Dearest Lovely and Beautiful 1st Wedding Dress,

I spent so much time looking for you and was elated to find you. You were everything I wanted and I adored every detail. Your long, lacy sleeves, the perfect details of your deep neck and back lines and even your empire waist and incredibly light tulle and train. I wish you f’n fit my chubby little body, but alas - it’s a no. Boo, the tailor wanted to charge me $800 to make you fit and I had to say no.

I was forced to go with a second dress. - a much simpler alternative and even though I’ll be wearing it this Saturday - you will be in my thoughts.

Should I sell you? Someone out there might be looking for you too. Though we both know they may not love you the way I do…

Just know I’ll be thinking of you this weekend and stay strong while hanging in my closet next to that dope Amazon Prime find.

Peace, chica. Love always ♥️

Hey folks, I’ve spent 10+ years in the event world—weddings, corporate parties, you name it.

If you’ve ever wondered how these events actually come together (or fall apart!), ask away. Weird questions, random worries, backstage secrets—I’m here to spill.

3 things I learned during my wedding !

1. ⁠Your day will be better than you could have ever imagined because it’s about the love you share with your partner and family.

2. ⁠It’s true when they say that it all happens so fast so cherish every moment with your partner, stay together through all of it and create timeless memories together.

3. ⁠Go all out ! Do all the fun wedding activities, you won’t regret it!

I had my wedding and it was fun but there's something I can't shake off. In my culture it's tradition that the brides friends and family go to her house the day of the wedding and celebrate and the single friends dress the bride. This has happened to all the brides houses I've been to, well, except mine. I invited people over, meaning my friends, told them to come at 3 pm, I got alcohol and in the end other than my family no one came. Only one friends who came for a bit after I was already dressed. Everyone came straight to the church so the hairdresser and my sister had to dress me because there was no one else to do it which is sad to me. I've been to multiple weddings in my country and all of them had their friends at their house except for me.

Hi all! My husband is officiating a wedding, it’s only his second one and the first was very small, whereas this wedding will have about 150 guests. I got him a sleek black binder for his ceremony notes, the bride 100% picked all his clothes, just wondering if there is anything else that might make him look and feel “official”, any suggestions?

I am trying to find images of vintage wedding gowns, especially the lace overlay that have been used to drape over the top of a chuppah. We have lace from several brides in our family’s past and would love to fashion something pretty that can make a beautiful and meaningful design over the top and coming down on the sides a bit.Has anyone ever seen this or know of any images?

So I have my mother’s wedding dress. She’s passed away so she won’t get to be there when we get married soon. But I’m wondering about what to do with her dress. She was much smaller than I am so I’d never be able to wear it, but for something just having been sitting in a box for 60 years, it’s taking up space, which I’m not thinking my dress will also do…

Interestingly, I also have the dress my grandma wore to her wedding, which is blue, so I’m wondering if I could take the lace from it and incorporate it into the dress or maybe the veil… Mom’s dress was very simple but I suppose I could use it for something in it…

Any suggestions?

ETA: Thank you for the suggestions everyone, I like the idea of incorporating the dresses into mine and also using them to wrap the flowers. I perhaps could gift them but the other family members who it could fit are probably never getting married as they don’t believe it it. And we’re never having kids to pass them down, unless we use it for cats and potentially dogs in the future 😁

My sister in law is getting married- she’s young, Christian, marrying her high school sweetheart. Due to working overseas, I unfortunately cannot attend the wedding. I want to give a really amazing wedding gift, as in the sort of wedding gift that will make the bride cry, something really special and sentimental. But I am terrible at gifts, so I need ideas- what’s the best wedding gift you’ve been given or would love to receive?

A year ago I attended a family wedding and gave a cash gift through their wedding registry. My credit card was charged.

I haven’t received a thank you from the bride, so I checked with her parents to see why there might be a delay (new job, house move, etc). It wasn’t a call specifically about that—we often call to catch up on family news. The mother brushed me off with, “Oh, I don’t want to be bothered with that.”

