Memories of your day

You will probably have spent months and even years planning and preparing your wedding day, so make sure you also plan ways to remember every single detail of it for years to come. There are so many elements that come together at a wedding whatever the size or style and so many important details that should be cherished.

Here are some ways to remember your wedding day:

Wedding Album
Your wedding album is where your memories come together, so choose a photographer who’ll capture those precious moments. Reportage photography – where your snapper takes ‘action’ shots rather than formal group pictures – is best for bringing the memories flooding back.

Film your day
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a wedding video must be worth at least a million! You may be camera shy, but it’s well worth having your day filmed as a lasting record. After initially being conscious of the camera's presence most brides say that within the first half an hour of filming they forget that they are being filmed. A film enables special moments and special people to live on, and enables friends and family unable to attend to relive the day as if they were there.

Get a guest book
It’s easy to forget who was even at your wedding, let alone what they all said to you, so a guest book is a must-have. Entrust your bridesmaid with the task of passing it around and making sure everyone has the opportunity to sign it, or leave it open on a table – you’ll have pages of comments to treasure. You could even go one step further and take a polaroid picture of each guest as they enter the reception, and ask them to write to a comment next to a picture of themselves!

Make a Diary
Wedding memories aren’t just made on the day, but from the moment you start planning. Keeping a wedding diary will ensure that you don’t forget a single moment of your journey. Use it to jot down your thoughts, and update it with all your wonderful moments and memories the morning after your wedding, when the day is still fresh in your mind.

Engage in conversation
You’re not the only one who’ll have special memories of your day – your guests will too. Different people remember different things, so chat to as many of them as possible throughout the day.

Keepsakes to treasure
Treat yourself to a beautiful keepsake box for your wedding mementos, it’s amazing how they can transport you back to the day and your memories.

Mirror, mirror
At the end of your big day, before you take off your wedding finery, stand with your new husband in front of a full-length mirror for a few minutes. There’s something so special about seeing yourselves together as bride and groom – after all, it’s what everyone else has been looking at all day.

Snap happy
Disposable table cameras may seem like an unnecessary expense, but the memories they’ll give you make them worth their weight in gold. Put one on each table at the reception, and ask one of your ushers to collect them at the end of the day and get them developed. When you get back from honeymoon you’ll have hundreds of photos of your day from your guests’ point of view.

Exit on a high
It’s always difficult to leave your wedding before the end – you don’t want to miss a second of it and say goodbye to all your guests, so set a curfew – say midnight. Ask the DJ to play a special final song, say your goodbyes and leave. That way, your final memories of the night will be of leaving on a high, instead of descending into indignity.