on beat. Forget about doing this, unless it’s something that’s extra special to you. Asking your wedding party to walk down the aisle to the beat of classical music, a guitar or other song means they’ll look like they’re doing so by thinking about each beat and step. This can look very unnatural. We recommend they all know the general pace you’d like and follow that rule of thumb casually, slowly and with a smile on their faces.

No. 5: planning a dinner too close to the rehearsal. Elements like traffic often mean that wedding parties are late to rehearsals {especially if most are out of town}, so think about having your rehearsal earlier in the day, leaving time for people to shower and change and for ample time to make it to your rehearsal dinner. You’ll all breathe easier!

A little bonus: throw a fun S’mores party for everyone – and here’s when you can invite the masses – as a thank you. This bonfire was so much fun for Carolyn and Josh’s guests after their beach rehearsal and other guests came post-rehearsal to mix and mingle.

Photos: Shannon Lee Images for Valley & Co.

Are you stressing your rehearsal? What do you think about our tips?