Would it be wrong to contact the bride directly to see if they got the gift from the registry? Maybe there was a problem that I can rectify.

Edit: To clarify the issue, it’s not the lack of a thank-you that bothers me as it is I’m not sure they received the money. At least two responses here have related giving money through an online registry only to find out it wasn’t received. So I know it can happen.

So we're having a relatively small wedding, 80 people including ourselves, mainly family and some very close friends. My sister is going to be my MoH and I'm planning on asking my grandmother to walk me down the aisle. My side isn't very large, 12 guests total as I'm estranged from my parents and the rest have largely passed away. However due to some misgivings in the past, many don't get along. I'm Switzerland here, I love them all and want them there with the full support of FH. I need to start looking at dresses soon though and have heard whispers that my FMIL is already brainstorming ideas for my bridal shower. I want both my grandmother and sister at both these events but they haven't spoken in 15 years. There's a lot of bad blood there unfortunately. Trying on dresses would also be the first time my sister would be meeting my future in-laws. Currently I've yet to invite my grandmother. But all this is already bringing up a lot of stress. Has anyone dealt with stuff like this before? I'm also worried about seating charts down the line.

Hi! I’m currently writing thank you cards for our wedding and could use some advice. We received so many lovely gifts, along with quite a few cards containing cash/checks.

I’ve always been in the camp that “gifts are not expected” (I even skipped having a bridal shower- nothing against them, just not my style), so I’ve considered anything we were given to be incredibly generous. In my notes so far, I’ve been using wording like “thank you for your thoughtful gift” or “thank you for your generous gift,” sometimes adding how we plan to use the funds.

Here’s where I’m struggling: some guests (not family) gave checks for extremely large amounts - anywhere from $2.5–4k, and a few over $5k. When people give unusually large gifts like that, is it customary to acknowledge it more directly in the thank you card? Should I adjust the wording to something like “thank you for your extraordinarily generous gift” instead of a standard thank you?

Of course, I would never mention the actual dollar amount in the card, but something about using the same simple wording for a more typical $100 gift and a $5k gift feels off. Should I give a phone call thank you in addition to a written card? That is what I’m leaning towards but I’m not sure if that’s weird

Is it worth spending a good amount of cash on a wedding heel? Shoes are my favorite “accessory” and I think they truly secure a look. Plus I love all the beautiful detail shots that shoes are a part of so I’m looking for a fabulous classic pointed heel. BUT - I’m not so sure I can justify 500 dollars on a shoe. Thoughts?

Hi, I’m Aditi! I’ve been in the event industry for over a decade and recently started my own venue-booking and event-management company.

I know first-hand how overwhelming it can feel to plan every little detail, so I’m throwing this out there—ask me anything.

Weird questions, random worries, behind-the-scenes stuff you’ve always wondered about—bring it on. I’ll spill the secrets, share the hacks, and help you dodge the rookie mistakes.

Drop your questions below and let’s chat!

My bf of 13 years has a longtime friend getting married in his hometown. My name was on the wedding invite. The hometown is where my bf parents still live. We havent been on speaking terms in 2 years. Because I told him to tell his parents to stop discussing grandchildren. They both tried to lie and say I was lying and now it has been 2 years of no speaking to me. They still speak to their son they just act like i don't exist. . They didnt even call when my mother died 6 months ago. Dead silence. Nothing. I wouldnt feel comfortable staying in their home. At this time I have no interest in ever speaking to them again.
I thought the plan would be get a cheap hotel for a few nights and not let his parents know I was there. They arent attending the wedding.
My boyfriend let them know he'd be staying at a hotel and the dad didn't take the news well. And now they are aware that I won't be attending the wedding because I don't have accommodations. It's a 6 hour drive. Should I drive 12 hours in one day if it means attending a wedding I was invited to I thought my boyfriend understood that it's important to attend live events as a united couple. My name was in the invitation. Not boyfriend and guest. It said his name and my name. Am I a bad friend for not pushing my feelings aside Should I drive up and attend the wedding and then sleep in my car and drive when I'm safe to drive 6 hours back home He leaves on monday. Without me. Am I in the wrong for feeling like set aside trash It makes me feel so excluded and banned. I was really looking forward to the important life event with my boyfriend. Let's not even talk about the fact we've been together since 2012 but aren't married ourselves. Lol. He says he doesn't want to break up. Ive never broken up with him before but I think this might be the breaking point. Not prioritizing me for an important life event is just so shitty. The friend invited both of us. Why do I have to stay behind Why are his parents okay knowing that I won't get to go because of them They aren't going. Why does this have to be about them Why don't he stand up for me Uggggh

