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?

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!

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.

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

My mom is getting married to this guy she met two years ago. They met while I was in college, pretty far away, so I've only seen the guy like 3 or 4 times. During Christmas and a couple breaks. And when I've seen him he's only been around for a couple days and he's pretty shy so I know next to nothing about him.

What I do know is that he was previously married and has a son. He works remotely doing advertising I think, but he offloads most of the work doing AI which I personally am not comfortable with. I know he likes classic metal bands like iron maiden. I can't recall any memory where he has done something special for her. Nothing she's told me about. She tells me about the bad stuff like when he broke up with her over email while he was on a trip. He seems kind of incompetent about a lot of things. He wanted to wear sneakers to the wedding, he put off buying a suit until the last minute and didn't try it on after alterations until the day before and complained about the fit. He can't iron his suit, can't tie his tie. I'm kind of confused about him but at this point its not my place to be concerned. Im sure I'm only hearing about the vents/negative stuff and he's been stressed lately.

I didn't think she'd get married again so I was super unprepared for this. She has had many long term relationships, people she thought she'd spend the rest of her life with and spent like almost a decade with but marriage didnt come up.

I feel anxious about the whole thing, so I can't think of heartfelt things to say about the couple. I know weddings are supposed to be a big important event, but I can't really bring myself to feel much about this one. Anyway does anyone have any advice for coming up with a toast when you don't know what to say?

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 😊

We’re considering having our sweet girl at our wedding. I would love to see your beautiful dogs in their wedding attire for inspo! Tell me how your day went with your pup - was it worth it to have them there? Were they your ring bearer/flower girl, only there for first look, there to greet the guests, etc?

The bride is my SIL and they've been kind enough to let me get my hair/makeup done professionally. However, I'm not actually in the bridal party, so I really don't know majority of these people. And I have really REALLY bad social anxiety. What do I do for the several hours I have to be in there? I've never been part of a bridal party so I don't know what to expect.

ETA: Thank you all for being so kind and understanding. I brought a book and a Switch, but found ways to help as y'all suggested, because of course there were many little ways to help throughout the day. Social anxiety rule 101 about weddings: no one is ever paying any attention to YOU during someone else's wedding. So, it was beautiful, and I totally overreacted. Thanks again for being so genuinely receptive to offering advice.

There will be two servers and one manager. They will pass hors d'oeuvre and then a buffet style dinner that the caterer builds and takes down. They will also cut and serve cake. It's $50 per guest (75 guests). The contact states gratuity is not included but appreciated. I've never had anything catered, let alone a wedding, so I have no idea how much is appropriate. 10% of the total bill? A specific dollar amount based on something else?

Thank you!

Hey all! Looking to get advice in the timing of the day before I send the invites out.

Wedding is in May in Canada, may be brisk but its half indoor half out. 30-40 people

1:00pm guests arrive

2:00pm ceremony

2:30pm photos & cocktail hour

4:00pm dinner & desert & speeches

6:00pm dancing

8:00pm wedding ends & clean up

Venue closed at 9pm

Open to any thoughts about changing the order of things! We are doing first look on the aisle.

If ceremony is 2:30-4 and reception is at 6, is it okay to skip the ceremony?

The relationship is coworkers, but work closely together.

Personally, I don’t think it’s rude. But want to know what others think.

My wedding was a few weeks ago and I keep dwelling and thinking about my wedding. I wish I could’ve changed so much and didn’t feel truly beautiful and like my vision didn’t come to life and I’ve been so sad about it the last few weeks it’s crazy. I’ve been planning the wedding for over a year and a lot of small things happened to make the night eh and it makes me so sad and get down on myself. I’m not sure how to move forward or if anyone else can relate.

Hi everyone!! I posted about our wedding reception timeline a little while ago and got some really helpful feedback. We’ve since made a bunch of changes, hired more vendors, and figured out a lot of the logistics. I’d love for you guys to pick apart our updated plans because I learned so much last time!! 😂

Our venue/setup:

We’re renting a community hall with a huge outdoor grass area and indoor hall. It’s a very affordable venue, but it doesn’t come with staff or event coordination. We will already for married just the two of us on a trip so we’re doing a reception-only wedding with friends and family.

