Real brides share their biggest regrets from the wedding day (so we can learn from them)
A perfect wedding day can exist with a few regrets - that's only natural. I asked my Instagram friends to share any wedding day regrets that they had. Most of them fell into the same six categories:
01 Dress issues
I’m going to kick things off here with my own little anecdote of regret! Wedding dress drama is a real thing, and it even plagued me a bit during my planning journey. When my wedding was about 9 months out, I purchased a stunning, silk Amsale trumpet gown. I was in love with it!
Although I confidently selected my wedding dress, the internet continued to inundate me with photos of other dresses: long sleeves, ivory, lace, beaded, ball gown, etc. As each month passed, I felt less and less confident about my (gorgeous) Amsale dress. I wondered if I picked too soon, or wouldn’t feel ‘bridal’ enough. Social media was really taking off during this time, so I felt completely overwhelmed with all the inspo photos that, to me, were cuter than what I had planned.
To make a short story boring: I had a dress panic 3 months out, and bought a completely different dress for the wedding (a drab one, by the way). I was so focused on this princess bridal feeling - which in my mind was synonymous with a poofy ball gown.
I regret not trusting my own decision. Succumbing to the Pinterest wedding assault still kind of haunts me to this day. So, if it’s not obvious enough - the lesson here is trust in your choices. There will always be a cuter dress - more flowers, better acoustics and tastier food. Accept that, and move forward with your truest self!
Here are some other submitted dress regrets:
"My dress was a bit too tight."
"My wedding dress was not right. It was too heavy for an outside wedding."
02 Forgotten dances
"I didn’t dance with my Dad."
"I didn’t dance with my new Father-in-Law."
03 Not doing a first look
"Family photos took way longer than expected, and we didn't make it to cocktail hour."
"I was so worried about not seeing him during getting ready, and it really ended up stressing me out more."
"The ceremony made us both so anxious. Should have done a first look, or something like it."
04 Beauty touchups
"I wish I bought a curling iron to touch up throughout the day."
"Didn't have any safety pins or hairspray for misc adjustments before the ceremony (and no planner)."
05 Wedding vendor regrets
"Not having a wedding coordinator."
"Not hiring a professional wedding photographer."
"Counting on friends for help instead of hiring professionals."
"Not having a videographer."
"Not having the photographer I really wanted - I should have spent the extra money."
06 Timing remorse
"Not making it around to every table to say hi at dinner."
"My mom wanted me to go to every table but timing was too tight, and I didn’t eat."
"Too many guests to get around to."
Given this recurring feeling of a rushed timeline, I’m starting to realize something. The timing of your wedding day feels much like the timing of other monumental life events. For instance, my babies both grew from nursing newborns to talking toddlers in a matter of seconds. Certainly every Mom can attest to this feeling.
Couples feel this, too! There is so much emotional, physical and financial built up to your wedding day. No matter how much money - blood, sweat and tears are put into your wedding day…she’s still only 24 hours, girl! That’s even 100x faster than the time it took for my kiddos to grow out of diapers.
No matter what precautions we take - or pockets of time we budget for soaking it up, the day will still be a blink of an eye in hindsight. Perhaps accepting that beforehand is a smart way to head into it?
Here are my top 4 suggestions for those sensitive about timing:
Cut your guest list (ooh, I know that's harsh - sorry).
Stretch it out - make it more of a long weekend any way that you can.
Have a first look - even just a variation of a first look - to take the pressure off of the timeline.
Tuck away briefly - just you two (1) right before the ceremony, (2) right before dinner, and (3) during dancing.