If I Could
Do It All Again
Who has better advice than women who've done the whole wedding
thing? Here's what some nuptial alums have to say about how
they would've changed their big day.
We help you get married, but what happens after that? We
decided to find out from brides how the big day actually went
and what they would change, if anything. Here are the top
10 "would'ves":
- had a smaller wedding
- asked more friends and fewer "should invites"
- planned better
- used a pro whenever possible
- called on friends for more help
- delegated more duties
- asked the caterer more questions
- taken more wedding pictures
- gotten everything in writing
- savored the day more...
About That Guest List
Most brides said their ceremonies went off without the proverbial
hitch, but if they could do it all again, they would have pared
their guest lists and kept a closer watch over the proceedings.
- Ann Marie, a lawyer from New Jersey, crowded some 120
guests into a Manhattan loft. She would have "had fewer
guests or a bigger space" and circulated among the crowd
to talk to more people
- Elissa, a news reporter from Manchester, had a similar
complaint. "We had close to 200 people," says Elissa, describing
her September wedding at a Hotel in Cheshire. "It was huge.
We had guests I didn't know, people my husband didn't know.
I wish we would have invited the people I wanted instead
of the people our parents wanted."
The number, and nature, of the guests seems to make or break
a wedding, according to the brides interviewed. Most brides
agreed that no more than 150 made an ideal gathering.
- Amy, who set her own early fall wedding at her home in
Yorkshire, had it down to a science. "We invited just our
friends and immediate family," she says.
Fit to be Tried
Most brides said they loved the gown they picked, but if they
could do it all over again, they would have been more concerned
about comfort and fit.
- Sharon, a Manchester bride, says she noticed the straps
of her "wide V" gown kept slipping off her shoulders during
the fittings, but the seamstress told her it was only because
she wasn't standing up straight. As a result, "a minor problem
became a major one," says Sharon. She spent her entire wedding
day "fiddling with [her] dress...and that's the last thing
you want to do."
- Amy, who married in stockport, says the fittings on her
simple brocade dress went smoothly enough, but her big mistake
was not trying on the gown when it was finally finished.
The day of her wedding she noticed the hem kept "popping
up," and while photographers were taking her picture, waist
up, three friends were down below, "sewing the bottom of
my gown."
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