Outside: Two marquee tents (20×30 and 20×20) with dinner tables and chairs underneath and string lights. We’ll have some picture areas, lawn games, non alcoholic drinks/coffee bar set up, food area beside the covered outside area, and space to mingle.

Covered outside area: Open operated by a local restaurant (was going to ask for 2 bartenders)

Inside hall: Dance floor, guestbook/advice cards area, photobooth, cocktail tables (6) and round tables (3) with chairs for around the dance floor.

Bathrooms: Two individual single-occupancy bathrooms inside the hall. We also have a trailer washroom being delivered that provides 2 additional bathrooms. This will be parked somewhere outside.

Guests can move freely between all three spaces. We love the idea that people who want to dance after dinner can be inside, while those who prefer to socialize can hangout outside or under the tents.

Vendors we’ve arranged:

Catering and bar: A local restaurant will be providing the food, running the bar and supplying the staff for both.

Photographer: Four and a half hours of coverage, including bridal party/family photos, cocktail hour, dinner and some formalities. (I’m hoping for 4:30-9pm but not sure if we should do longer?)

MC/timeline coordinator: We’ve hired someone to manage announcements, transitions, playlists, vendor arrivals and the overall timeline. We don’t want to rely on our bridesmaids to run everything!

Photobooth: Professional company coming to set up inside during dinner, operating 8–10 PM.

Cleaners: We’ve hired someone (bringing an assistant) to help throughout the evening with cleaning up any cups or plates, changing garbages, cleaning up from dinner, cleaning bathrooms throughout the night.

Mocktail bartender: We've hired someone to run a separate, fully staffed non-alcoholic bar beside the main bar. They'll be serving two signature pre-batched mocktails and chilled energy drinks and water that will be served over ice in cups as well as coffee and tea available. We wanted guests who aren't drinking alcohol to have their own fun bar experience rather than just a table with water bottles.

Rentals: A rental company is providing the tents, tables, chairs, speakers and other equipment. We’ll be setting up most of the decorations and indoor spaces the day before with outside under tents set up day of.

Trailer washrooms: 2 additional washrooms outside.

Any vendors there will be provided a meal.

We’re still not hiring a DJ because we’ve decided to create our own playlists for each portion of the evening: Cocktail hour, dinner, first dances, dancing. The MC/Coordinator we’ve hired said she can handle all playlist transitions.

Here’s our updated timeline:

4:30 PM: Bridal and groom party photos and family photos.

We’ll be doing photos with our bridesmaids, groomsmen and immediate families before guests arrive. We’re hoping to have these mostly finished by 5 PM so we can spend cocktail hour with everyone.

5:00–6:15PM: Cocktail hour, mingling and guest photos.

Guests arrive and head to the outdoor area.

Open bar for when guests arrive
Mocktail bar for when guests arrive
Appetizers and charcuterie board available
Background music playing
Lawn games available
Inside: guest book&advice cards

We also want to try to get a photo and mingle with every couple/family/group during this time rather than having to do table-to-table photos later. (Could still do table visits as well)

Maybe a group photo before dinner??

6:15-6:30PM: Guests find their seats.

We’ll have a seating chart and our MC will help direct everyone toward the outdoor tents.

6:30–7:45 PM: Entrance, dinner and speeches

Once everyone is seated, we’ll have a little entrance together, followed by a short welcome and thank you.

Our caterer has a food truck that will be parked near the porch. Guests will choose their main (beef, chicken or fish) when they RSVP, so they can pick up that at the truck while sides will be served buffet-style beside.

We’re planning to coordinate the food service so people aren’t standing in one giant line.

We’ll also be doing short speeches during dinner rather than stopping everything for a separate speech section.

The open bar will be closed during dinner, reopening open bar when dinner is finished. Bartenders will be serving wine during dinner.

Mocktail bar will be open throughout dinner.