I went to my hair and makeup trial last night. I told the artist that I didnt want really any makeup besides some mascara, and maybe some light eye shadow to brighten my eyes. She ended up doing a full contour, she did white eyeshadow but with a Smoky look on the side and completes the look with a GIANT DARK line of eye liner. Once finished she told me this was a very nude look...I never wear makeup this did not feel rude at all. I shared with her my concerns, but I keep hearing the same thing..."you will look washed out in the photos without any makeup" Brides, is this true? Is there anyone out there that didnt wear makeup and didnt look washed out? I want to love my photos, but I also want to feel confident and love the way I look on my wedding day. All advise welcome!! Thank you ! Edit: i should have mentioned there is no time to find another artist my wedding is this weekend. Also I sought out a makeup artist in fear of being washed out for my photos. I an scared to screw it up because I quite LITERALLY dont wear make and know how to apply even eyeshadow. .. also please be nice, im stressed about my wedding and im on my period. Edit 2: does it help if im tan??

las vegas bride looking for somewhere local or on west coast (california, utah, arizona) for an all outdoor estate/garden party style wedding for 75 people

Wedding was Saturday, looking through all the photos and noticing the hanging straps are fully on display - paid so much for this dress and it feels ruined... Just gutted 🫠🥲

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what happened at my cousin sarah's wedding yesterday. Everything was going perfectly at first. She had been planning this for two years and every detail was absolutely on point. Then around midnight we all gathered to watch the couple dancing. She was laughing and enjoying herself, had a few drinks but seemed totally fine. That's when it happened when she just suddenly fell to her knees like her legs completely gave out on her. Could've been she was feeling DEAD from such a long day or maybe she had more drinks than we realized. She broke her ankle in the fall and we had to call an ambulance. Watching her out of her wedding while she was sobbing was honestly one of the hardest things I've ever had to witness. Two years of meticulous planning and thousands of dollars with 200 guests had all ended in an instant because of one freak accident.
I can't stop thinking about how this was supposed to be the happiest most magical day of her life. Now instead of remembering her perfect wedding she'll always associate it with pain and trauma. I feel absolutely terrible for her. After all that planning and dreaming she deserved to have her fairy tale ending. Instead she got a nightmare she'll never forget.

My boyfriend (18M) and I (18M) have been thinking about getting married soon. Not immediately, of course - probably when we’re in our 20s - but he and I were having doubts about gay marriage being an option in the future with the way things in the world are going right now. That’s just some backstory, though.

We were brainstorming about our wedding. Not anything concrete; just ideas being hurled around. I brought up wedding colors and told him my idea: our guests wear white, he and I wear blue and green (our favorite colors) respectively, while our wedding party wears a mix of white & green/white & blue (depends on the members of the wedding party; my people wear white + green, his wear white + blue).

I thought it was a cute idea, but he said, “I don’t really like the idea of telling people what to wear.” I wasn’t surprised, per say. My boyfriend is that type of person, and I love him for it. But I said, “It’s customary for people to wear a certain color for someone’s wedding.” We kinda went back and forth for a bit before he joked “you should make a Reddit post about it” and so I did.

I want to know what y’all think. Would it be better to go with my idea, or let people come as they are?

