This post is about the most common wedding day regrets.
You’re in the midst of wedding planning and there’s so much going on. You’re constantly making decisions, choosing creative direction, choosing vendors, allocating budget. You can feel this slow build up to your (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime day, and the last thing that you want is to have wedding day regrets and wish you’d done things differently.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you avoid these common regrets. We’ve asked recent brides that we’ve worked with to share their regrets so you don’t have to make the same mistakes.
1. Not Slowing Down To Soak It In
We know you’ve heard it a million times before, but the day really will fly by in a flash! It’s so easy to get swept up with the non-stop timeline and greeting guests that you never really take a moment to soak it all in.
Recent brides have told us that they wish they’d allocated alone-time into the day’s schedule to take a breather and cherish the moment.
We suggest giving yourself at least 5 minutes to yourself before heading out to the ceremony. Slow down, admire your wedding look, and take a few breaths.
Brides often tell us that they feel so swept up in the ceremony that it feels like a whirlwind. And they never truly took the time to stop and look out at all of their loved ones in the audience.
Try to slow down and take in this sight of all of your favourite people in the same place. As it’s likely a sight you won’t see again!
2. Taking The Wedding Too Seriously
Yes, getting married is a serious act and not something to be taken lightly however that doesn’t mean that the whole wedding day and planning of it needs to be serious.
You can have fun with it! You can laugh, smile, do things your way!
That goes for when things go wrong too (because they will!) – it’s really not that serious!
After all, the wedding day is basically a huge, fun party, right?
And honestly, most guests won’t even know that something has gone wrong, so it’s not that big of a deal. Most of the small things that go wrong will end up being a funny story to laugh about later.
Pro tip: If you really want to focus on having fun during your day, check out this list of 23 ideas to make your wedding ridiculously fun.
3. Not Getting Enough Content (Especially Videos)
This is one of the biggest wedding day regrets! At the end of the day, all you have from your wedding once it’s over is your memories and photo/video content. So it’s not something you want to skimp on.
Most people do invest in a good wedding photographer. But many see the videographer as a bonus and not needed.
However recent brides have told us it’s something they do wish they’d allocated budget for. There are simply moments that a videographer will capture that your photographer can’t.
If looking for something more low-cost than a videographer, we recommend thinking about hiring a wedding content creator like us. We capture 1,000s of iPhone videos and photos throughout your day, almost like a paid paparazzi or professional bridesmaid!
You’ll have tons of vertical videos sent to you within 24 hours of the event – perfect for sharing on socials. If you want more information, learn more about our wedding content creator service here.
4. Not Nailing The Hair & Makeup Trial
How you feel on your wedding day will impact the energy all throughout – you want to look and feel sensational.
So it’s not the time to cross your fingers and just hope that your hair and makeup artist will nail the brief.
At least one trial is an absolute must. And if you don’t feel like they nailed the brief during the trial, book another one. You want to rock up to your wedding day knowing that you will get the hair and makeup look that you want – not hoping for it.
That will make you feel so much more relaxed on the day and you won’t be nervous throughout the morning hoping that your hair and makeup will turn out right.
You definitely don’t want last-minute panic trying to fix a look that you’re not happy with.
5. More Wedding Day Regrets: Not Eating Enough During The Day
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The day will fly by!
That rush combined with potential nerves will mean that you might forget to eat enough. The last thing you want is to feel tired and hangry on this special day. Even worse, under-eating makes it easier to overdo the alcohol.
Past brides told us that they wish they’d ensured that they’d had a good breakfast, sizeable lunch during the Getting Ready stage, and made time to eat properly at dinner.
We recommend asking a bridesmaid to ensure you eat enough.
6. Allowing Others Opinions to Shape Your Day Too Much
Family and friends will always have an opinion on your day, from what you should wear, and who you should invite, to who should walk you down the aisle.
It’s easy to allow their opinions to influence you.
However, don’t forget that this is your day – you get to choose what you want! Don’t be afraid to step on some toes, you can’t make everybody happy all of the time.
7. Not Spending Enough Time With Your Partner
Your wedding day is ultimately a celebration of the love between you and your partner.
While it’s easy to get distracted by trying to chat with all of your guests, it’s important to spend quality time with your new spouse. It’s one of those wedding day regrets that you don’t want.
Fit special moments into your timeline or consciously create them throughout the day.
For example, you might want to organise a private first look between you, or privately saying your vows to each other. Others wish they’d done their own sweetheart table during dinner to have their first meal together as a couple.
Recent brides have also told us that during their first dance or couple photoshoots, they wish they’d been more present in the moment and less focusing on ‘performing’.
These are small moments where you can consciously be present with each other.
Over Or Under-Spending On The Wrong Things
‘Wrong’ is subjective so what feels like excessive under/over-spending to you might feel differently for others. This is your day, so focus on what matters most to you and spend more on that, while spending less on what doesn’t matter.
For some, it might feel important to create a beautiful event so spending more on flowers or venue may matter.
Others might focus more on creating a fun event where spending on stationery and decor might matter less, and things like photobooths or music would matter more.
It’s easy to think that you have to do it all. The live music, decor, flowers, stationery, outfit changes, videographer and photographer… But keep coming back to true north of what actually matters to you as a couple.
Remember that each vendor will likely try to upsell you or try to convince you that it’s ‘not a wedding’ without certain elements e.g. florals.
We recommend at the very beginning of wedding planning that you write down your core values around your wedding and keep coming back to those when making decisions.
You don’t need to do it all to make it a fantastic, unforgettable wedding – do what matters to you.
Feeling more at ease now knowing that you can easily avoid these 8 common regrets? Great!
Ultimately, it’s likely that there’ll be something that you could have done differently but we like to hold the mindset of focusing on what went well and truly soaking in the joy of the day (especially when you’re spending that much!).
Everything will work out just right in the end anyway.
Interested in hiring us for your wedding day to make sure you have no regrets in not getting enough content? Get in touch with us here.
This post was about 8 common wedding day regrets to avoid.