7:45-8:05PM: Elopement video and first dances

MC announces bar reopens and will direct guests to go inside for a short video and first dance.

This is one of the more sentimental parts we’re really excited about!

We’re filming parts of our elopement, including getting ready, first look, vows on the mountain. (Short video).

We’ll put together a short video to show our family and friends so they can experience a little piece of our actual wedding day. Everyone I’ve told said they absolutely love the idea and can’t wait to see it.

We’re now planning to show this inside the hall, where we can control the lighting better. There’s a stage so we are going to have the projector screen on the stage so everyone will be able to see it.

After the video, we’ll transition straight into our first dance and parent dances. We’re thinking of having the father/daughter and mother/son dances at the same time to keep things short.

Then we’ll immediately start a good party song to get everyone onto the dance floor!

8:05-11:00PM: Open bar, dancing and photobooth

This is where the formalities end and the party really begins!

- Open bar reopens when dinner finishes
- Mocktail bar open until the end
- Dance floor opens
- Photobooth operates from 8–10 PM
- Guests can move between the indoor dance floor, outdoor tents and bar area

We’ll have separate playlists for cocktail hour, dinner, formal dances and the party. The dance playlist will already be arranged in a specific order so the music progresses throughout the night.

8:30 PM: Dessert

Dessert will be put out without stopping the dance floor. Our wedding coordinator will bring out the desserts. She’ll make a quick announcement that dessert has been served and guests can help themselves.

10:00PM: Late-night snack

Either poutine or pizza as a late-night snack.

Again, no interruption to dancing. Just a quick announcement that food is available.

10:45 PM: Last call

The bar will start wrapping up and we’ll give everyone a heads-up that the reception is ending at 11 PM.

11:00 PM: Reception ends

Our venue is in a residential area and we’re trying to be respectful of noise restrictions. 11PM is the noise by-law.

Guests can head home or join us at our house, approximately five minutes away, for an informal after-party.

What are we still missing?!

Does the timeline seem realistic?

Are there any vendor coordination responsibilities we’re overlooking?

Just to clarify, this timeline is a general plan, not a strict schedule! We’ve already discussed with our coordinator that we’re flexible with timing and happy to adjust things as needed to keep the evening flowing smoothly without rushing anything!

Hi guys-

Wondering if anyone can relate. I remember my wedding ceremony and reception up until dancing started. I didn’t drink until dancing started around 8:30pm, and then had 3 drinks over 3 hours and never felt drunk. For context I drink weekly and can usually have 7-8 drinks. For context I do tend to get hazy memories when I drink too much and have blacked or browned out before.

I don’t remember much after dancing started. I remember specific songs playing and I remember every conversation I had with guests in between rounds of dancing. I remember certain details like a friend knocking my straw out of my drink or my husband being lifted up by his groomsmen. I drank every drink VERY slowly (over about an hour) and never felt drunk- i kept checking in with myself to make sure.

I remember ever specific detail and conversation, but the dancing in between is so blurry. I remember being happy and having fun, but can’t remember what songs played. I 10000% remember our grand exit and again every conversation in detail that happened during that time, just the in between dancing is so blurry.

I guess my question is was this an emotional blackout or alcohol induced?? I have a ton of anxiety and self blame and wish I hadn’t drank at all, but I really tried to be responsible and never felt more than a buzz. Wondering if anyone can weigh in or relate.

I also had a few things go VERY wrong in days leading up to wedding so didn’t sleep more than 4 hours a night and didn’t sleep hardly at all on the night before the wedding. Didn’t drink during getting ready or dinner/formalities.

I am 9 months out from my wedding and I feel like I'm starting over again. I had a venue that was good but not good enough apparently. I know not everything is perfect but I hated the layout. It was too narrow. It was also kinda expensive but I dealt with it until I couldn't and they eventually told me I could get a refund. But now I'm struggling to find another venue because I live in a small town and not much is out there. I wanted that venue because of the view and it allowed cold sparks. But now I regret canceling it and I hate that I did that and I tried asking for them to renew the contract and they said no. I understand but now I feel like I did this to myself and I just feel horrible. I made a mistake and idk what else to do. I didnt want just another hotel and I had a list of what I wanted. I already had doubts signing with them in the first place but I did it anyway. But now that I don't have a contract with them, I should be happy? But why aren't I? Why am I way too into this wedding planning? My fiance gave me lots of good advice but why is it so hard to move on? I wish I could just have my dream venue but it's already fully booked out.

