For all you old marrieds!!

Where do I start...

bought a completely different dress, one that didn't make me look like an idiot

Not listened to my MIL and hired a smaller venue or actually gone abroad

Different photographer, our one was grumpy and missed half the shots he was meant to get

Asked my SIL to be a bridesmaid as I am still hearing about it now

Not picked the world cup semi final day

not had lilac as the colour

had it a year before so I was well and therefore fitter and alot less heavier

picked a different cake maker (it was burnt)

stayed the night before at home rather than at my home which was some 60 miles away and having to drive with my hair done.

but I would still marry the same bloke.

I wouldn't have changed a thing

The day was perfect and well worth the 10 year engagement!

The only thing I'd change was the weather as it was terrible - windy and rainy.

We had a fab day so hardly anything really -

I would have started getting ready earlier though, I was sat in our hotel room for ages watching big brother thinking how slowly the morning was going, then it was a mad scramble after my hair appointment to get ready.

Also would have had a different DJ - we'd booked someone on recommendation who had to pull out at the last minute so his agency organised a replacement - we'd been quite specific about the kind of thing we wanted but I don't think he'd got our list as he kept playing awful commercial dance music and saying things like 'How ya doing tonight East Finchleeeeeey' over the microphone. I was cringing and H had to tell him to stop ?

We must have had the same cake maker one layer of ours was burnt. WE didn't find out until after the wedding as that layer never got cut on the day.

Mind you the other 2 were lush ?

Only 2 things - stuck to my guns and not reinstated the bridesmaid that i originally sacked a few months before the wedding (we are no longer in contact and she is univerally known to all my friends as 'the rubbish bridemaid') and i would have got to the venue a hour or so earlier so that i had a chance to look at the room, cake etc before having my hair and make up done (my mothers fault as she was driving me there but had arranged for her friend to do her make up at home before we left - in hindsight i would have had my car at home and just driven myself instead of waiting around for her)

apart from that it was a fantasitc day!

I loved our wedding day and we had so many positive comments after it from guests, mainly about the food & relaxed atmosphere which was exactly what we wanted. On the day we had loads of help and the best men in particular were fab. I spoke to everyone before the meal and we greeted all our evening guests as well.

However I too was disappointed with the photos, wished we'd known the photographer was film not digital as we had to compromise on our album as a consequence and she forgot the confetti shot! I also think we should have let the DJ have more freedom as H's dance music choices didn't go down well and he would have played more wedding classics. I also didn't think when booking the honeymoon as we had to leave the house at 7am the next day - oops!

Would have had a video done, just so I could look at it now and remember lots of the things I have forgotten

I wouldnt really change anything as it was the best day of my life, but if I could, i would:

not drink as much alcohol at the evening do

have a receiving line or something similar, as I dont feel I spoke to anyone properly, and didnt get to speak to a lot of people at all

Make sure someone knew how to tie the bustle on my train as my dress is absolutely destroyed beyoned repair with blood (oh yes,I wouldnt give the guests too much free wine as they fall over, spill drinks and break glasses and dance with no shoes on in broken glass), red wine and mud ?

Our wedding was fab. I wish I had worried less in the run up, and I wish we'd got an album done as we're never going to do anything with the pictures. That said, the pictures don't mean that much to me, weirdly, they are not my recollection of the day.

I also wish I hadn't been a vegetarian as the meal everyone had looked (and was reported to have been) delicious. Mine was ok, but I think the rack of lamb would've been better!

L
xx

I'd have got my dress made by my fab seamstress instead of buying from an ex HIB who caused me major stress in the run up. In saying that my dress was still fab all thanks to my seamstress!

I'd have only had one BM, my best friend, not four (actually I just wish I'd have stopped at 3 and not been pushed for the fourth)

Hired a better photographer, you get what you pay for!

I'd have hired a videographer. My Grandad was unable to come and I so wish I could have been able to show him our ceremony.

Had my MIL there.

Delegated more and took more time off the days before.

Wouldn't have invited 2 of H aunts who cause numerous arguements on the day.

