Free advice for planning a wedding from a single former bridesmaid

I am headed to California tomorrow for another wedding. Since I'll be going to one in October, one in April and two next June, I have been thinking about weddings a lot. I am going to list a few points of etiquette that should be kept in mind while planning your big day:

• Do not schedule your wedding for a Friday afternoon. You run the risk of getting your friend into trouble at her new job, since you made her promise to come all the way from New Mexico since she helped you pick out the ring and plan the proposal (since you were a clueless guy and needed help), and so now she feels she must come because she promised, but it would be much easier for her to skip it all together.

• If some of your guests are coming from out of town and possibly out of state, be sure to register for a few reasonably priced gifts. Do not pick out twenty things at Williams-Sonoma, all over $80, and then also suggest that guests can give you money toward your honeymoon if they don’t want to buy anything on the registry. Your guests may want to give you a nice gift but they may have just spent $250 on a plane ticket and possibly more for a hotel, and they don’t feel like getting you a cheese knife for $87. Save your friendship and register for a few potholders as well.

• Do not insist on sharing every detail of your wedding planning with your co-workers. Some of them will be interested. Some of them will not. You will be able to tell which is which. If you are in your early twenties and planning a romantic ceremony, beware of those in their late thirties who have never been married, think you’re too young, and don’t want to hear about your floral arrangements.

• Serve lots of booze, preferably at an open bar.