Top 5 Wedding tips | Melbourne wedding photography (FA)

Top 5 wedding tips straight from one of mybrides.

Click here to check outmore from Matthew and Janine's big day.

( Wedding in February 2015 at Varcluse house, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

1. Discuss a budget up front, stick to it and manage it carefully as your planning progresses. There’s nothing worse than being misaligned in your respective expectations. Sit down with your partner and make a plan addressing what’s important to you both.

2. Do your research, email lots of vendors and compare prices and quality. This will help you with your wedding inspiration and sourcing great vendors, plus it will help with your budgeting too. Great sources for me were bridal directories such as Hello May and The Lane, plus a handful of bridal magazines (White, Hello May, Hooray and Cosmo Bride were my favourites).

3. Knock the big things off the list first, like your venue. Everything falls into place from there. We would dedicate our Saturday mornings to visiting potential venues, it was a really fun process.

4. Invest in a great photographer (and videographer if you can manage to have both). Your photos (and video) will make your memories last a lifetime, so you want them to capture the day perfectly (thanks Nicholas).

5. Don’t stress – it’s not worth it. Seriously. If I felt anxiety rising, I reminded myself that the marriage is more important than the wedding to keep things in perspective. The day goes by so quickly (cliché but so true), just have fun and enjoy the ride. It will be the best day ever.