Got a better registrar, ours left us as we were signing the fake register for photo's and didn't come back. We had to just make it up after that. She was downstairs photocoping our original document (What she was really doing was drinking a glass of our Champagne before anyone else got the chance to be offered). I was so angry about that for ages!

Apart from that it was fab lol! We put so much effort to detail, made so much ourselves and everyone complemented on that. I'm also so glad I hired chair covers. I've been to weddings at the same venue since and it really makes a difference, but of course that is all depending on what the chairs are like at your venue.

I'd have spent more time getting the right dress that was a bit more "wow". I look back at the pictures and sometimes think my dress looks a bit....well....cheap. The one thing that does distract is that I have the happiest big grin on my face. The dress might not have been great but at least I was beaming.

We regret the honeymoon. We were so determined not to get into debt that we saved on the honeymoon. A definite regret. 2 1/2 years later we have a little boy so our chance for a big fantastic holiday has definitely been put on hold. Crieff Hydro for us!

Other than that I wouldn't change things. We had a great day.

I would have sacked the brat from hell flowergirl. Probably the bridesmaid too, she was no problem actually, but we look silly in the photos as she is very tall and I am very short ?

I would have chosen a different day as we got married 3 days before my birthday and I just know everything now on will be combined.

I'd have had livelier evening entertainment.

I would have suggested to the photographer having photos in different areas.

I would have lost more weight.

I think if I'd not been 15 weeks pregnant and shattered it might have meant I could stay at my own reception beyond 10pm, which would have been nice.

Otherwise:

I'd spend less on the photographer, and more on the flowers.

I'd invite many more people to the evening.

I'd be a bit less up my own arse about it ?

We were just talking about this yesterday - I don't think there is a single thing I'd do differently on the day although H said he'd make sure the best men prepared their speech better...he heard them writing it through the wall the night before and it was a little...underprepared!

In terms of the run up, the only thing I would change is I wouldn't spend ages worrying about my dress and how I looked in it and I especially wouldn't have spent about an hour the day before crying about it cos I hated it so much - on the day I really didn't care and everyone was very complimentary, it was my body hang ups rather than anything to do with the actual dress and I should have ignored them!

I would have had a different photographer I often look at other peoples pictures and feel jealous. I would have had a different meal and I wish I would have relaxed a bit more instead of being worried if people were having a good time, otherwise nothing!

I had such a brilliant day, I wouldn't change any of it (including spilling my one & only canapé down the front of my dress just before we had to go & do photos). I would however, have loved the evening entertainment to go on longer. My evening guests only had 3 hours which wasn't long enough - it finished too early. I almost cried when my H said the taxi had arrived to take us to our hotel ?

I am extremely pleased that I have no regrets; we had the most fabulous day and all day people kept saying I was the smiliest bride they had seen - I think that sums it up really, I was totally and utterly over the moon to be marrying my H.

Even though Mr Dief is now ex, I don't think I woul have changed the groom - the experience of being married to him has made me a different (and better) person.

Wedding specific:

- I would have chosen a nicer dress; my dress was OK but it was just OK;

- laid on a bus to take everyone to the registry office and back and/or told MIL the ceremony was 30 minutes earlier (PIL turned up 25 minutes late after getting 'lost' - in reality, MIL faffed with her outfit so much my sister had to kick her out of the hotel and PIL were too late to go with the people they were supposed to leave with);

- invited my best mate (couldn't invite her as PIL hate her husband) and not invited Mr Dief's stupid mate (that I hadn't met before) who turned up late, insulted me, went off with MIL to smoke a joint and then left early;

- got someone to take some decent video.

Nothing. It was a fabulous day and was exactly as we envisaged. Our guests wanted for nothing and had a ball.

Mr Scarlett was too scared to look round at me coming down the isle and I was dissapointed so I would discuss with your future husband on whether you want him to turn round at see you.

I probably wouldn't stay up until 3am with all my friends drinking G&Ts the night before. I was fine the next day on adrenilin and Champagne but thought I might throw up as the meal was served as I was so hungover and hungry...

