Just got married in October and had a
beautiful ceremony, but definitely had big post-wedding blues and was
unhappy with certain aspects of it. I'll try to make an easy list
below to help out future brides!
Glad I:
-Didn't get flowers. We opted for nice synthetic rose petals for the ceremony and fake flowers for our centerpiece and bouquets, which means I get to keep them (or can resell, if you don't want to save them). Saved lots of $$$. Highly recommend eFavormart for pretty much all your DIY decor needs, including fake flowers.
-Did a boudoir shoot with my photographer the day before my wedding. It gave me confidence and made me feel sexy and less focused on my wedding anxiety. Just wish I'd gone to her studio to do it instead of at our AirBnB- she made do with the lighting but it would've looked more 'magazine quality' with her studio lighting and backdrops.
-Paid for a customized ceremony that 'told our story' instead of doing a canned, traditional one. Our officiant spent time going through everything with us and we got to incorporate our love story, very personalized vows & readings, and it was just magical. People are still raving about how romantic it was (and still only about 30 minutes!)
-Did dance lessons. My husband wasn't sure about it at first, but we tried a Groupon at a dance studio first and he agreed to try. We did 7 or 8 sessions to learn a choreographed routine and it turned out great. He developed a confidence in dancing and likes twirling me around to music now instead of feeling like he can't dance.
-Wrote handwritten notes to all my close family/friends. I thanked them for being there for me, and whatever help they'd given, and etc.. They were all so touched and it made them feel especially close to us on our wedding day, giving it more meaning and making it more memorable.
-Added a photobooth! Our DJ gave us a very reasonable price for his services and he had a nice photobooth setup, and our guests LOVED it. I bought cheap Disney-themed photo props from a party store, and then we had a photo album for people to put a copy of their photobooth photos in (along with some gel pens so they could write notes) at the table.
Wish I Had:
-Time to get a makeup trial. We did a wedding out of state (had to do it around my sister-in-law's dates! In her city!) so I didn't have time to get a trial done. Despite being incredibly clear with what I wanted with reference pictures and going over things, my makeup was just okay but wasn't as dramatic as I'd asked for. I'm still devastated and don't feel like I was the beautiful bride I wanted to be...all because she didn't get my eye makeup right...this is my BIGGEST REGRET! Sometimes I think I should've done my own eye makeup but the rest of my face makeup & hair was good, and I didn't want the stress of possibly messing it up.
-Not had so much to drink! I thought I'd eaten well and I guess I had champagne for the toast, and one each of our two signature cocktails, and if I had any sips after that I lost track with dancing and socializing. Only a few people noticed at the very end of the night (after most people were gone) that I was suddenly very tipsy. By the time we got out of the venue and back to the AirBnB I was feeling sick and my poor husband and maid of honor took care of me the rest of the night. They didn't care one wit but I was terribly embarrassed and wish my memories of the end of the night weren't so fuzzy.
-Worn my veil more. It was beautiful, but I had to remove it for our choreographed dance and wanted to put it back on after the dance. I forgot, and I didn't ask someone to make sure it got put back on me, so it was just worn for the pre-ceremony pictures and ceremony.
-Paid for more photography time. We had decided 6 hours was enough for us, but we cut it close and I feel like even if we'd extended it to 7 hours I would have been a little happier. We still got lots of great photos, though, so I wouldn't call it a deal breaker.
-Had a kids' nap area. This may sound odd but it would've made a difference in keeping guests around. We had lots of family with kids and as soon as the kids got tired from dancing they had to leave. My SIL hired a babysitter at her wedding (at a hotel, so they had rooms & beds) and people were grateful for that. If we'd had a spot where kids could lay down with a watchful eye nearby, lots of guests would have been able to stay longer and enjoy themselves more. Some pillows/blankets on the floor by a parent table would have gone a long way!
Hope that helps! Good luck future brides!
