Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

What is your biggest wedding regret?

139 replies

TeaAndSymumthy · 30/03/2026 15:57

Trying to gather some information on what people regretted most about their weddings (excluding maybe who they married 🤣)

things like, not hiring a videographer, over spending, uncomfortable dress, venue?

what did you regret about your wedding?

OP posts:
Upsetbetty · 30/03/2026 15:58

The groom 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Original poster
TeaAndSymumthy · 30/03/2026 15:58

I realise this sounds super like I’m from the daily fail but I promise I’m just gathering information - I want to look into becoming a wedding planner so it’s purely my own research 🤣

OP posts:
Flintstonerubble · 30/03/2026 15:58

The prick that I married 😆

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Weddings
museumum · 30/03/2026 15:59

scrimping on the photography. we had a long wedding weekend and i wish i'd spent more to have them there for more of it. it didn't bother me at the time, but now 15 years later, i wish there were more candid photos capturing the moments i wasn't part of.

Parky04 · 30/03/2026 15:59

Paying for a professional photographer. The guests took better pictures!

Ihaveaskedyouthrice · 30/03/2026 16:00

Not having a videographer. It wasn't really on my radar when booking everything, I just felt photos would be enough.16 years later I would absolutely love to be able to look back on a video of the day and show my kids.

Spaghettion · 30/03/2026 16:01

Same as above, I scrimped on the photographer and wish I hadn’t.
I also regret getting so ridiculously pissed the night before.

JLMA · 30/03/2026 16:01

not getting photographs with people that I should have/wanted to get photos with.

I didn’t write it down before the day and the day was so busy that I forgot!

OsmanthusRose · 30/03/2026 16:01

Failing to read an email properly and thus putting a guest down as vegetarian instead of allergic to various things, which meant there was very little she could eat, I still feel bad.

The only other thing is we had our reception and wedding at the same venue and after the nice cars dropped me and the bridal party off the driver said did I want him to come back and drive me and DH around the block once we were married and then bring us back to the venue, and I said no because I thought that was ridiculous, but it turned out DH would have quite liked to go for a ride. Actually am not that regretful though because the pics took long enough, without a car ride as well, we'd never have eaten!

clover888 · 30/03/2026 16:07

not getting a classic white wedding dress

iamruth · 30/03/2026 16:07

Doing a first dance, uncomfortable and unnecessary

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 30/03/2026 16:07

Not putting my foot down with the photographer. We told her we didn’t want those pointless photos of shoes, dresses, rings etc but she came to the room anyway and made us late for our wedding as we couldn’t get the kids changed etc while she was milling about with our outfits. Should have just thrown her out. I forgot to put my jewellery on, my dress wasn’t done up properly and my DH wasn’t even dressed when they came for us. But at least I have 8 photos of my perfume bottle 🤪

Also, I wish I’d had a videographer. We can’t remember much and it was a beautiful ceremony in a beautiful location. Our kids were small and DD did a lovely job as ring bearer. I have no recollection of the music the violinist played either. It was less than a year ago and I barely remember anything.

edited to add I regret not noticing I didn’t have a photo taken with my DD, just us two. There are hardly any photos of us with the kids.

Janesput · 30/03/2026 16:13

Bothering with almost all of it.

If I had my time again, I'd have a register office service and go for a picnic with maybe a dozen people. And my marriage lasted 30 years, until DH died. The expense and the faff, for the benefit of so many people we were barely in touch with 10 years later, seems ridiculous now.

mondaytosunday · 30/03/2026 16:13

My venue let me down in a couple areas but that’s not really a regret (they forgot to put a mirror in the room I changed in and lost the seating chart with all the vegetarians marked out).
I think definitely assigning someone to do things like: take a copy of order of service, anything the venue printed (like menus), distribute the flower arrangements at the end, take the top layer of cake. My family did this - they had to go back for the cake - but it was only by chance they did as I totally forgot about that stuff. I didn’t have a wedding coordinator and planned it myself, so I guess there wasn’t anyone to pick up on these things - my MOH came from abroad so didn’t have any part of the planning.
Also double check nothing else is going on nearby to cause extra traffic etc - there was an annual parade going right by my venue in the morning meaning the florist and photographer were held up and we had to do the pre wedding photos of my family at the hotel (which turned out to be a blessing). The venue totally forgot about the parade! I didn’t find the planning that arduos (in fact wondered why everyone have such long engagements and complain of being ‘so busy’). 120 guests black tie wedding - only got a bit stressful a week out.

