Things to avoid regretting about your wedding day
You can plan your wedding to within an inch of your life, but there will always be something you regret, it's inevitable! You can't please everyone and in trying to there'll be things you'll feel like you were pushed in to, to please one person or another..... here is a list of things to consider to hopefully reduce the stress of having regrets, after all it's your day and as long as you and your new Hubby are happy, everyone else will soon get over it!
1. NO VIDEOGRAPHER....... This is a biggie! You may think you have it covered hiring a professional photographer, but remember your wedding day goes so fast and there will be a lot you don't even remember happening, don't bank on a few friends and family members catching some funny dance moves with their iPhone, pay a professional and ensure you have quality footage to remember your big day.
2. TOO MANY BRIDESMAIDS....... and Groomsmen for that matter. Sometimes with all the excitement of the wedding plans, you can get carried away a little and start asking a few random people to be in your bridal party! or you think you have to ask your oldest friend even though you've drifted apart recently and don't really have that much in common anymore! DON'T! Your bridesmaids should be your closest friends or family, and those that are super excited to be ask and really want to help and be involved, not an old friend who isn't really that bothered and can't even make the hen party let alone help organise it! You will definitely regret this one when you look back at your wedding photos in a few years and think "Why did I ask her to be a bridesmaid?"
Also, another point to add..... bridesmaid dresses aren't cheap! so if you add a couple of extras the cost soon mounts up!
3. A DRESS FOR THE RECEPTION........... NO! This one blows my mind a little, you've spent months planning your wedding and looking for your dream wedding dress, you've probably paid a fair amount of money for it, and then you change into something 'More Comfortable' for the reception! WHY?! This is the 1 time you will ever wear your wedding dress (hopefully!) why then would you want to take it off after a couple of hours? We had a bride recently who wore her wedding dress to breakfast the next day and wore it home in the car too because she loved her dress so much.... if you don't love your wedding gown this much, you've bought the wrong one!
I'm also going to add here, don't worry about ruining your wedding dress..... if it's raining or you have a rural style wedding and it's a little muddy or dirty.... who cares?!?! You are never going to wear this dress again, don't spend the day stressing about how dirty the dress is getting, it just means you're having a good time and enjoying yourself. I was horrified when I looked at my bridesmaid dress the day following my best friends wedding, it was filthy, had sambuca and tequila all down the front and a little chocolate pudding too! but then I remembered what a great day it was and I really didn't care!
4. SHOE SELECTION....... You have to get this right, no one is happy when their feet are hurting! Choosing shoes is not an unimportant afterthought, it should be a well thought out decision. Most brides wear heels, for the whole day, that's potentially 10-12 hours...... do you usually wear heels for 10-12 hours a day?! most people don't! So, choosing the right wedding shoes is important....you should think if you want to wear them again? with most brides wearing a floor length wedding dress the shoes go mostly unnoticed, so you could opt for a pair of comfortable height heels that you know you enjoy wearing and will definitely be happy to wear again. Whatever you choose, make sure you wear them in, a lot, before the big day..... don't save them in their box and bring them out 10 minutes before you put your dress on, they are guaranteed to hurt if you do this!
5. 1ST DANCE SONG........ Do you and your fiance have a special song? maybe it's not very appropriate for a wedding, again..... who cares?! if it's your song, then it's your first dance song..... it doesn't have to be all mushy because that's what people are expecting, it could be Humpty Dumpty for all anyone else cares, if that is the song that means the most to you and your partner then that's the song you should walk on the dance floor as MR and MRS to. Don't pick a love song because it has nice lyrics, if it has no meaning to you it's pointless.
6. TIME TOGETHER...... everyone always brings this one up, but it's important! You must make time for one another on the day. Yes all your friends and family are there and you want to get around them all and thank them for coming, that's what the Thank You card is for! They are there to see you marry your soulmate not to down shots with you at the bar.... although this is also fun!
Just take a few moments just for the 2 of you, where you have no distractions and you can appreciate one another even for 5 minutes, you may feel like you are together all day, cutting the cake, first dance, toast, speeches, photos etc but it's all staged..... take a quiet moment, no cameras and enjoy one another.
7. FAMILY PICTURES........ most families come together for a wedding and usually with more of the extended family than those that would be present at say Christmas for example, so make sure you capture it, portrait pictures are nice, but if your photographer is staying for the whole day, they could capture some more relaxed shots throughout the reception that you'll have a memory of forever.
8. INVITE WHO YOU WANT..... this one is a common nightmare. Probably the biggest headache for all brides and grooms is the guest list! It's taken you weeks of deliberating, adding people in, taking people out, not wanting to offend people and trying to stick to the venue numbers, you think you've nailed it and then Mother pipes up and says you have to invite Great Auntie Maud and her 12 kids!!!! argh!!
You have to stand your ground on this one! You've probably never even met Great Auntie Maud, and can you justify paying for her to come to your wedding? and her 12 kids who are now all married so that's 12 plus 1's too?! No you can't and if the bank of Mum and Dad are paying for the wedding you need to inform them that the venue is small and can not accommodate these additional guests! It's a tricky subject to handle, not to mention one you've conquered these arguments, you send out the invites and they RSVP with a no anyway! save yourself the grief!
9. A HOTEL FOR THE WEDDING NIGHT....... You may only be having a small wedding with a low key reception and as you own a house together and have been cohabiting for several years a hotel suite seems a little excessive...... wrong! You may disagree, but again, you're wedding night is special and should be about just the 2 of you, not to mention it's not technically legal until it's consummated! ;)
Plus what's better than waking up as Man and Wife, not having to make the bed and having someone else cook you breakfast?!
So there you have it, just a few things to consider whilst planning your wedding, I've probably missed loads of other important things off, but I felt like I was getting carried away a little! I think the most important thing to remember above all else is that IT'S YOUR DAY.
