Got married last week, here’s some things that I loved and regretted!

I can’t believe the day finally came and went!! After so much anticipation, excitement, anxiety and chaos, it feels so good to go back to a sense of normalcy. It truly was one of the best days of my life and I’ll cherish the memories forever!

I remember planning and loved hearing about things people loved and regretted about their wedding so I figured I’d make a list of my own. Just an FYI - our wedding was small, around 40 people and we tried to budget under 10k.

Things I loved:

I stayed the Friday/Saturday/morning of at my parents place. I honestly just didn’t want to worry about the possibility of getting into an argument with my fiancé (things have been more tense due to wedding stress, hosting a ton of people etc.). It was really nice to just unwind by myself in my childhood bedroom, and have my parents help me with last minute details. It felt quite sentimental and special as well!

We hosted a welcome dinner/party the Friday before the wedding. It was just a great opportunity for all of our guests to get acquainted before the wedding. I also wasn’t expecting it but our families went above and beyond and organized everything for us. It’s something I’ll cherish forever!

We decided not to have bridal parties. This was mostly due to me not keeping contact with old friends/only having acquaintances that I’m not super close with (my 20s have been rough lol). I was really self conscious of this fact but no one seemed to care, and it took a lot of stress off of me.

Having children at our wedding. There were around 8 young children there. Yes, there was a bit of chaos and crying, but I loved the energy they brought. Free entertainment!

Doing my own makeup, but getting my hair done professionally. I’m not very good at makeup but I wasn’t willing to spend hundreds on a trial + day of session. I decided to just practice my own look and it turned out well. Hair on the other hand I have 0 ability with haha. My mom, sisters and niece and I booked to get our hair done together and it was one of the highlights of the day!! Our stylists treated us like princesses and did such a great job!!

Not worrying about losing weight, or any other crazy beauty treatments. I wanted to feel like myself, and I wanted my husband to see me as me, not some fake version of myself. I got my eyebrows and nails done, and just focused on eating well/hydrating the weeks leading up - that’s it.

Making the active decision not to stress about my cycle. I started my period on my wedding day, and ended it the very last day of our honeymoon. I remember deciding that it’s completely out of my control and that I’m going to make the best of it (I have heavy painful periods too). I just planned accordingly, had some strong pain meds on hand and let my body do its thing.

Things I regret:

Wanting to skimp on photography. I remember waking up the morning of and frantically calling my photographer for extra time and I’m so happy I did!! I would recommend splurging a bit on photography if you’re able to - you’ll cherish those photographs.

Hosting several out of state guests in our house during our wedding week. My husband and I are both introverts and we went back and forth about this many times, but ultimately decided to host 6 people in our (smallish) house. It was chaotic, and having to worry about hosting/cooking was so much on top of sorting through last minute details. Thankfully we were able to book a hotel for our wedding night lol!

Not doing a formal reception/dance after the ceremony. We decided to just do a dinner at a restaurant in order to save on cost. In retrospect, it would’ve been so much fun to have formal reception venue booked with dancing. Unfortunately this just wasn’t in our budget.

Not putting more thought into wedding bands. Although I love my wedding band, the decision was a bit rushed (my fault) and I wish I would’ve put more thought into it.

—————— Anyways, I could add to these lists forever but I’ll end it here. Hopefully this helps any bride/grooms to be!