Real Brides (and Grooms!) Confess Their Biggest Wedding Planning Mistakes

Every bride has something she'd do over—if she could. Here, some hard-won wisdom from the recently married.

Check Your Makeup 
"I should have had photos taken of myself at my preliminary makeup session. At the time I thought it looked great, but when I got my professional wedding photos back, my eyeshadow showed up glittery and metallic. As a result, I hate all of my wedding pictures. If I’d seen this beforehand, I could have had my makeup artist make the necessary changes. —Loryn 

Be Attentive to Your Guests
“Many of our guests traveled a long distance to attend the wedding, but I only spoke to them for a minute or two in passing, or not at all. I wish I had made a concerted effort to spend five minutes with everyone at the wedding and visit each table in an organized fashion. It meant a lot to me that everyone came to share our day, but I realized later that some of them didn’t know that because I didn’t take the time to talk to them.” —Lauren, New York, NY 

wedding photo with guests
Photo Credit: Kimbry Studios

Don't Overlook the Details
“Make sure the small things are attended to. For example, I should have checked to make sure the air-conditioning in the ballroom was working. It wasn’t, and our wedding took place on a stifling August night. Everyone was sweating!” —Sarah, Boston, MA

Get Out Save-the-Dates 
“It was a mistake not to send save-the-date cards. Some people I wanted to invite had already made vacation plans by the time they got our invitation, which I sent out too late anyway, only three weeks before the wedding. I could only give the guests five days to reply. Some key people couldn’t attend because they didn’t have enough time to make plans.” —Toni, Shelton, CT 

photo save the dates
Photo Credit: w+e photographie

Allot Enough Time 
“I would have had my cocktail hour actually last longer than an hour. My husband and I were out taking pictures with the bridal party, so by the time we joined everyone else, it was almost over.” —Sarah

Next: Vow Mistakes, Why to Go Pro, Making Compromises, and More ►

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Comments

The rule of the social makeup (for different events) also applies for brides. However, the most important rule is to know how to respect the style of each. According to experts in bridal makeup, if she never makeup cannot opt for a very exaggerated or overdone on her wedding day makeup as it will look very different and uncomfortable. Another basic rule is to have an emergency kit makeup during the religious ceremony and the wedding party. Make sure you have a small bag all the basics such as base, eyeliner, lipstick and concealed if you want to run any tears makeup face of the bride.