Seven Brides On What They Wish They’d Known Before Their Wedding Day

Every bride wants their wedding to go without a hitch and you know what they say — hindsight is 20/20.

We asked 7 brides what they wish they knew before their wedding day, so that you can benefit from their advice!

#1: “Things will go wrong, and that’s okay.”

“I wanted my wedding to be perfect, but I quickly realised that when you have so many moving parts coming together, that’s pretty much impossible. For your sanity, try and quickly come to terms with the fact that things WILL go wrong (and that it’s okay). Don’t sweat the small stuff — and focus on the fact that you’re getting married to the love of your life!” Megan, 25.

#2: “Be as specific with your photographer as possible.”

“I spent a lot of effort on shortlisting photographers, so once I narrowed it down to The One, I thought I was good to go. While the pictures DID turn out beautiful, I unfortunately didn’t get all the shots I was hoping for.

So, here’s my advice: your photographer will definitely take the standard shots of your guests, your gown, and your shoes, but if you have any special requests or any people that you definitely want photographed, be sure to let your photographer know. Make sure both of you are on the same page, and you won’t be disappointed when your photos arrive!” Jenny, 30.

#3: “It’s okay to skip certain rituals.”

“In retrospect, I wish I had skipped my bouquet toss. Honestly, we felt a bit silly doing it — my bridesmaids and I aren’t really into that kind of thing, and it felt like we were just going through the motions for the sake of doing so.

If I could have a do-over, I’d definitely leave out that out, and allocate more time to just mingling with our friends and family instead. At the end of the day, it’s your wedding, so you should decide what’s most important to you instead of blindly following rituals!” Sophie, 28.

#4: “Buffer 15 more minutes than you think you need.”

“I rented my wedding venue for just 3 hours, so I had to adhere to a tight schedule. At first I thought it was fine, we’d just watch the time closely and do everything efficiently — but on the day itself, I realised that’s not quite possible. People will get lost, come late, take time to settle down, and you can’t possible snap at your wedding guests and ask them to hurry up.

To make sure everything runs smoothly, I’d recommend buffering 15 more minutes than you think you need – PER activity. If you don’t have enough time, either pay for more hours, or cut back on the number of activities at your wedding. Trust me, this is much better than constantly stressing over the time, and getting a mini heart attack every time you realise you’re behind schedule.” Lin, 29.

#5: “Your shoes don’t really matter.”

“The one thing I regret most is dropping £150 on new shoes. Assuming you’re wearing a traditional, floor-length wedding gown, nobody’s going to see your shoes, and they don’t matter. Honestly, I could’ve worn my old cowboy boots, and it wouldn’t have made any difference.” Sandra, 32.

#6: “It’s important to practice posing.”

“I looked slightly awkward in a few of my pictures, and I wish someone had told me that it was important to practice posing before your wedding day. This is especially the case if you’re getting your hair and makeup done differently from how you normally wear it. If your hair is normally parted to the left, for instance, and it’s now going to be parted to the right, then you want to angle yourself differently so that you see more of your face (instead of your hair, obscuring your face).” Leandra, 35.

#7: “Spend money selectively — on things that make the experience.”

“At the end of the day, your guests won’t remember details such as the number of tiers on your cake — but what they WILL remember is the overall experience. I wish I had spent less money on things like flowers and cake, and splashed out on a better DJ.” Natalie, 29.

All top tips and we hope you find them helpful. Don’t forget, if you’re looking carefully at your budget and deciding where to best to spend the money, you can get a fantastic ‘worn once’ dress on Bride2Bride for a fraction of the retail price!