I just want to say I've always been really insecure about my smile. When I was young my teeth were really wonky. I've had braces, composite filling, etc. to get them fixed but they're still far from perfect. I also hate how gummy my smile is. I hate that my eyes squint when I smile. I could go on.

I was really worried about wedding photos and thought I'd just bin all of the ones where I'm not soft smiling or not stoic.

I will admit when I first looked at them my heart sank because the first thing I saw were flaws.

Now it's been a few weeks I'm seeing and loving the sheer joy on my face. I think I'm actually starting to prefer them over the 'soft smiles'. I don't look anywhere near as happy in them and I'm glad I stayed in the moment rather than trying to force myself to not smile for my wedding photos.

It was genuinely one of the happiest days of my life and I'm so glad I have photos that reflect that.

Edit: Oh wow, I wasn't expecting this response! Thankyou all so much for your kind comments. I felt quite vulnerable posting this but comments, particularly from those who have similar insecurities made me really glad I did.

My soon to be husband told me my mom planned to give a speech at our wedding. As it’s a wedding abroad and I don’t know many of the guests, I am so uncomfortable and afraid to emotionally be wrecked by her speech due to some childhood trauma. She chose a song to accompany the speech that is very emotional to me. It’s supposed to be a surprise but honestly I feel so incredibly anxious. I don’t want to be sobbing in our wedding when all the eyes are on me.

What do I do?

My fiancée and I are getting married Dec 2027, and we booked our photographer in Aug 2026. She was super nice, had great photos, and seemed to be the right choice. I signed the contract in Aug and haven't heard much. I also recently saw, at least in Honeybook, the photographer still hasn't signed her portion of the contract. I let her know we signed the contract 8/6 and didn't get a response.

We are getting married in OK where my family lives and are visiting in Dec for the holidays and wanted to use our complimentary session for save the date pics. I reached out 10/7, didn't hear back, then 10/12 and 10/14 as I forgot to include things in some messages. I dm'd her on instagram and got an immediate response that she was sorry and she had her computer repaired and was having some email problems, and that she wants to schedule. She said she would email me on 10/16 and still hasn't. I followed up on instagram and she left me on read.

My fiancée and I want to get our money back, but I can't tell if we are being unreasonable. I just don't understand why she's being so unresponsive. I'm paying this photographer almost $3k for photos, and I can't even get the included session scheduled?

thanks

EDIT: i paid first deposit in august of $966, the other two are due next year of the same amount. she also hasn't posted on her socials since 2025, and i believe we found her on Zola and she's no longer listed there.

Hello everyone. Let me just get into it because I'm trying not cry lol.

I am no contact with my bio father, and my grandpa passed 20 years ago when I was 13. The man who IS my dad(weird non adoption stuff)could possibly not make it as he's almost 90 with health issues and lives out of state. Lastly, I wouldn't want to have this moment with any other family.

With those things in mind I picked my deceased best friend's dad. This wonderful man and his beautiful wife allowed me to basically live with them and took care of me like I was actually just their kid.

I was thinking "count on me" by Bruno mars because it was her song and we play it when we have events to honor her. But also because I could count on him too. But that feels too sad for our family since It's only been 6 years.

So any recommendations would be great. Spanish songs would also be great! Thank you.

Long story short, my father and I have a strained relationship. My parents separated when I was five, and since he was in the military, I only saw him a handful of times throughout my childhood. He also had personal struggles of his own that he was working through.

Throughout my life, I’ve made an effort to build a relationship with him, but I can’t deny that he has disappointed me time and time again. When I was in my mid-20s, I visited him, and we finally had a real heart-to-heart conversation about his shortcomings and the ways his absence impacted my life.

Fast-forward to today, and I’m engaged and getting married next year! 🎉 However, I’ve been putting off having a conversation with my father about the fact that I don’t want him to walk me down the aisle.

What makes this even more difficult is that I have a father figure who came into my life through my grandmother when I was a teenager. He has watched me grow from an awkward teen into the woman I am today. He’s someone I’ve turned to for help, guidance, and advice, and I want him to be the one who walks me down the aisle because of the role he has played in my life.

I’m genuinely at a loss about how to handle this situation. My fiancé thinks my father should just assume he won’t be walking me down the aisle, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving him in the dark. Despite all his shortcomings, I know he still sees me as his little girl, and I don’t want him to be blindsided by the decision.

At the same time, I want my wedding day to reflect the relationships that have truly shaped my life, and I feel that having my father figure walk me down the aisle is the right choice for me.

How do I approach this conversation with my father? I want to be honest about my decision without being unnecessarily hurtful, but I also don’t want to feel guilty for choosing someone who has consistently shown up for me.