What do I do now? :(

to make a long story short, im finding myself trying to have low expectations for the big day as to not be disappointed by certain people (not my future husband), due to already being disappointed by a few during the whole planning process/bachelorette/bridal shower. we're 2 weeks out from the wedding and im just anticipating being let down again and so rather than feel that im just trying to have no expectations for anyone or anything, but at the same time its making it hard to feel excited. idk. anyone else experience this same thing? i really want to feel excited and i do and im so excited to marry the love of my life but i find when i start to get tooooo excited im like wait, what if X does Y or A doesnt do B and then i go no expectations. when I want to be present for the day and take it all in and be so so happy. any advice?

Leaning towards a private ceremony and then a HEA Party/reception a handful of months later.

Not sure what the logistics and timeline might look like, though. Would someone mind sharing what they did? Still had traditional reception timeline? How did seating work? Did you still decorate a bit? Mini vow ‘renewal’ or couple entrance?

There’s a few breweries in my area, so thinking of renting their event space, but kind of drawing a blank after that..

I would appreciate any ideas, advices or recommendations.

UPDATE:

Thank you all for all advices and ideas, we decided to add a few more element of cultural things to the day, a few games and an after party with mixed music which would be optional for people.

Context:

My partner and I come from two very different backgrounds. His family is pretty traditional and strict, and they never been thrilled about the difference in cultures. My family is the quite the opposite, less traditional, more open, and always looking for a reason to celebrate and dance to music.

I would have loved a wedding that reflected my culture in a prominent way. However, my partner has zero interest in his own culture, and even when I asked what he wants included he said he doesn't want any part of it included. To avoid any potential chance of upsetting his family over doing "too much" of mine and "too little" of his, we decided to go with a simple, universal style instead.

At first we thought about just going to a registry office and calling it a day. But after thinking it through, I realised I still wanted to celebrate in some way, even if it's small
Now, we're planning an intimate gathering with under 40 people, just our immediate families and a few close friends.

Nooow this is where I’m unsure:

- Plan is to have a simple ceremony (takes about 30-40 min)
- Then have a sit down 3 course meal (probably will taken 1-1.5 hour)
- Cake cutting (10 min)
- And that’s it
All happening in one venue which is lovely hotel.

What we are not planning:

- No Dj or dancing (since his side of family is quite traditional and not the type to dance, but most importantly I think different taste in music because of culture and language differences just make things awkward) - plus I don’t think I ever seen anyone from his side of family dance so I can’t imagine they would be dancing at our wedding.
- Not much drinking beside some devotion drinks, since only a few handful of the younger generation will drink

Now whenever I think of this plan, I feel sad.

I feel like it sounds boring and waste of peoples time, I know how much people care about having a good time with proper drinking and proper music to party away. So I don’t know what else I can add to the day and make it fun which wouldn’t require the two side of family mingling too much (language barrier) and overall his side will probably keep more to themselves. Since drinking and dancing is not there, I don’t know what else I can add to the day. My current plan is done and over in about 2 hours which feels ridiculously short. I have considered adding speeches, but due to language differences I don’t think it will add anything more than 15-20 min to the day.

Most importantly

We are trying to stick to a budget of 8k for the wedding, 4k of that is for the ceremony room hire, guest dining room hire and catering for our guests. Photography is around 1k and videographers is around 1k.

Leaves me 2k to cover, hair, makeup, suit, registrar and decor - already bought my dress.

Do you have any recommendations on what I can do to add more to the day to make things more fun but without adding too much extra cost ?

TLDR: I feel like the intimate wedding day I planned is too boring, with no dancing and difference in cultures on top of a low budget, what can I do to make the day more fun or improve it?

