Regardless of how special your wedding day was, there will always be a few things you wish you did differently.
Why did we allow children to come? Why didn’t we hire a good photographer? What if I never invited his drunk uncle?
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The list goes on and on.
So whether you’re planning your big day or just want to feel less alone in your mistakes, here are 10+ wedding regrets from real people.
Not eloping.
As special as a traditional wedding is, it’s typically more expensive for the bride and groom.
This Redditor wished they spent their money on a beach wedding and extended their honeymoon by two weeks.
A reception line.
“I didn’t want to do it but felt pressured. All I did for three-quarters of my reception was stand and say hello to people. It was miserable and took a lot of the fun out of the day.” – Redditor u/emsquad
Stuffing cake in their partner’s face.
Buck tradition — this “fun” wedding tradition actually messes up hours of a bride’s makeup application. One Redditor said that it’s even a way of humiliating your new spouse.
Giving the photographer free reign.
“Looking back, I should have told him to do all the photo poses he wanted in the first hour, then leave us alone,” wrote this Redditor . This also makes it impossible to grab candid shots.
Not watching their partner walk down the aisle.
People love to see the husband tear up as his gorgeous bride walks down the aisle. It’s such an emotional, vulnerable moment. But this husband sadly missed out since he was told to look away.
Getting separated from their wife at the wedding.
“She went to the bathroom and then got swarmed by friends and family, and she disappeared for what seemed like hours. Also, getting pulled away from each other in general, like when I would get a drink or talk to someone.” – Redditor u/Ezzy17
“Choosing my maid of honor based on a promise I made with my childhood friend to be maid of honor at each other’s wedding.”
This didn’t end well. This person’s maid-of-honor didn’t help with any wedding tasks, including planning the bachelorette party.
Hiring a bad photographer.
Your memories may fade, but the photographs you have of your special day are forever.
So while you may skimp on the dinner or the open bar, people advise that you hire a good photographer.
“Not having a specific list of photos I wanted taken for my photographer.”
“I figured, since he was a professional, he knew what to do. And now I’m heartbroken that I never got a portrait with my dad, who passed away a few years later.”- ashleyd4a475ef45
Letting the mother-in-law dictate everything.
“It stopped being our wedding and became her wedding,” this Redditor wrote .
They shared that the ex-mother-in-law did a mommy-daughter dance, made a 30-minute speech about raising her daughter, and even tossed the bouquet herself.
Not hiring a wedding planner.
This is another useful wedding hack !
“I thought I was saving money by not having one, but the money would have been worth the stress a planner would have saved me.” – artisticporcupine97
Not eating enough food.
It’s hard to eat a full meal when you’re constantly being interrupted by friends and family members.
But since you’re the one paying for everyone’s dinner, you deserve the time to eat!
“Letting kids come to the wedding.”
“We made a kids table with coloring books and board games that we hoped would keep them entertained, but they didn’t touch any of it, and some of them even ended up having tantrums. Big nope.” – AntisocialAchromatic
Picking a long song for your first dance.
If you’re not a good dancer and don’t like being the center of attention, it’s not a good idea to choose something longer than three minutes. Some people even wished they skipped the first dance entirely.
“I regret hiring friends as vendors.”
“I had received the advice not to work with friends so many times, but thought, Nah — my friends are professionals. Well, all of the vendors I had issues with were friends. And it was really awkward to confront them after my wedding, especially when I needed to ask one of them for a refund.” – franimal4
“Inviting certain people just so we didn’t offend them, only to have them show us exactly why we didn’t want to invite them.”
This is where wedding hacks come in handy! You can keep the guest list low by agreeing not to invite certain categories, such as co-workers.
“Getting married at the courthouse.”
“We always planned to have a ceremony and reception later, but it never happened. And I wish I had gotten to wear a wedding dress and have my dad walk me down the aisle.” – jessicaritter
Drinking too much.
For all you’re paying, you’ll want to actually remember your wedding day!
When this couple drank too much, they ended up spending their wedding night sharing the toilet to throw up. How romantic!
“I really wish I had actually stopped to enjoy the night.”
“I was so concerned with making sure everything turned out exactly as I envisioned that I barely got to eat dinner, barely spoke to anyone, and didn’t even get to try my cake until the next day!” – marialuisas3
Believe it or not, dancing too much.
“In all honesty, I regret dancing so much. We danced so much, we forgot to go around to individually thank everyone for coming. They all came to us on the dance floor to say hello. 10/10 still dancing.” said CrusaderofTruth .
Not wearing enough sunscreen on a nice day.
“Not wearing sunscreen. As it turns out the rules don’t change because it’s a special day.” this user said.
Dermatologists probably agree! Wear your sunscreen!
Drinking too much the night before
“The closest thing to a regret that I can muster about that day was drinking the previous night. I had a rule of no shots. I broke that rule. As a result, I upheld the proud tradition of being borderline dead on my feet and made it through the ceremony on little more than gumption and the matrimonial equivalent to stage health.”
One bride regretted wearing white!
Hey, doing so certainly isn’t for everyone.
A lot of people have chosen to wore darker colors or off-white for their wedding. Whatever works, I say!
Not being with their husband the night before.
“I regret staying in a separate place from my husband the night before our wedding. We had already been living together for three years, and being apart created so much unnecessary anxiety.”
Having a wedding at all!
This couple felt pressure into having a wedding.
They were perfectly okay with the marriage portion, but the regrets came once the bills started pouring in for the wedding. They’d rather have a longer honeymoon.
Having children present.
“Letting kids come to the wedding. We made a kids table with coloring books and board games that we hoped would keep them entertained, but they didn’t touch any of it, and some of them even ended up having tantrums. Big nope.” said —AntisocialAchromatic.
Expecting too much
One user said that they expected their wedding to be the best day of their life, but it wasn’t.
However, they also acknowledged that that’s also okay!
Not going through with their theme.
“I regret deciding to abandon the book-themed wedding I wanted because everyone else thought it was dumb. Our deep love of books has always been the thing that unites me and my partner.” said —mrsawesome0717 .
Waiting a year.
Okay, this one was out of their control because COVID got in the way, but maybe that user’s predicament was a teaching lesson.
If you want to do something, do it now.
Making a friend take the video
Hire a professional videographer if you can afford it.
You’ll thank yourself in the long run for spending all that money, instead of asking your friend to take a shaky video.
This last one isn’t exactly a regret, but it’s good advice all the same:
“Not exactly a regret, but just a reminder to keep things in perspective.
Looking at my grandmother’s wedding photos, she pointed out her bridesmaids wearing matching hats. She remembered these hats were important and there was some big to-do about them. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what exactly and you certainly couldn’t tell from the pictures.
Just remember that when you’re having heated debates over the “correct” shade of blue for the napkins.” one user commented.