Any advice, especially from anyone who has navigated a similar situation, would be greatly appreciated!

My fiance and I were talking about what's important to us for our wedding. We both don't really find it necessary to have the officiant, the formal "I do's", walking down the aisle.

We found out that in Colorado, you can get married without an officiant or witnesses. Its basically just paperwork you have to sign and you're married.

What we both want is to privately exchange vows, and the rings, and also get a nice photoshoot done.

We had the idea to travel to Colorado, sign the papers, privately exchange vows and rings. And then after we would find a location in Colorado to take wedding photos. I would ask my mom and sister to come along with us. I would still want to have the "getting ready" and wedding dress moment, and I'd want them to be there with me.

But...I'm afraid of a few things. I'm nervous it wont feel "wedding" enough, if that makes sense. Its like, I do want the ceremony part, but I also dont at the same time.

I also dont know if I want family there or not.

Our previous idea before this was to have an intimate ceremony, maybe in New Orleans. It would be about 15 people total. We wouldn't have a reception, just go to dinner afterwards. We've never been to New Orleans but we like the buildings and houses for photos. I don't know if it would be too chaotic of an environment though.

I am nervous of having a ceremony and feel like I'm "performing". I also have anxiety/social anxiety, so I just don't know what it would be like.

I do know that it would probably feel like a bigger and more special day if our family was involved, and if we had a ceremony. But I'm just nervous about the social/attention part.

Thanks for any advice!

I feel like the biggest party pooper who ever pooped, but does no one just have a wedding and regular like 4 hour reception? We were invited to : welcome dinner, welcome b’fast, ceremony, reception, after party, good bye breakfast. I know I am not obligated to go to everything but like I don’t want to spend 20 hours on a wedding. Never mind the cost (we are staying at hotel for 2 nights) and all the clothes needed.

My wedding date was supposed to be July but now the venue I want is only available in December. It's gonna be 5 more months away. I would push back everything. I already sent save the dates. Have you ever changed your date granted all your vendors are still available on the new date? Just to get the venue you want?

my wedding day was literally the best day of my life. there’s truly nothing like it. we got married at a scottish castle outside of edinburgh! it was a sensational day.

my only regret is having tendrils for my updo. they looked gorgeous when they were first styled, but quickly fell flat because of the wind outside when we took photos. i feel like it made me super self conscious about photos and videos for the rest of the evening 😭

I suffer from severe anxiety and unfortunately this week it’s really manifested in my perception of how I will look in the wedding dresses I try on. I’m on the curvier side (size 12 US) and am going shopping in January for my October wedding. I’m not sure why it gives me such anxiety, but if anyone has any tips please send me way 💕

Hi everyone! As someone who really enjoyed reading wedding budget breakdowns while planning my own wedding, I wanted to share ours!

We spent approximately $7.5k on our intimate October wedding in Boston (yes, everything is expensive), with around 10 guests in attendance. We spent one hour taking couple portraits (including first look), one hour on the ceremony, and family formals, grand entrance, first dance, toast, and cake cutting, and another 1.5 hours eating afterward. Note that it was a weekday.

Venue & On-Site Requirements — $1,600
Restaurant venue: $1,600
Ceremony and reception spaces: Included
Venue coordination and setup: Included
Tables, chairs, linens, and tableware: Included

Catering, Food & Bar — $189 (plus venue package)
Wedding cake: $189 (including delivery fee $35)
Reception food and beverages: Included in venue cost
Bar service: None (drinks were served at the table)

-I really appreciated the venue’s event planner! Thanks to her, I didn’t need anyone else for venue setup, decoration, day-of coordination, music, etc. I just brought our deco stuff, decided floor plans with her, and when we arrived, everything was perfectly set up! I was super lucky!

-The wedding cake is just a white cake. But once "wedding" is added as a prefix, suddenly the cost is twice. So, I found the beautiful signature cake of a local bake shop, no wedding premium. I loved the cake!

Attire & Beauty — ~$3,247
Bridal gown and outerwear: $567.00
Groom’s suit: $834.12
Groom’s tie: $340.00
Three additional dresses purchased during wedding planning: $412.00 (sunk cost)
One-time beauty supplies, accessories, nails, veils, shoes, and styling purchases: ~$218.00
Reusable makeup, skincare, and hair products: ~$840.30
Additional attire accessories for moms: $35.60

-I did my own hair and makeup for the wedding. HMU artist must be cost-saving at the end of the day, but I wanted a specific style. So no regrets.

-I intentionally spent more on the groom’s attire than on my wedding dress. I know that might sound a little unusual, but my reasoning was that he could wear his suit for the next 10 years, while I’d only wear my wedding dress once.

