Here Are My Personal Top Wedding Planning Mistakes To Avoid
Photo By Karen Ann Photography
I had previously shared some common wedding planning regrets that I often hear with you all here on the blog but today, I wanted to share my own personal wedding mistakes or regrets with you. So, here it is. The blog where we are going to talk about all of my personal regrets with planning my own wedding.
Over the years I have heard so many regrets from married couples about all the things that they wished they had done differently for their weddings. I don’t want you to have regrets about your wedding or the wedding planning process so, I wanted to share the things that I wish I had done differently so you can avoid them. So, let’s get into the good stuff.
Mistake/Regret #1 - My husband, Daniel and I got married on May 26th, 2012, Memorial Day Weekend. It’s been said that having your wedding on a holiday weekend means a longer wedding weekend to enjoy with your friends and family. That sounds like a great idea but, your friends and family might have other plans for their holiday weekend. Despite sending out save-the-dates to all our guests a year in advance, more than half our guests couldn’t make it to our wedding because of pre-made Memorial Day plans. That was a total bummer when only about 63 guests actually came to our wedding when we had originally invited about 140 people. If I could go back, I would have picked another weekend in May or maybe even a weekend in the Fall since it’s my favorite season. Although the holiday weekend idea seems like a great option, keep in mind that your guests may have special travel and vacation plans already booked out well in advance. If you decide to do the route of a holiday weekend, expect a lower guest count and plan for a smaller reception.
Mistake/Regret #2 - My shoes. Yup, my shoes! I bought these beautiful ivory strappy open toe stilettos that I was obsessed with. Every time I walked into the Bridal Shop I had bought them from, I would be drooling over them. I kept convincing myself that I needed them and trying to figure out a way I could afford to pay for their high price tag. Eventually, I gave in and just bought the pretty shoes. I did all the things to break them in. I wore them around the house with my big fuzzy socks on to stretch them out and scuff the bottoms thinking that if I broke them in, they would be comfortable enough to wear the day of the wedding. Well, I was so wrong. Although they looked amazing in detail pictures with our rings and flowers, they absolutely killed my feet. By the time we finished our Bridal Party photos and headed into the Ceremony, I was almost in tears from the pain. As I stood at the alter, holding my husband’s hands and looking in his eyes as our pastor read through the Bible versus, all I could think about was my feet. I remember thinking, I can’t wait until this is over so I can go put on my flip flops that I had in my bag for the Reception. I had looked forward to that moment my whole life and although it was still amazing, I wish that I had not been wearing shoes that kept stealing my focus in that moment. If I could go back, I would have rocked a super comfy but beautiful pair of flats. Honestly, comfort is more important here. They can still be beautiful but make sure you get yourself a pair of shoes that you can comfortably wear for hours.
Mistake/Regret #3 - Our invitations. At the time, my now husband and I were on a tight budget and were pinching pennies to pull all our wedding details together. Because of the budget, we decided to forgo the nice wedding invitations and instead decided to make them ourselves. We ended up finding some pretty printing paper with roses on it that matched our color scheme and typed up our invites on our computer in Word and printed them from our home printer. Although they served the purpose and kept the cost down, I ended up feeling very disappointed with them years later. They weren’t pretty enough to even photograph and so we didn’t have them photographed by our photographer the day of our wedding. Thinking back on it now, almost 9 years later, I wish I had just spent a little money on them and purchased some nice invitations instead of making them ourselves. I wish we had a picture of our nice invitations laid out with my jewelry and shoes as a special memento. The invitation that brought our friends and family together to share our day with us. If I could go back, I would definitely spend the money on the invites. I wouldn’t have been able to get the really nice custom made ones by a professional stationer but, I would definitely would have gotten them from a less expensive source like Minted.com or BasicInvite.com.
There you have it. My top 3 biggest wedding regrets. The take away from this is to remember to enjoy every second of your day. It sounds cliché but, the day really does goes by so fast. Don’t sweat the small stuff, your wedding day is about you and your future partner. Live in the moment. Be with your loved ones. Buy the pretty things. Dance the night away and be comfortable doing it.
Happy Planning! <3
Love,
Naticia