Nothing really. Ironically despite the fact we had a big traditional wedding I didn't (and don't) think its that bigger deal. Mind you we were chronically laid back, my poor mum was tearing her hair out- we only booked the florist 3 weeks before, the DJ a month, my final dress fitting was 4 days before the wedding and the OOS were still being constructed at 10am on the day.

My argument was because we were in central London I didn't have to worry about people being booked up- which saved a lot of stress. i was determined not to be stressed. Until the morning, when I had a breakdown over the confetti (which in a moment of OCD I had spent £300 on) thats actually my regret. I should not have sucumbed to confetti meltdown.?

I had to sit through the wedding DVD of someone who got married a month after us last weekend and it was so dull- the bride had watched it 12 times! I've only looked at my album a couple of times, i don't really get the fuss over weddings.

I wouldn't have bothered with favours. Most of them ended up being left on the tables and we ended up eating sugarad almonds for months. ?

I would have bought a dress I loved, rather than just one I could afford. I would have provided entertainment/more drinks and snacks for everyone while we went off and had pretty photos taken, and I wouldn't have sent out a gift list - Hitched has taught me so much <sigh>, shame I didn't join until long after the big day ?

At least I didn't use a money poem I suppose....

Abso-bloody-lutely nothing. There were a few hiccups on the day, but they've faded into the background of an amazing day. 6 years on, I wouldn't change a thing, and envisionng my perfect wedding would look exactly like the one we had. Everyone we love was there, the weather was amazing (important as it was in a marquee in my parents' garden ?), I still think my dress was the best I've ever seen (although having said that, a few years after our wedding, I saw a photo of Nancy Mitford's wedding dress, and if I'd seen it beforehand, I would have had a designer make one for me whatever the cost, although mine was very simialr in style - Amanda Wakeley - very Gosford Park ?).

Nothing, except get a photo of the inside of our reception. It's looked lovely, but didn't get a photo.

Even rescuing the groom from the bottom of our road at 4am, as he'd got so out of it, he didn't realise where he was or that it was his wedding day. All fades into funny memory now although I was worried at the time

And I've still not watched my wedding video - 4 years later!

To be honest, nothing. We were married in a gorgeous hotel in Mauritius - just my husband and I (and our three children;-) )

Weather was lovely (slightly windy), service was fabulous - low-key but losing none of the sense of the occasion or emotion. Lovely food, fantastic service. Wonderful people.

Absolutely perfect :-)

Absolutely nothing at all. I had an awesome day with all our favourite people, chilled out, fab food and drink and wonderful memories (and abso-bloody-lutely fantastic photos - great last minute decision). ?

When other people ask me this they always mention the fact that I got rather carried away with ceilidh-ing in the evening and had a really nasty fall onto my face which meant I sepnt the first day of honeymoon at work getting an X-ray for suspected cheekbone fracture.... (and a black eye for the whole honeymoon).

But actually it was fortuitous because after the fall I was in lots of pain so H and I went off to a quiet room and opened all our cards whilst the painkillers kicked in, and we had a lovely half an hour on our own - the guests were so busy dancing they didn't even notice we had disappeared until we came back!

(writing this has made me want to do the wedding report I never did ?)

Dress, clothes, venue, date, groom - I wouldn't change any of that.

The only thing I wish I'd done is to sack my BM 4 weeks before as her unreliability due to her health was stressing me out. She'd probably have hated me for it but I'd have been a lot calmer if I could've relied on other friends who weren't in the middle of a mental breakdown at the time. I'd also have made sure someone cracked open the champagne while I was getting ready so I didn't freeze when it was time to get out of the car at the Register Office.

My top tip for friends due to marry soon is to make sure the bridesmaids and best men are the contact points for the suppliers on the day. The last thing I needed was to be dealing with florists, etc whilst trying to have my hair and make up done.

I can't think if anything I'd change on the day - I'd like to have not thrown out the negatives of our photos by mistake though ?.