-I initially looked for a simple dress for a civil wedding and ordered a few options online, but none of them worked out. :( Eventually, I went to a bridal shop and found my dress! Luckily, it didn’t need any alterations.

Photography & Videography — $1,450
Wedding photographer: $1,200
Videographer (raw footage only): $250
Wedding planner: $0
Day-of coordinator: $0 (venue coordination included)

-We had two hours of coverage for both photography and videography, and we have plenty of beautiful photos and videos! We’ll turn them into an album and a short cinematic video.

-I carefully reviewed photographers’ portfolios and experience to find someone whose style I truly loved. I think a photographer’s skills are especially important because they need to capture fleeting moments, while video captures events more continuously. (No disrespect to videographers, of course!) I’m really happy with my decision because I absolutely love how our photos turned out!

-I found an early-career videographer for a short time of coverage. It was one of the best decisions. Recorded our vows, first look moment, first dance, and the moments that photography couldn't capture. Also, until the photos came, I got screenshots of raw videos and shared the stills with people.

Music & Entertainment — $0
The venue played background music, and for our first dance, a family member played our song using a Bluetooth speaker. We played Perfect (Ed Sheeran), edited it to 2 mins and uploaded on Youtube. We didn’t have any dancing afterward.

Florals, Decor & Extras — ~$674.67
Florist (bridal bouquet, boutonniere, two centerpieces, and delivery; no installation): $585.00
Faux flowers: $38.99
Small decorative vases and greenery: $9.00
Ring boxes, engraved ring case, ring-sizing tool, and jewelry care supplies: $41.68
Photo display frames: Prepared by a family member

We kept the decorations simple, with two floral centerpieces, a small photo display telling our story as a couple, and a memorial display honoring loved ones who had passed away.

Stationery, Signage & Paper Goods — $9.95
Wedding vow book: $9.95
https://a.co/d/0gLRSmK1
Seating chart and escort cards: DIY by a family member
No guest book, no gift box.

-Vow book was a photographer's idea. It made our pictures romantic and cute!

Legal, Ceremony & Transportation — $370
Officiant fee: $260.00
Marriage license: $50
Wedding transportation (Uber): $60

We didn’t book a hotel and just stayed at home the night before the wedding. On the wedding day, the groom left home first, and I changed into my wedding dress after he left. Our first look was romantic and successful. We also skipped the traditional getting-ready photo session. (No bridesmaids or groomsmen.)

Total Wedding Expenses — Approximately $7,500

Not included:
Wedding rings: Approximately $2,000

Overall, we prioritized good food, photography, videography to document the day, and spending meaningful time with our immediate family rather than elaborate decorations, entertainment, or traditional wedding extras.

We were engaged in early July 2026, and we started the preparation in early August. So, only two months for preparation. It was possible due to family only wedding, no external guests.

All of our vendors were fantastic. Beforehand, I thought about all logistical details (for example, how far the photoshoot place to the venue, the meeting point with photo and videographers, who bring the bag etc), decided it, and shared all my vendors. (officiant, video and photographers, the venue event planner) as well as each family (e.g., the ceremony will happen here and then you should move there). So for the wedding day, I didn't worry at all and just enjoyed the entire day.

I’ve attended quite a few weddings as a guest, and when I think back on them, what I remember most are the happy people, the smiles, and the love shared by everyone, as well as the good food. I don’t remember exactly how the venues were decorated or how elaborate the centerpieces were. That perspective really helped us decide where we wanted to spend our money and what we could comfortably skip. I understand that everyone’s values are completely different. I just wanted to share one person’s perspective. It was the happiest day of our lives.❤️

I'm finally getting around to making my wedding album, and I'm pretty set on MILK Books but now I noticed a lot of the reviews/posts I see are ads or incentivized reviews. This is a big investment, but I’m willing to pay a little extra for something that will hold up years from now and be the best quality possible for a DIY album. Has anyone actually used MILK Books for their wedding album (specifically the premium layflat photo album, in either Salt linen or metallic pearl cover colors)? How was the quality of the pages and photo printing in the actual book? Let me know your 100% HONEST thoughts please!

My fiance and I are planning a choreographed dance and we want to use snippets of maybe 5-10 songs (maybe 2 minutes in total) and dance to them. Could be classic dances, think Carlton with "Its Not Unusual", "Staying Alive" etc etc but also other popular songs with a made up dance (or not). what are some other songs that would be good for a dance? All suggestions welcome!

So, my fiance and I want to have a micro destination wedding of about 15 people total.

