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Many couples start thinking about wedding details the second a ring is placed on the bride-to-be's finger. From venues to photographers and everything in between, there can be a lot to think about, and some couples will want to start planning as soon as possible.
However, no matter how well-planned the day is, there are bound to be some missteps that only make themselves clear during or after the event. These can be exacerbated by the uncertainty that comes with planning a wedding amidst an ongoing pandemic.
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Most of these missteps are minor and ultimately don't take away from the day as a whole. Still, four brides spoke to about the things they wish they'd done differently.
It's common for brides to take pictures of their getting-ready process before they change into their actual gowns. Budgeting some extra time to breathe in between taking pictures and getting dressed can help ease the stress of the day.
I wish I would have just had our photographer come a little bit earlier so that we could calmly take those pictures and then have another mimosa or enjoy like 30 minutes to calmly get ready for the ceremony, Sidney Walker, who got married in August 2021, told .
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I really wanted a shot of my mom and grandma pinning in my veil, but once they had stuck it in my head I didn't go back to my hairdresser and have her pin it in ... I regret not just taking the extra 60 seconds to pin it in, but in the midst of the scramble I totally spaced to do that, she said.
While it may seem like a very specific concern, Walker, who has detailed some of her wedding regrets on TikTok, says plenty of brides shared similar veil-fail experiences in the comments.
If you have a vision in place, it makes it really crisp for everyone to know where they need to go and when, she said.
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Since the day can go by quickly, knowing where you want to have your photos taken reduces the risk of having unsatisfactory backgrounds.
I regret not pre-determining those, because the one location that we picked wasn't really my favorite; we were in a rush for time, a common theme here, said Walker.
Another bride regrets not hiring a wedding planner or someone who could provide support in the lead up to the big day.
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Weddings are expensive and pandemic-related stressors mean the costs could rise. This can make a wedding planner seem like an unnecessary expense. However, the stress they can save may be worth the price tag.
We didn't have a full wedding planner ... I was very organized and I knew exactly what I wanted but I'm only one person, said Caroline Ripa, who has also shared a list of her wedding regrets on TikTok.
While the wedding is a celebration of two people, it can be easy to get so caught up in the day that you don't spend as much time with your significant other as you would like.
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I didn't realize that the only time throughout the day that we would have, just the two of us, was when we did our first look, she told . I would have liked to have had a private dinner ... just the two of us set up away from the reception, she added.
Another bride, Samantha Tansel, had the same experience. We don't have a ton of moments where we were just like 'Oh my gosh, this is happening, ' she said.
It can be tempting to look at recent wedding trends to get inspiration for your big day. However, as with most trends, wedding fads don't always stand the test of time.
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I was going for the rustic, trendy thing at the time, which kind of dates our pictures versus a timeless look, she said.
Wedding guest lists can be tricky to navigate and some couples have even resorted to ranking systems to determine who gets an invite.
While COVID-19 has impacted the vetting process for who makes the guest list, some brides still feel pressure to invite extra people.
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The No. 1 thing I would change is just a smaller guest list and make it just a lot more intimate and personal, said Detrick, who had around 90 guests at her wedding.
I think there's this notion in your head of like, 'Oh, I have to invite everyone, it's the biggest day of my life, I have to have all these people there, ' but people come and go, she said.
Guests have a unique perspective on the day that the bride and groom are not always privy to. Buying and distributing disposable cameras for guests to use to capture images of the night has become a popular wedding trend.
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It is a cost but, as a photographer, I think that's something I would have really valued: seeing our day from a guest's perspective, said Tansel, who also shared her regrets on TikTok.
People took pictures around the wedding reception and the ceremony, and I love all the pictures that came out — there's such a cool feel to it, said Ripa.
While many photographers are typically reserved for the big day, there are some special pre-wedding moments that couples may want professionally captured.
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I feel like the wedding day is so hectic, Ripa said. So you barely get pictures with anyone, but I feel like we would have had much cooler and more intimate pictures at the rehearsal dinner.
We were young and paying for the whole wedding ourselves so we were very budget-conscious, said Tansel, who booked her photographer for eight hours, which she considers standard for most weddings.
I find myself wanting to feel every single moment from that day as much as possible ... You're never going to regret [capturing] that, said Tansel.
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I wish I had a bridesmaid that I knew had a good creative eye for taking pictures and videos. I wish I gave her my phone and was basically like 'just document the whole day, ' said Ripa.
I gave him a do-not-play list of a bunch of songs that I don't like or specific artists I don't want played, Ripa said.
I didn't specify which songs I wanted played — I just gave him a bunch of playlists with a bunch of songs in it — so I wish that I had a must-play list, she said.
