I welcome any advice about wedding stuff, I ideally only plan my wedding once, so I'll take all the advice I can get
oh goodie! i didn't want to overload you. lol
"day-of" coordinator is a must. linen colors don't matter. you said you splurged on the photographer. good choice. can't replace the memories captured on film. we didn't have a videographer and it's okay.
the best last minute "why not" decision i made was the best. i got a photo booth (photographer, background, props) primarily for the older family members who might not dance and didn't want to just sit around watching people. i didn't look into it very heavily so i was super surprised to see that that the photographer put together a nice photo album of every single picture that was taken. our guests made comments too and it's literally my most cherished possession from my wedding day.
i loved having a smaller wedding. i remember almost everything. i know that isn't an option for a lot of people. and yes, i had to fight my mom on some of the invites she wanted me to add to the list. i kept it to aunts and uncles, no cousins or children or else the list would have been enormous. i had open bar, all kinds of wine, and rum punch (husband is jamaican). i kept the ceremony short and sweet. like 20 minutes lol - no singing, reading, poems, interpretive dance, mime performances, magic shows, dogs, or children.
it was in august so i chose a hotel. august is tricky here... it can be really really hot. i also didn't want to risk it with rain. it's nice to have a place i can always go back to that's still standing. the place was gorgeous on its own (hotel monaco) so we didn't have to do a lot to dress it up. we also didn't have to worry about parking since there was valet service.
i splurged on my dress, photographer, and flowers (not by choice, it just happened). i also picked my dress in like an hour. i tried on 2 dresses and picked one with a massive train. no regrets.
i had a small wedding party - a maid of honor, matron of honor, a groomsman, and a bestwoman. the bestwoman wore the same dress as the bridesmaids but in black. she is my husband's best friend. the rehearsal dinner was intimate and so much fun. another couple got engaged at the restaurant that night and we took a picture with them (because drunk). it was great!
so here's all of the details you didn't ask for. you're welcome.