We want to take private moody photos at this castle we found, but don't want to get married there because it's very expensive (the location allows wedding photos even if not having a wedding there).

Anyway, the reason I was thinking of taking the photos before the actual wedding is so that the guests don't have to wait for us after the wedding. We're not having a typical reception, just a private dinner at night.

For example, it could either go two ways:

1. We get married at whatever location we choose, get the family photos, and then my fiance and I would leave to go to the castle for our private photos. The castle would probably be an hour away max. The ceremony plus family photos would probably be very short, I'm assuming. And the guests would have to do something during the day while we leave to take the private photos

OR

1. My fiance and I (along with my mom and sister) stay overnight at the castle (its a hotel). I get ready with my mom and sister in the morning. My fiance and I have our first look. And then we take our private photos. My mom and sister could either stay or go do something else. I think it could be special to get moody photos with my mom and sister too, but its not necessary. After the photos, we then drive to our wedding location, have the ceremony and take family photos, then have the private dinner at night.

Which idea makes more sense? If you were a guest, what would you rather do?

Close family is both vegan and gluten free, and so we need to come up with entree options for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself. I'm struggling and to be honest, so is the caterer (who is doing both meals). So far we've got a rice noodle stir fry with tofu and veggies and that's the only idea.

Help!

Hey everyone! My partner and I secretly got legally married in Canada last year (2025) in our landlords backyard, decorated nicely with an arch, our landlords were our witness. It was only 6 people including us and landlords and my sister in law and her boyfriend. His parents were on video call.
Our officiant was amazing. My partner and I exchanged vows and signed the paper. I have also told 2-3 close friends and that’s it.

We did this because we were supposed to have grand wedding back home(India),so we kept it small. My parents were not happy with me getting married to a man who is not from my religion.They were initially ready but when I reached India for my marriage they backed out due to societal pressure.My parents have gone no-contact with me.

Anyway, my wedding was cancelled.
My partner and I are now visiting Rome just for a vacation. I was thinking to do a symbolic wedding. Just the two of us and an officiant and a photographer. No decor, just nature as our backdrop. Me in a white dress (again). 🥰Vows (again)😄

Does it make sense ?
I am thinking that I am already married and why do I have to do this ?
But I am also thinking that I did not get to have the wedding that I always wanted in India. So I might as well do whatever I want.

Is it okay to do this ? Has anyone done this ?

So I know the tradition is to throw the bouquet and whoever catches it is suposedly the next to marry, but WHY? I live in sweden and only see this in movies/clips from the us. Everyone I knows save and dry the bouqet. My mom still have hers from nearly 35years ago. Wouldnt people wanna save their flowers as a memento?

Pictured is my mother in law's wedding cake. I'm obsessed with it it's so beautiful. I'd love to recreate it but don't have any idea where to find the plastic tiers or even what to look up to find something similar. Any suggestions?

I have lost almost 10 lb since I bought my used wedding dress from a consignment dress shop.
I tried it on today after I had it cleaned and it was very tight. I was like “weird… maybe I just have some body re comp going on.” (Because it wasn’t tight when I bought it)

Okay so….
Yeah I look down and the lace overlay has been shortened to above my ankle.

I got the dress for $700 from a consignment store and they offer NO RETURNS. The dress lining now sticks out 5.5 inches and the bell sleeves that make it unique are no longer visible.

Am I just out $950 now after dry cleaning?!?! And my wedding is in early May.

Calling the dry cleaners tomorrow. I went to the best place in town and they sent it out to some fancy professional wedding dress cleaning place?!??

WTF!!!

Do I find a new dress?! I think I have to! I’ve lost almost 10lb and it doesn’t fit right… I can’t lose any more. And it’s too short.

Or is anyone planning on doing that? My dress is on the cheaper side ($1300) but i still can’t justify holding onto a dress after our wedding i will literally never wear again. It would be nice to recoup some of the money. Although i know wedding dress resale value is low. Thoughts?

Hi all! This might be a long shot but I’m seeking some advice or guidance regarding my upcoming elopement with my fiance in Boston, MA this coming November 26, 2026.

Some background: Wedding planning and expenses were too much for us and we decided we would instead elope on a date with meaning to us. This year, our anniversary (11/26) happens to be on Thanksgiving day. We are cognizant that getting married on state/locally recognized holiday may present some challenges when seeking out and hiring vendors that day. However, the date is non-negotiable for us since this year is our 10 year anniversary. That being said, I know we cannot rely on having the ceremony at Boston City Hall or have a local official or judge marry us. Instead, we plan to get married in the morning that day, out in nature with a beautiful view. We’re thinking we will get married in the Downtown Boston/Charles River Esplanade area.

