Such a special event in your life as your wedding surely demands that you consider as much advice as possible, from as many informed people as possible, to help to ensure that your nuptials are as successful as can be.

Well, who could possibly be better informed on all of the ingredients that are required for a triumphant wedding than brides themselves?

Here at prestigious venue Château Bouffémont, we therefore decided to assemble a list of some of the best pieces of advice that real-life brides have given, drawing on various sources across the web.

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail

As you might expect, plenty of past brides are eager to emphasise the importance of thorough planning – but also of not stressing out too much over it. As stated by Annie and Darren – a couple featured in an article from Wedding Ideas: “Make a list and keep it constantly up to date – it’ll keep things stress-free because you know you have everything covered!”

Unfortunately, there are all kinds of things that can be easily forgotten when planning a wedding, even if in most cases, it’ll probably spell mere embarrassment on your big day rather than outright disaster. In the same aforementioned article, for instance, Amy and Damian urge couples to “double check the groom’s speech with the best man’s speech they both don’t tell the same story!”

Allow plenty of time in advance

It’s well-known that such services that are vital to one’s nuptials as the venue, photographer and videographer can be much more easily booked for your preferred wedding date if you allow as much advance notice as possible.

One bride mentioned in a piece on the Bridal Guide website – Claire – recalled: “Matt and I planned our wedding for 16 months, and it really helped to keep stress levels down. We got tons of stuff done early and had time to save for the things we really wanted.

“You only get to plan your wedding once, so make sure it is a fun time, not a stressful one!”

Rent an enchanting French chateau

By their very nature, weddings are – or are at least generally supposed to be – true one-off occasions, unrepeated during a lifetime.

You therefore surely won’t want to pass up the opportunity of marriage at a chateau – one that is a truly special, fairytale venue, defined by large and sumptuous grounds, refined furnishings and fully dedicated staff who are determined to make every aspect of your wedding run like clockwork.

This is precisely why so many brides choose Château Bouffémont at which to tie the knot. In the words of just one bride who recently celebrated her union with us, Stephanie Lumbroso, the Château was “a wonderful place, [with] a team of professionals always available [and] an impeccable service. Our wedding was a great success! Thank you very much to all the team in having accompanied us during all the realisation of these beautiful moments.”

Don’t allow other people’s expectations to dictate everything

Rock N Roll Bride magazine served up some great advice from brides in another article similar to this one, including from Rozlyn, who urged couples to not “get side-tracked by weddings in bridal magazines and expectations. Make your day what you want it to be as a couple without the pressures of society. Focus on what’s important to you both to ensure it’s a day filled with wonderful memories.”

Along similar lines, another bride featured in the article – Barbie – cautioned that “you don’t have to conform to what tradition dictates. Your wedding day should be as unique and as colourful as your love story. You do not have to obsess over the tiniest details either – after a couple of weeks no one will remember what colour your napkins were or how your hair fell out of place during your first dance.”

Take the wise words of all of these happy brides into account, and you will stand a much greater chance of planning a wedding that you will go on to remember for all of the right reasons – whether or not you choose to hold your reception at Château Bouffémont.