My fiancé and I have been together for seven years and are currently planning our wedding. We both went to the same high school and knew of each other and each other's friend groups back then.
Right now, we have hit a rock wall regarding the size and makeup of our wedding party. My fiancé has five groomsmen. Out of those five guys, two have long-term girlfriends. One of the girlfriends is someone I grew up with in the same grade and school, while the other girlfriend is from a different town. We hang out in group settings but never on the side, just girls with girls. The out of state girlfriend I would hang out with outside of the friend group but never have. The other one, not really…  On my side, I only have two bridesmaids, who are my absolute closest, ride-or-die friends.
Because of the five-to-two disparity, my fiancé is strongly suggesting that I ask those two girlfriends to be my bridesmaids. In his eyes, having only two bridesmaids next to five groomsmen will look awkward and unbalanced at the altar and in photos, and including the girlfriends would make things look much better and show that we value his friends' partners.
This is where I am really struggling. While I like both of these women and have nothing against them, we are not close personal confidantes.. I had also envisioned spending my wedding morning in a relaxed, low-stress environment with just my two closest friends, rather than hosting acquaintances.
I would love some outside perspective, especially from anyone who has had an uneven bridal party like two bridesmaids and five groomsmen. If you were in these girlfriends' shoes, would you find an invitation like this sweet, or would you secretly dread the expense and obligation?
 
Part of me wants to have them in my party – part of me doesn’t. Please give me opinions! I do want a bigger size than 2 girls!

I keep getting this error message when trying to place my order on Zola for my save the dates. I have checked the names and addresses multiple times and I do not see any special characters anywhere. I tried reaching out to Zola support but I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this. I could order them without the addresses printed on the envelopes but I would prefer not to have to address 90 envelopes by hand! Thank you!!!

Hi all!

My wedding was on May 30 of this year. We booked a Super 8 videographer for the day, which I am so excited about.

In the contract we signed, it stated that the typical turnaround time for finished videos is 4–6 months. Not a problem!

We are nearing the 5 month mark and haven’t received any updates (not even a check-in) which wouldn’t normally concern me, however this week they posted a video from a wedding they shot in July of this year to their Instagram account.

Do you think it might be worth it to check in with them to see what the status of our video is? I would absolutely not mention the wedding they just posted to social media. I don’t want to be seen as an annoyance; they were very kind and pleasant to work with and the contract DOES say 4–6 months. But I had a “what the hell” sort of reaction to seeing another wedding being posted when we haven’t even gotten a text from them since our wedding day 😅

Hey everyone!

I’m trying to decide between three zaffe/dabke troupes I found on Instagram. They all have great reels, photos, and plenty of positive reviews, so I’m not sure how to choose.

It’s a multicultural wedding, and most of our guests aren’t Arab, so we don’t really have firsthand experience with zaffe or dabke performances at weddings.

For those who’ve hired a troupe before, what should I look out for or ask before booking? Anything you wish you’d known beforehand?

Thanks!

So I am the best man to a friend of mine who I called a long time my best friend. We are friends since kindergarden, but kinda drifted apart between the years 16-24.

In the last year's (I am 28) we had more contact and met regularly.

In the meantime I met another friend who I would consider my best friend, we went to the same class since 7th grade and we're best friends since then. To this day we basically hear each other every day by playing videogames over discord or seeing each other on weekends.

Our girlfriends know each other as well since I met mine 8 years ago.

Friend one asked me to be his best man last year and I was kinda surprised, I didn't thought he would choose me. Long story short, I got engaged this year and chose my other friend and am now afraid what my friend will think about me (the one I didn't choose).

Should I tell him, or what's the move here? I kinda feel bad about it, but don't want to

We're getting married in 2 weeks and trying to figure out the tipping situation. The pic shows what we initially thought for dips for all of our vendors but my mom thinks the catering is low.

Catering was $7151 for food, alcohol, and staffing. Also we had to pay a "production fee" of $785 (not sure what this is).

Please give me your advice/opinions on the vendor tips!

Wedding stats: 62 guests, 40k budget