This is where I need help: finding two crucial vendors for our elopement.

(1) An officiant or justice of the peace to perform the ceremony for us. We don’t want to ask a local friend or family to do it. I’d rather the officiant be an impartial third party here. Does anyone in this subreddit have any recommendations or know of someone in the greater Boston area that we should reach out to perform our ceremony especially on a holiday?

(2) A photographer, ideally experienced with elopements and weddings. Do we have any Boston based photographers here that are free and willing to work on the morning of Thanksgiving to photograph the ceremony and take some shots of us afterwards? We plan to reasonably compensate this photographer not only for their time and services (obviously) but also their willingness to work with us on the morning of a holiday.

This is where we are in the planning proces as of writing this post: We purchased our wedding bands and have our appointment to get our marriage license at Boston City Hall next week. My fiance has his attire and I am going to purchase mine in the coming days. I am also going to request proper permitting for an outdoor event/elopement on the Charles River Esplanade from the Department of Conservation and Recreation tomorrow as well.

If you read this far, thank you! If there are any Boston based vendors, brides/grooms, or planners with any recommendations I would be immensely grateful if you shared.

Sincerely,
An overwhelmed bride with a lot on my plate, who just wants to have a beautiful elopement with my best friend.

TLDR: searching for a Boston/New England based officiant and photographer for Thanksgiving day (11/26) elopement this year. Date is non-negotiable.

My little sister put me in charge of “emergency control” for her wedding and I’m probably the worst person for it but oh well!

Anything that you’d recommend having in case of emergency? Anything you wish you would’ve had and didn’t that wasn’t necessarily an emergency? Anything to help with an anxious bride? My sister is an anxious person to begin with and I don’t know if anyone is prepared for her anxiety around this.

TIA!

My sister seems to think that no one will be sitting at their seats for dinner. That they’ll be up mingling and running around. Any time I mention the seating chart she says “well it won’t matter, no one will be where they’re supposed to be anyway.”

It’s so strange to me that she insists this is going to happen. I’ve only been to a handful of weddings but I don’t remember that being the case at all. People sat where they were supposed to and talked with everyone at their table.

People will need to sit down to eat at some point, no? Need a “home base” to put their stuff?

I get like after dinner and dessert people and the party fully starts people will be moving around, but during dinner, really?

What are your experiences with this situation?

Edit: it is my wedding, dinner is buffet

I’ve been looking for a mua for my 2027 wedding and every new quote I’m getting is more ridiculous than the next… I just got quoted $1900 for hair and makeup lol. And no this doesn’t include the mua staying at the event for touch ups.

- this is pricing for one person… idk why Reddit didn’t allow me to post the pricing Flyer she sent. She lists “jewelry setting, dress assistance, premium lashes” as services included . Travel fees are not included

EDIT: Thanks all for you insights, guidance and thoughts. It's been super helpful to decide what to do and how to proceed 😊 I think from hearing your thoughts and thinking honestly about our situation, I'd say we are more agnostic than atheist so that's been a good thing to discover. We'll be keeping an open mind for when we start making plans!

I'd really like to keep things civil in the comments please, I'm not looking for arguments on religion and non-religion and I'm just looking for sensible opinions and suggestions 😊

We're looking to get married in May 2028 and due to our rural location, we're likely going to have a marquee reception on my parents' farm. There is a very lovely wedding venue nearby, however they are highly likely to be already fully booked (I will be reaching out to them anyway to see), and we have a close connection to the farm so it would be extra special for the reception to be there.

That brings us onto the ceremony itself and the general options open to us. I'd like to get married on the day and not tie things up legally before or after the wedding.

1. Wedding venue ceremony - as above, I will be checking it out but it's not our no. 1 choice.

2. Registry office - not an option as the closest one is around a 35-40 min drive away which is not convenient.

3. Church wedding - my local church is just a 2 min drive to the farm.

I'm leaning towards the church wedding for these reasons:

1. I was christened at this church as a baby.

2. Until the age of around 18 I lived in the parish of this church.

3. I believe I was confirmed at the church when I was a teenager, something I need to check with my parents.

4. All my primary school Christmas services were at the church / Easter services etc.

5. My grandparents on one side of the family were laid to rest here, and likely so will my parents one day.

6. My dad isn't a practicing Christian, but I'm sure if I asked him he would consider himself such. He's previously said that my grandmother would always go to Sunday service.

The only issue is that both myself and my partner are atheist. We have no problem with religion and people's beliefs.

What are people's opinions about the above? I do have a connection with the church for the above reasons, but I confess not much on the religious side.

Thank you for any of your thoughts 😊