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I wish more brides would post those...I found it helpful too.
Wish I had:
Bought a nice hanger for the dress pictures
Had a more detailed must-take list
Explained to the photographer/videographer that our ceremony was only eight minutes long (barely got any shots from it)
Measured the amount of cake I actually needed to make for 65 guests (I could have fed 300)
Put up signs to the wedding (I assumed Google Maps was good enough)
Rented one less table and settings
Taken more time to enjoy the engagement and wedding planning process
Not forgotten to dance with my mom when Brown Eyed Girl was played
What we did right:
Hired the caricature artist
The band!
Having a "no strangers" rule about the guest list
Being firm about not inviting certain unwelcome people
Having my mom walk me down the ailse
Having only one attendant each
Going partially catered
Disregarding traditions we didn't believe in
Having my MOH get my food instead of me getting it in the buffet line
That's funny. Today is our one month anniversary and for the past couple of weeks I keep mulling over in my mind the things that I wish I would have taken more time on.
I wish I would have:
Bought a cake plateau. I got frustrated with the search for a square plateau and gave up. Now when I look at the pictures of the cake, it seems like its missing something.
Enjoyed the planning and wedding experience more. I let a lot of people frustrate me when I shouldn't have.
Not cut the reception short. We were so exhausted that we cut our reception an hour and a half short and ended at 10:30. I always pictured us partying until midnight, but we just couldn't make it.
Went with another reception venue. The owner was unnecessarily frustrating and inflexible and caused us many extra hours of work because she didn't listen.
Took engagement pictures.
What we did right: Paid for a make-up artist. All of the bridesmaids makeup was flawless.
The food: We went with Stonefire Grill, and even though we ended up paying for more than we needed, the guests couldn't stop talking about how good the food was...and it was very reasonable. Truly a deal.
Had my friend Nicole to help with most of the design aspects. We had so many last minute apocalyptic catastrophies, that if it wasn't for her, I'm convinced that our wedding wouldn't have been as nice as it was.
Let all of the bridesmaids pick their own dresses. It looks so good in pictures with all of the different dresses - all the same color scheme, but interpreted in different ways. It came together nicely.
Put the bridal bouqet down! After the ceremony, when the photographer was taking our first pictures as husband and wife, every single shot has my bouquet in it...and it's blocking the beautiful details of my gown!
So my only advice is to have someone remind you (because I promise you'll forget!) to set the bouqet down. Your make-up will also be freshest at this point, so this is the prime opportunity for your best couple shots.
You spend so much time choosing the gown, I regret not having any really good shots of me, the hubby and the dress!
Leisuregirl, can you post a link to Mrs Bees article? I would love to read it and I can't seem to find it. Thanks so much!
This is so insightful! Thanks ladies!
Here's the link to Mrs. Bee's blog: http://www.weddingbee.com/2005/03/07/what-i-would-have-done-differently/
Mrs. Butterfly posted something similar:
http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/12/22/things-i-did-right/
http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/12/13/things-i-would-have-done-differently/
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What I wished I'd done:
Hired a DOC or at least someone to be a "buffer" between me and everyone else during the hectic days and hours of prep before the wedding. I did pretty much 99% of the planning all myself and so I became the default go-to person for any question or logistical issue and it was really exhausting when really all I wanted to do was enjoy the day. That said, I AM glad I asked a trusted friend to set up all the decor at the venue for me, and she did an amazing job (even included a few surprise elements which were wonderful!).
I wish I'd realized that the catering manager never took the cake back to cut up and serve to people. They just left it there on the table for people to cut pieces off on their own. Which was odd. And they never put out our toasting flutes, also odd.
Being flexible about things going wrong. One of our sons decided on the day of the wedding that he didn't want to do his reading, so we omitted it. The other son also demoted himself from ringbearer to just walking down the aisle, which was fine, too. Our "best men of honor" ended up giving us our rings, which was really moving and sweet so it turned out.
What I did right:
Did away with a lot of unnecessary (to me, anyway) elements that saved me a lot of stress and time: BMs chose their own dresses, GMs wore their own suits (I just provided ties), didn't do favors or OOT bags, ordered invitations, table #s, programs, etc. instead of DIYing. I think a lot of brides overwhelm themselves with piling on a lot of little projects that they feel they MUST have, which in the end really no one notices.
I wish I would have spent more time getting myself together on the day of the wedding... I felt rushed because I was trying to make sure my hair was done, my sister's (MOH) and my step-daughters (BM). That took up too much time and I felt rushed for the rest of the day.
I would have a set plan for my photos. I missed a LOT of opportunities for pictures on the property and with my husband.
I would have also spent the extra money to bring my personal hairstylist to FL with me, it would have been worth it for my wedding as she does hair and make up.
Everything else went well!!
This is going to sound so silly, but the one thing I would've done differently is to not have forgotten to have a tissue or handkerchief up there with me! I had one that I'd planned to wrap around my bouquet, but forgot to in the flurry leading up to the processional and as luck would have it, my husband didn't have one on him either! I was a teary mess with nothing to mop up with! Minor, I know, but it was annoying.
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I recently read an old blog by Mrs. Bee on what she did right and what she would have done differently on her wedding day. It was soo informative and I've already taken a lot of notes.
Are there brides out there who can dispense similar wisdom? What they loved about what they did and what they wished they had done on their wedding day?