Marrieds: what are you glad you did?

I’m so so so SO glad we had a day-of coordinator! Don’t skip this, they’re worth every penny.


I really can’t think of anything I wish we hadn’t done. We pared down a bunch of stuff and kept it to only the things we wanted.

I’m so glad we decided to go with a florist and real florals! When we first started planning, I wasn’t that into the idea of flowers. But now, it is one of my favorite things!
I am also really glad I chose to wear my mom’s veil (which was also worn by three of my aunts). It was super sentimental for all of us ❤️
Super glad we splurged on photography, but wish we would have splurged more on videography. And finally, I am so glad I had things custom-made and didn’t pay attention to what everyone else was doing with their weddings/what was traditional, etc. We made sure everything was authentically “us”.

Wedding coordinator the day of I really cannot imagine my wedding without it.
First look.
No kids minus my nephew but even my brother and SIL were done by the end.

Really glad we invested in a great photographer/ videographer! Everytime I see the pictures it brings me back to that day. Something that wasn’t really in my control but I wish I would’ve spent more time on was to practice processional and recession order at the actual venue. Due to conflicting schedules we had to practice off site and everyone was a bit confused the day of 😅. I also wish I would’ve chosen a different person to marry us I originally wanted someone else but I did it for my husband as it was his uncle and he is our Pastor but he completely forgot my name 🙂. Besides that everything was great!

In the morning, we organized "Hoops with the Groom" and "Beach with the Bride" for friends and family to hangout with us. People said the morning of the wedding would be too hectic, we'd be busy getting ready, but we're so glad we did this. It's a very special thing for everyone you love to be in town together, less time for makeup, etc was a sacrifice we were very happy to make to make extra memories with everybody.

I'm glad we asked or required nothing extra of our wedding party other than outfits discussed with them or what they volunteered to do on their own.

That we skipped over the top, multiple day destination bachelor/bachelorettes

That we prioritized a local wedding and convenience to our guests.

That we included immediate family children. Years later they remember our wedding.

That we skipped unnecessary favors

That we picked a venue for the number of guests we planned to invite and didn't go up to the room capacity limit.

That we splurged on the photography since it's the one thing you keep forever.

I'm happy with the way everything turned out at our wedding! I'm glad we booked a day of coordinator and a videographer (we originally weren't planning on either of those, but changed our minds) - our videos turned out amazing (as did our photos), and our coordinator was so helpful. I'm glad we chose the venue that we did, as it fit the vision we were looking for, and the scenery was beautiful. I'm glad we chose all the vendors that we did - they were all so fun to work with! I'm very glad we did what we wanted for our wedding, and not what other people wanted us to do.

(1) Day of Coordinator/manager

(2) Shuttle service for my guest staying at the hotel and any other guest that wanted to not drive from hotel to reception and returning at the end of night.

(3) Videography even though I didn't see the video yet, but the wedding went so fast there are a lot of things I missed and don't remember and the video will allow me to see everything.....

(4) Reception Venue - Talamore Country club, because they did an amazing job, and we love to golf, so we get 2024 free country club membership.

(5) Photographer vendor Timeless Expression, as they did an amazing job with our engagement photos, and even better for our wedding photos.

(6) New Years Eve Wedding date, was the best adult party ever!! Oh and never forget our anniversary, and party every anniversary....

(7) No Bouquet throwing or Garder belt stuff....

(8) Dessert at 11pm, because a lot of guest leave right after dessert, so we pushed out dessert as late as we could....

Thank you so much!

Lorri Walters

I got a corsage instead of a bouquet. Much cheaper and I wore it all day. I also wore it a couple days on the honeymoon just because lol.

Other Good:
1. Snacks and water out during photos. Kept people hydrated.

2. Sent away wedding party and family after pics. We saved couple photos for last so it would just be us and the photographer. More relaxing and intimate.
3. No grand entrance to the reception. Felt more natural to just already be in the crowd hanging out, and our wedding party was glad to not have to do a dance or whatever.
4. We chose nice looking venues so minimal decor was required. Less setup and less takedown. And thus we did actually most of it ourselves. Didn't need free labor from family or friends.
5. Went home after the wedding. We just wanted to be home together in our normal bed to celebrate our new life as newlywed. We were waiting until marriage to live together so this was so sweet and such a blessing to just go to our home at the end of the day as husband and wife. We did the fancy hotel on the honeymoon though

Stuff I could have done differently:1. I got my makeup done and wish I didn't. I don't usually wear makeup so the professional makeup was way too much for me (personally). Doing my own mascara and a lip gloss would have been enough honestly. I did like my hair done though.
2. Should have had a smaller wedding. 150 was too many people. We liked each person enough obviously to invite to our wedding, but I'm an introvert and that was just too many people.
3. Wish I covered my bridesmaids' dresses. I covered makeup and hair though.
4. Would have been nice to have a bus in the budget for family and wedding party. Carpooling did work out (even though we had a couple people go home instead of to pictures). So it's not really a regret, just if you have the budget for it then it's worth it. We did not have the budget.

I'm so glad we went small with those extra special attendance; saved money with an all-inclusive wedding ceremony package; and had a private reception dinner at a restaurant. Our day was absolutely beautiful and stress-free.

Oh my goodness, it was a fairytale, dream come true type of wedding!

