To hate how I looked on my wedding day

[Goldmonday]

I got married almost two years ago and honestly look back and absolutely hated how I looked. My dress was beautiful but I don't think I wore it correctly (wasn't done up the right way) and I absolutely despise how I had my hair.

It's such a shame because I look back now and think wow I could have done such a better job than I did.

I know it's superficial but I can't help but feel bothered by it. STILL haven't got round to getting our wedding album printed and it's honestly because I only really like how I looked in a couple of photos. I feel so envious of brides now who get to make themselves look beautiful as I feel like I missed my chance!!

Anyone else feel the same way?

I feel exactly the same. I hated my dress, Make up was too dark, hair should have been down. Everything else was great though

Yes, in my case, the make up artist messed up

People still ask to see my wedding album and video and are shock d when I say I still don't have them.

I don't really think about it anymore, but I do avoid wedding videos on YouTube.

At the end of the day, it is just one day. What we make of marriage is the most important thing.

I think there's far too much emphasis on what you look like on your wedding day. It's so much more than that. I didn't look my best either, so won't be decorating my house with photos of it, but I really don't mind. I loved it and am happy I married him.

My DH and I hate having our photograph taken so we didn’t have a photographer. Everyone told us we’d regret it. Seven years on, I most definitely don’t. My marriage is brilliant. We are best friends who continue to grow together. Photographs, of us now, of us then, mean the square root of FA as far as I’m concerned.

DW feels the same. Wedding album is in a box on top of the wardrobe and hasn't been opened since the reception and never will be if she has her way.

Yes, I felt the same. My dress was beautiful but it wasn't right for me - I was pushed into it by my (well-meaning) Mum. I have a photo of me trying on another one which I adored but my Mum turned her nose up and put me off - but I love how I look in it - it makes me cry when I see it! Ahh well. My own fault for not being confident in my decision.

Two years on and it's a bit easier. I just focus on how happy I look.

I feel the same. My dress was great but I was in the middle of a house move, couldn't even find a pair of knickers on my wedding day, didn't have hair or makeup done or anything. I haven't even had any photos printed because I honestly look like crap. It is what it is.

Isn’t there just one photo which you like?

I really disliked my wedding dress, I knew at my last fitting that I hated it. But I just got on with the day and enjoyed it. I’ve got one photo in a frame if us and i just don’t worry about looking at the album.

We’ve been married 29 years soon. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t matter what you looked like on your wedding day..

As an older poster I can say with certainty that many of my cohort will be cringing at their meringue dresses and eighties hair when they look at their photos. Nonetheless it was the look then. I must confess I am glad I followed a different path.

However, does it matter? No. If anything use it as a little life lesson in being authentic. If you look unlike yourself then consider why you needed to do that and work on keeping it real.

Plenty of people have slightly dodgy wedding pics. Look at them and remember a lovely day ( hopefully) and remember to avoid whatever mistake you may have made that day. If you chose the right partner that’s enough.

I went low key, just brushed my (straight) hair and wore mascara and some old lipstick I had lying around for years

Maybe that makes you feel better?

Sometimes I wish I had done proper make-up and hair, but that is just not really "me"

I massively regret my choice of dress! It was a panic buy (sample dress so cheaper) and although I like my general look in the pics, it's not my dream dress. That was over 5 years ago

I am glad it's not just me!! I'm sure in years to come I won't be bothered in the slightest but i am now seeing so many of my friends getting married looking gorgeous and I just regret that I didn't put more time into considering how I would look. Ah well

Two years on and it's a bit easier. I just focus on how happy I look.

This is a really good point, it was still the happiest day of my life regardless.

My wedding was nearly 30 years ago (long since divorced) but I still remember not liking my dress - I wish I’d stuck to my guns n not listened to DM
DD is engaged and dress shopping at moment - I’m paying and will (within a few thousand) make sure it’s the dress of her dreams

Do you still have your dress? Get all dressed back up and get some photographs taken just for you

My dress was " nice" but actually it was not my dream dress and I can still get a little sad that I never will get to wear a " dream dress" I simply never experienced that " this is the dress" sensation.

I look at the pictures now 20 odd years on and I dont think I looked horrible and I dont think the dress is horrible either. It was actually quite classy. Just it was a pretty dress and that was all.

however 20 Plus years and we are still together so who cares about a dress I wore 1 day?

I just went to local registry office, had a high street dress and usual hair/make-up. And a few snaps from family.

Am so glad there was no pressure on myself to look perfect.

Think about the meaning of the day OP and don’t give the aesthetics a second thought x

I got married in a meringue 27 years ago. A few years ago a relative got married on a beach in the Caribbean in a beautiful dress, I was really envious of it. But her marriage lasted less than a year and mine is still going strong.

Im 30 years married now and love how l looked in the 80s cause l was YOUNG AND GORGEOUS!! So give it a few years and you will look back in amazement at how beautiful you looked. Also we looked at our wedding album once or twice and its sitting there since not because we didn't like it but were too busy doing other stuff. Life moves on and its not really relevant.

I know how you feel, I’ve been married for 4 years and still no wedding album and no pictures printed either. I look truly awful in my pictures, a big fat lump trying to look nice! I also hate having my pictures taken so just look awkward in them. Family have asked for copies of pictures and I “forget” to do anything about it!
I just felt stressed out the whole blooming day and only really relaxed once we were back at our hotel

I hated the way I looked too. I thought I liked my dress but at my last fitting after alterations I realised it really wasn't "me". I was smack in the middle of an eating disorder and the top of my dress had to be altered to a size 4/6 -you can see my ribs and backbone in pictures as the dress had a low back.
I did my own make up and it was ok, but nothing amazing. My hair was shit (by hairdresser). I NEVER look at my pictures and have never watched the wedding video (we have been married 16 years). I find it quite sad but am very happily married which is the most important thing!

I do feel your pain, I splashed out on a designer dress and the seamstress took it up but the way it was sewn meant that it had a ‘lip’ sticking out at the bottom. It’s so not important in the scheme of things but it’s the one thing I focus on when I see the pics and it’s only now, after a few years, that I’ve stopped getting angry at how the seamstress they used (cause she had experience in the fabric apparently) made the dress look a bit shit! It was the only ‘non perfect’ part of the day though and obviously I’m the only one who noticed it!!

I looked great on my wedding day, and spent a fortune on photography and having a beautiful album made. I think I’ve looked at it maybe twice in a decade. It’s not the photos that matter, it’s the memories and what you’ve made of your marriage since.

Apparently Princess Diana also felt the same about her wedding day

I'm not bothered by it now, but I really didn't like the fact that my mother insisted that I not wear my glasses. She said they would reflect and make the photos look bad. I felt as though I squinted through the whole day. She had died by the time I married for the second time but I still felt that I was defying her keeping them on. I don't look at any of the photos much so it really doesn't matter.