We asked former Hubbard Chapel couples for their most honest, most useful, most “I wish someone had told me this” wedding day wisdom. What came back was gold. Here’s the collected, real-world advice you won’t find in a wedding magazine.

“Eat Something.”

We cannot stress this enough — and neither could the seven couples who independently mentioned it. Wedding morning is exciting, nerve-wracking, and non-stop. It is also very long. If you don’t eat a real breakfast, by the time you’re standing at the altar you will be running purely on adrenaline and whatever champagne you had during hair and makeup, and neither of those is a reliable fuel source. 

Eat breakfast. Pack snacks. Designate someone to hand you food at cocktail hour.

“Let Something Go Wrong.”

This sounds counterintuitive, but hear us out: something will go wrong. It always does. The boutonniere will fall off, the ring bearer will trip, the sound system will make an unfortunate noise during the vows, someone will cry at the wrong moment and set everyone off. And here’s the thing — those moments become the stories. They become what everyone talks about at dinner for the next twenty years. Let something go a little sideways. It’s proof the day was real.

“Our flower girl walked down the aisle, looked at the crowd, dropped all her petals in one pile, and then walked back to her mom. The whole chapel lost it. It was the best moment of the entire day.”— Hubbard Chapel couple, 2021.

“Steal a Moment, Just the Two of You.”

At some point in the reception — after the first dance, before dinner, during a song you don’t care about — slip away for five minutes. Just you and your new spouse. Step outside into the Hubbard Chapel courtyard, look at each other, breathe, and say: we did it. Every couple who did this calls it one of their most treasured memories of the day. The party will still be there when you walk back in. Those five minutes are irreplaceable.

“Trust Your Vendors.”

You hired these people because they’re good at their jobs. On the day of, let them do those jobs. The florist knows where to put the centerpieces. The photographer knows what angles work. The caterer knows when to start serving. 

Your job on your wedding day is to be present, be joyful, and be a married person. Everything else is someone else’s department.

“The Hubbard Chapel Light Is Real — Use It.”

If you’re getting married at the chapel, plan your photos around the late afternoon light. Every couple who’s done this has ended up with photos that look like they were shot by a professional cinematographer with unlimited budget. The windows, the architecture, the warm Oregon autumn or summer light — there’s a 45-minute window in the afternoon where this place becomes breathtakingly photogenic. Your photographer should absolutely know about this.

“Thank the People Who Made It Happen — Out Loud.”

Not just in the speeches (though do that too). During the day, as you see them — your mom who addressed 200 envelopes, your friend who drove four hours to be there, your sister who talked you down from the floral anxiety spiral at 11 PM three weeks ago. Tell them. In person. Right then. Those are the moments people remember.

“It Will Go Fast. Let It.”

Everyone says this and everyone ignores it and then everyone wishes they hadn’t. Your wedding day will pass faster than any other day of your life. You won’t be able to slow it down, so don’t try. Instead, at a few points throughout the day, just stop. Look around the room. Look at your person. Look at everyone who came to celebrate you. And just feel it. Let it land. It’s the best day — and you’re in it.

✦ One Last Thing

The couples who report being happiest at their weddings — and we’ve talked to a lot of them — are the ones who remembered, in the midst of all the planning and logistics and flowers and seating charts, that the whole point is the person waiting for them at the end of the aisle. Keep that at the center of every decision and you genuinely cannot go wrong.

Hubbard Chapel has been helping couples have the wedding days of their lives since 1892. We’ve seen a lot. And the ones that are truly magical? They’re the ones where the couple shows up, lets go, and says yes — not just to each other, but to every imperfect, beautiful, unrepeatable moment of the day.

We can’t wait to see yours.