Eight Things Newlyweds Regret after Their Wedding
Your wedding should be one of the happiest days of your life. Learn from these couples about what not to do or how to better prepare for your big day!
1. Guest list – This is one of the first big decisions you’ll make and can dictate the venue you can choose and your budget. Don’t let anyone decide who should and shouldn’t be invited to your wedding. Remember, these should be the people who mean the most to you both, not your parents’ co-workers you’ve never even met!
2. Too Many Opinions – Friendly reminder, this is your big day. Not your parents’, not your grandmas’, not your friends’. While it’s lovely they want to help and have opinions, don’t let their opinions overshadow your own. No one wants to walk into their venue and see someone else’s vision on their wedding day. It’s ok to stand firm with what you want!
3. No Hair & Make Up Trial – Do not skip this and make sure the trial is at least a month before your wedding. We want to avoid any unwanted surprises on your wedding day! Doing your trial at least a month out will give you time to fix it or find someone new.
4. Skipping a First Look – This one is not a must follow, some couple’s really do want to stick to tradition and not see each other before the ceremony. Some first look pros are getting more photos done before the ceremony, which will get you into cocktail hour faster. It helps calm the nerves. It’s also one of the few parts of the day reserved strictly for the couple to have alone time. And the photos are to die for!
5. Rushed Photos – Wedding photographs are one of the most important parts of the day and should be treated as such. Don’t rush through getting photos done because people are pressuring you to get to the party. Family photos can be handled quicker if you provide the photographer with a detailed list of people in each photo you want and make sure those family members know to stick around for photos (a first look will help speed this up as well because these group photos can happen before the wedding). Make sure your timeline has allotted time for couple photos after ceremony and around sunset (after dinner but before speeches). You won’t regret the extra ten minutes when you look back on them 20 years from now!
6. Not Eating/Drinking Enough Water – What’s the one thing every couple will tell you about their wedding day? “I barely had time to eat.” There’s a lot going on and lots of people pulling at you for your time and attention, but you must eat and drink plenty of water! Put someone in charge (maid of honor, best man, sibling, parent etc.) of making sure to check in that you’ve had breakfast, snacks, lunch and always has a bottle of water nearby. During dinner, the couple is always served first, and this is your time to feast. Guests can say hi at your table, but don’t feel pressured to visit tables until you have your dinner. They will be happy to see you enjoying your food as well!
7. Not Spending Enough Time Together – It’s your wedding day, you should spend it together! Many couples are now carving out time alone on their wedding days to ensure they get to spend some down time together. From first look/private vows to solo dinners, finding each on the dance floor or a private last dance at the end of the night, these are some great ways to make sure you get one on one time on your special day!
8. Not Hiring a Wedding Coordinator – This is a big one. Your wedding day should be as stress free and calm as possible and hiring a wedding coordinator to handle the logistics, vendors (and difficult guests) is truly the best gift you can give yourself. Whether you hire a full service planner (helps with décor, rentals, food choices etc.), a day of coordinator (writes a timeline, runs rehearsal and runs the full wedding day) or get lucky and choose a venue with their own coordinator (double check exactly what they will do for you though and if you need to hire an outside planner as well), having someone to hand over all the details, décor and stress to on the day will ensure you get to actually enjoy your wedding day. (And before you ask, no your mom or your best friend or your cousin should not be your coordinator, even if they do it professionally. Hire an outside planner so they can enjoy the day with you and you have an impartial person to turn to throughout!).