Things I'm glad we did:
1. Not skimp on our outfits:I wore a rose gold quinceanera dress, pointy tiara and gold trimmed veil, both from etsy, I asked my mom to make me a necklace because she makes jewelry, I bought all the materials and she made it just the way I wanted it. I made my own custom earrings too. Also did the "old, new, borrowed, and blue" thing. My husband looked amazing in his hunter green suit, and brown boots. The groomsmen and bridesmaids, especially, looked great as well. 2. Went with the florist we picked: My bouquet, flowers, and all the greenery was absolutely beautiful, at a super affordable price, the florist is an at home florist I met through a friend and it worked out perfectly because all the local florists couldn't promise me a certain flower but this one got them for me. 3. Glad we got a package dealur venue came with a day of coordinator, photographer, dj, and cake included in the price, all amazing by the way! They recommended their videographer and his price couldn't be beat so we went with him as well. Glad we didn't do:
1. bachelor/bachelorette parties or bridal shower, that all seemed excessive plus 2 of my 4 bridesmaids were out of state and all my husband's groomsmen are out of state as well so it would have been difficult to coordinate. 2. Garter toss. Though I feel it would have been fun there were too many elderly family members and not enough single young men so it would have been awkward.Thing I wish we had done:1. Have a flower girl. The child I thought of was my close friend's daughter but my friend had a lot going on at the time so I didn't want to burden her. In retrospect though, I think I should have asked, I think it would have been cute and I bet she would have liked to have been involved in the wedding too.2. Planned and saved a bit better, we left a few things to the last minute and scrambled a tiny bit but it all came together perfectly.

Everything was so wonderful and stress-free, it was everything we had wanted!

So glad we did:

1. chose a venue with a package deal

2. kept things small with 50 guests

3. chose a close family member as our officiant

Glad we didn't do:

1. wedding party

2. bouquet/garter toss

3. bachelor/bachelorette parties

The only thing that I can even begin to say that I wish was different was that we felt quite rushed doing all of our pictures after the ceremony. We knew this would happen but my husband was addiment that he didn't want to see me before my walk down the aisle.

Glad we did:

1. Planning was a team effort with my partner. It was at times frustrating to have 2 minds, 2 opinions, and 1 budget, but we got through the process and made intentional decisions. We hired a planner for final execution (also a mediator).

2. Went with 2 already decorative and colorful venues. I knew I could've gone down an expensive Etsy black hole with my maximalist decor taste, so we let our venues do the talking. Our decor budget focused only on floral and lighting. Blank slate would've given me anxiety and debt.

3. Got married in under 6 months with existing money. The one year engagement is arbitrary for some.

4. Had a childfree wedding. Our adult list of 150 had 40+ children.

5. None of the optional parties for me. My husband got his bachelor party.

6. Black tie, gift bags, favors, guest transport. Informal afterparty at the hotel. All the things that are optional, but conveyed how we like to celebrate.

6. Approached it like it was going to be a great party. I knew it wasn't going to be the best day of my life and set my expectations within reality.

7. Couples counseling before and after.

Wished we did:

Had a talk about the actual hosting and stayed side-by-side all night. At some point, we were on separate sides with our separate peoples and the night went so fast. This emotionally caused problems after as who was this wedding for-- us or his friends? All in all, it was a good night.

BTW, this is a fun thread with a variety of decisions!

1. So glad we hired our photographer Jake Ford Photography for all day and extra events--he took the most special photos of guests at the reception and we know people will cherish them. (See below lol).
2. Wish I designated someone to make sure I was on time all day!!
3. Wish I did more research or made sure my makeup artist did spray on foundation or something that would stay better--or else gave bridesmaids makeup because I'm a cryer and it all came off!

View Quoted Comment Hey! Congrats! Can I ask what were some of the things you wanted that you kept? And were things that you’re glad you went without and why?

View Quoted Comment We were pretty traditional in the ceremony — I wore white, my dad gave me away, unity candle. We did write our own vows, which I was super nervous about but felt so right in the moment. I’m glad I kept it to only three bridesmaids so it wasn’t overwhelming while we got ready. Our ceremony felt long to me — we had two fairly long readings — but someone did comment on how short it was! 😆


Our reception is where we bucked a lot of tradition, especially for my family. Biggest heresy - we didn’t have a meal! We had an afternoon wedding and were totally done by 6, so we just served appetizers/finger foods and dessert. But the food was a big hit! There was no dollar dance, no wedding party dance, and definitely no bouquet toss/garter throw, which I hate with a fiery passion. There was dancing, but we kept the volume at a level where people could mill around and socialize too.

View Quoted Comment Awesome! Thanks for sharing! We will only have four bridesmaids and four groomsmen as well lol

I felt the guest list board was a waste because several people didn’t show or canceled and I invited others in their place who name wasn’t on there. Then people had people they wanted to sit with.

Loved everything about our wedding!
Glad we did:
1 -Welcome dinner the night before for all traveling guests. We had a blast spending this extra time with everyone without the distraction of wedding obligations 2 - Day of Coordinator. Total focus on ME being the bride.3 - First look ..... allowed us to party and spend more time participating in the event!4 - photo booth, hit of the day5 - dessert bar rather than "just cake". Again, huge hit with the guests.6 - Focused the budget on quality food and superb photographer. Everyone raved that it was the best wedding food they'd ever had.7 - kept the entire theme as relaxed fun; no tuxes, no garter/bouquet toss, and no forcing attendants to parade in and dance.
Things I wish I had done differently ..... I over estimated the desserts LOL. Many guest went home loaded with take home as well as the wait staff.
I SORT OF wish I had the videographer stay past the ceremony and recorded our first dance. But, I am thrilled with the actual ceremony taping so all is good.
Hubby and I wish we could relive that perfect day...... sigh.