What was your biggest Regret, something you Wouldn't change, and happiest Decision?

Best decisions for us: 1) Prioritized quality of experience over guest list; 2) had two photographers; 3: did first look; 4) no wedding party; 5) booked off-season/weekday saving 50% off site & hotel fees (15-person destination wedding--might not work for a big guest list)

Wish: we booked a massage the week of!

Biggest regret is who I had for my MOH, not spending the night before alone and letting everybody watch our first look. It wasnt my intention but I didnt feel like I could say no at that point. Hubby's parents weren't there and they did some family photos after the bridal party pics and i feel horrible that my in laws weren't there.

Wouldn't change most everything else!

The sweetheart table was my favorite. It gave us some private time!

View Quoted Comment

LOVE the massage! I hope to do this, and just need to make time for it!

Thank you for the insight!

View Quoted Comment

This is all great! The first look I do want to be just us and it will be off site...ish. but this is great!! Thank you!!

I got married almost 4 years ago. I made sooooo many mistakes.

1. I let my husband pick the venue.
2. I thought I could do my own cake.
3. Don't settle for a dress you don't absolutely love to the moon and back.
4. Did not have reception and ceremony in the same place. People got lost.
5. Got married in August. Too hot even though it was inside.

View Quoted Comment

This is all great!! Thank you so much!! The cake thing I have really been thinking about, so something to avoid! Got it!!

My biggest regret was my choice of photographer. They were able to get some great shots but a lot were missing. Other than that, I loved everything about my wedding. 😊

My first wedding I made soo many mistakes trying to keep it as low budget as possible.
with vendors you get what you pay for!
Im on a budget this time too but definitely more discriminating.
our wedding planner was great until the day of. Her help didn’t arrive, she forgot a ton of stuff, and did the centerpieces completely wrong.
we hired a company to serve food and drinks and clean up. Again low budget. His team didn’t come, he was late alone and unprepared.
it was extremely hot outdoors and he had no beverages out at all. I noticed part way into the reception and had to find them myself.
i wanted real dishes so bad I bought them all. Well the same guy was supposed to wash the dishes. And he bailed early. I was doing dishes in my wedding dress after the reception was over.

i learned a ton the hard way and swore that we wouldn’t cut those types of corners.
i hires a legit DOC. Real catering. Having live metal band and not being afraid to play the music we like to please everyone else.
I am hating how expensive it is but I’m so glad I won’t have to deal with the issues I did the first time being cheap.
my vendors are not at all top tier cost but mid range and all are great. Hopefully the day of the wedding goes smoothly thanks to our doc!
first time we had videographer and I only watched the video once.
this time I wish we could hire video (fh is very sentimental and would appreciate it to look back on.) but we can’t afford it. I know we will regret that.

Oh doing disposable even tho I have real dishes included in my venue bc we would have to wash them. Fh thinks his family will want to step in but I’m not gambling that and dealing with the crap. I hate the waste so much but my sanity matters lol

Hmmm I’m 4 months post wedding and trying to think about what would fall into each category.

1) regret.... I wish we had kept our bar open instead of changing to cash. I think more of our friends would’ve hung around longer.

2) wouldn’t change: we didn’t hire a videographer and I don’t regret it

3) happiest thing was all the details and surprises I planned to really make the day “us”, from little gifts for my husband, to surprises for the groomsmen, to decor choices. It was a formal wedding, but not stuffy at all and totally fit us.

Biggest regret--not hiring a DOC. Everything worked out just fine but I would have been so much more able to relax if I wasn't worried about silly details.

Wouldn't change--No first look. The build up to seeing my husband as I walked down the aisle was definitely worth it all.

Happiest thing--Oh there were so many. Having a sweetheart table and a few minutes to enjoy our time alone was awesome. Having a small bridal party of the 3 people closest to me in the world made for a drama free just full of love day.

This is a great forum, helping me alot, thank you!

Biggest regret: not hiring a wedding planner....I did so much DIY and had to redo it or changed my mind so many times in our 3 year engagement that I wasted a lot of money. I could have hired a wedding planner and rented everything for less.

Something i wouldn't change: my dress ♡ it's unique and everything wanted!

Best decision: the person I'm marrying ♡ lol and also having the wedding out of state. I'm a super anxiety ridden person.. having it out of state made it to where we have 30 guests instead of the 300 I'm sure would show up from our large families... who we barely know 10% of. We also saved money because since our venue is in a "tourist" city our venue is a yacht and food (pur guest get to choose between TEN entrees (inclues salads, bread and open bar), venue & DOC for wedding traditions was under 3000. DEAL!

Regret: All inclusive? We went with a DIY venue aka bringing in all of our own vendors to save money, which in turn cost about the same with having to rent linens and extra chairs and all of the decor, etc. An all inclusive isn't always more expensive. The planning would have been less complicated if I had known ahead of time. We actually toured an all inclusive venue first, but the sticker shock kept us away. The work I put in for the wedding is something I regret because I wouldhave had an easier time planning had I let someone else worry about it.

Wouldn't change: My vendors. We really picked a great team and we were happy with everyones services and prices. We really felt like the day went so smoothly. I also didn't splurge on a dress or anything. I found a beautiful dress from Davids and spent $600 on it. At first I thought I'd regret not wearing something more expensive, but no one knew what I spent and no one cared. I looked and felt gorgeous with a smaller price tag.

Happiest Decision: DIY my flowers. I had a smaller budget for florals (bc we really didnt care about them a lot) so I figured a florist was out of the question. I ordered flowers and greenery in bulk from Sams, put it all together myself with a little research and had GORGEOUS floral displays for about just under $500 total. BEST IDEA EVER. Yeah, its a little more work but I saved literally thousands. (My other happiest decision was marrying my husband, but thats a given!)

Regrets: Not cutting our guest list more, not getting a videographer, not giving our photographer a shot list (great photos, but no individual shots with our wedding party or grandparents)

Best decision/wouldn't change: semi-inclusive reception venue, having our friend officiate the wedding (he is a pastor at the church we got married at), doing a first look

Thank you all for your help and insight!! This is all great! Thank you!!