So my dog turns 6 next month and ive been going back and forth on this, is it unhinged to throw her a birthday party?? she wont know its her birthday, wont remember the decorations, and the "cake" will be literally just mashed sweet potato shaped into a circle lol. but ill remember it, my friends will have a good time, and a saturday spent putting a party hat on a dog just sounds fun tbh

I think the "weird" feeling is really just worrying about what the response will be from my friends. but toddlers dont understand their first bday either and we still throw those parties. if it makes you and the dog happy and your not going into debt over some custom cake, i dont see whats wrong with it. just buy the party hat

Anyone else do this? Curious what people's dog (or cat, no judgment) parties actually looked like. 😂

We got recently got married and I'm finally in a headspace to share what actually helped vs what we stressed about for nothing. Some of this is obvious in hindsight, some genuinely suprised us.

On the day itself

Hire a day of coordinator even if you've done all the planning yourself. This was honestly the single best money we spent. Luckily we got to arrange a student wedding coordinator for just a fraction of the price. Your brain on wedding day is not capable of logistics, you want to be in the moment, not tracking down the florist.

Eat before the ceremony. Sounds ridiculous but you will forget to eat at the reception and then feel terrible. Pack a snack.

Give yourselves a buffer between the ceremony end and cocktail hour. Every couple we've talked to says the same thing happens, something runs over and you don't want the cocktail hour half over by the time you arrive.

Vendor stuff

Get everything in writing. Not just the contract, the specifics too. "Late bar until midnight" means nothing if the venue has a noise curfew at 11. Read the small print or just ask directly. Eventually the candles down the aisle were still lit, even though we asked not. But yeah, mistakes can happen always.

Tip your vendors at the end of the night, in cash, in labeled envelopes. Someone needs to be in charge of handing these out. Delegate this to a trusted family member and breif them the week before.

The stuff nobody warns you about

You will not speak to half the people you invited. Accept this already, unless you keep it very small. The day moves so fast and you get pulled in every direction. The guests who matter most will understand, and a quick personal note a week later goes a long way.

The week after the wedding is weird. Both of us felt a kind of low after it was over. Apparently this is totally normal and pretty common, just worth knowing in advance so you don't spiral. But this could also just be personal.

The thing we over stressed about

The centrepieces. Genuinely nobody noticed or remembered them. The food, the music, and whether they could find the bar, that's what people actually talk about after.

Happy to answer questions. It's a lot but honestly it was the best day. Would do it again without hesitation (the wedding, not the planning). 😂