CanaryLibra · 30/03/2026 16:13

I wish we’d hired a proper videographer. A guest offered to do it as their wedding gift to us (they worked in a related field), 2 years later after much asking, they just handed hours of unedited tapes over and quite frankly if I’d arranged to have an Argos basic video camera passed around our guests and asked the all to take a turn for 5 minutes, we’d have ended up with better footage.

My only other regret is not telling my shit stirrer of a SIL to fuck off and uninviting her, after the trouble she caused in the build up.

midgetastic · 30/03/2026 16:14

Nothing
it was a perfect day
it was also very simple church hall affair. a friend did photos, another the cake, some helped decorate , others helped clear up. Lovely bunch of friend, and some now gone. But the laugher in the photos. I was blessed that those people wanted to share my joy.

but we did make sure we could invite everyone we wanted to - with plus ones and children and whatever made the guests happy. It’s the people who make a wedding

Whoops75 · 30/03/2026 16:15

Spending time and money on a wedding album, would have been happy with a handful of photos instead of an Album of formal ones.

Buy shoes well in advance and break them in, wear socks over them to stop them scuffing.

Dance all night and enjoy.

EasterDecoration · 30/03/2026 16:15

Music for the ceremony, we didn't think about it till the last minute and then couldn't think of anything, we don't have any shared special songs or similar so we ended up with just a couple of fairly generic suitable songs (civil ceremony, no hymns) can't even remember what they were no.

I didn't book a hairdresser because I was quote good at doing my own and wasn't wearing anything on my head or putting it up, it was too short for that anyway, but then decided that was a mistake, luckily a family member who was one agreed to giving me a blowdry in the morning.

Good decisions were - getting a professional photographer. Not videoing it and asking other people not to either (pre smart-phones but one or two people had camcorders) - I'd have felt even more self-conscious than I already did. Not having a disco or dancing in the evening, it was a fairly small wedding and we had games in the bar (pool, darts, giant jenga etc) and went out on the terrace to chat etc, we did have a couple of musicians playing in the background. I hate weddings where they are trying to force everyone up on the dance floor when you are with people you haven't seen for ages and just want to chat. It also got us out of the excruciating embarassment of having to do a first dance.

whirlyhead · 30/03/2026 16:16

I would have been happier if I could have eloped overseas in a pair of jeans but my partner wanted a big wedding so I went long with. Fortunately he did all the planning so I just turned up! I did wear a white dress which ended up being thrown away so that was a pointless waste of money. He did a fantastic job of the planning so can’t complain but I’m just not a big event person.

Iocanepowder · 30/03/2026 16:17

Depends on personal preference really.

A lot of people seem to be saying not getting a videographer.

We didn’t get one and still don’t regret it. I hate seeing myself on camera.

A big tip i got for my wedding was to not let people go hungry if it was a lunchtime ceremony.

tartyflette · 30/03/2026 16:17

Saying “no kids” unnecessary and a bit precious.

Doseofreality · 30/03/2026 16:17

Not getting enough pictures of certain people.

Not throwing a shit fit when people neither my Husband or I knew walked in to our evening reception, stating they were friends on my FIL. He’d invited around 30 of his friends.

FattyMcFat50 · 30/03/2026 16:18

My only regret, and it's pretty insignificant really, was not having a make-up trial. On the day the make-up itself looked fine, but she must've used a base or foundation with spf in it as in the majority of the photos taken I look like Casper the ghost. Otherwise, an amazing day. But then again, we're 20 years married this year and I think expectations have moved on a lot since then.

PotatoPrometheus · 30/03/2026 16:20

Over ordering on the food (assuming everyone eats as much as my family) and then feeling awful about so much food waste…on the plus side, no one was hungry at least. Also being too bloody polite to point out to the venue that they’d misspelled my name on the sign they put up outside. I thought it wasn’t a big enough deal to make a fuss over at the time, but now I hate all the photos taken outside that have it in the background. Everyone had a great day though, and crucially I have no regrets over my DH which is all that really matters I suppose.

Mac56 · 30/03/2026 16:20

I would say to everyone to hire a videographer. I was lucky enough to have one 36 years ago and watched it with my 4 year old grandaughter recently. It was amazing to share it with her.