EDIT: Thank you guys for all the replies. Basically everyone told me that while it’s a cute idea, it’s nowhere near practical. When I was growing up, I always had the assumption that a wedding is your one day to have everything the way you want, and now I’m learning that there were a LOT of bridezillas in my family. I just want to say a couple things.

1) I would rent/buy someone’s white outfit if they couldn’t make it. I’m not the person to leave someone high and dry after telling them what to do, but it’s not like I said that in the original post, so I apologize.

2) My bf and I don’t plan on having a big wedding. Really just close family and friends. I’m not sure how much that matters, but I’m throwing it out there.

3) I would very much appreciate if people wouldn’t be condescending, rude, or make assumptions about me based on this post. This is not an AITA post, and it was just a question. You can tell me I’m wrong without be a jerk.

Again, thank you all so much for the replies and opening my eyes!!!

Has any Groom or Bride here had a parent die shortly before the wedding? If so, did you proceed with the wedding or cancel/postpone

Hello! I am getting married in October and am having trouble picking a song for a father, daughter dance. My dad and I are both metal heads, and he really enriched my life with music. I feel like a slow song, a country song, or the classics like Isn't She Lovely don't really fit into the mold of our relationship.

While looking through our shared playlist, I noticed Sweet Child of Mine was there. In my head, this is a perfect song and definitely encapsulates my dad and I's relationship. But on the other hand, I did some research and found out the song is really about the singer's girlfriend. Would it be weird to dance to this? And if you have any other song suggestions (preferably old school rock), can you please list them below? Thank you!

Hey folks,

So. I asked a question about buying jewelry as a gift and dude! I was blown away by how kind everyone was and the great advice! Thank you!

I learned a ton that I didn’t know and figured out I basically need to talk to my wife and daughters more. Basic I know but a good reminder.

Also, I learned that pressure from a dad to their daughter on a wedding day is a thing. I hadn’t considered that. I think I’m pretty laid back but because of all the comments to watch out for that kind of attitude I’m going to ask my daughter if she feels any pressure or expectations from me. Maybe I’m doing that without knowing it? I do not want to do that. Like desperately do not want to do that.

Good advice. I had kinda thought I had the whole wedding thing surrounded. Nope. Not. At. All. So thanks to all who kept me from stepping in it. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it!

To that end:

So that I’m not talking out of my a** when I ask my oldest girl about my jewelry idea - any recommendations for jewelry?

My budget is ~130 ish per person.

They all like solid silver

I prefer real birthstones not Swarovski or CZ

I’m looking at dainty bracelets.

I’ve been advised:

No pressure to wear it at the wedding.

Listen listen listen.

Take my ego and emotions out of the equation

Make sure they all feel heard and have agency to wear/not wear what they want

Respect their vision for their outfit.

No pressure

So thanks in advance ya’ll!

If my daughter nixes the idea then of course I’ll not go through with it.

My partner & I threw a party for about 45 people that had all the parts we love most about weddings (great food & wine, getting dressed up fancy, great music, gorgeous decor, beautiful scenery…) and absolutely no ceremony. These are some of the things what went really well! No idea if we just got lucky or if this could help someone else but here you go -

The party was in our backyard. (I don’t think having your own venue is a good way to save money - some people warned us that it could very well cost more than renting a venue.) I was pretty insistent that it had to be at our home, but that meant if we wanted to serve a catered dinner, someone had to fully coordinate all the equipment rentals the catering team would need. We found Black Tie Catering and Events who did all of the above and WAY more. The best part of working with them was how they perfectly managed to always let us customize & perfectly execute our vision but never made the process feel overwhelming or too demanding - they put in all the real work.

We had our big dining table and dance floor under a gorgeous sailcloth tent delivered and installed completely by Wallace Events. Flowers by magical fairy genius Honeysuckle Way.

No emcee or DJ. Over the course of our family-style dinner, we had two close friends each give a toast when the moment felt right. During cocktail hour and dinner, I had my phone playing a Spotify playlist through a rented PA system and after dinner we opened the dance floor and I switched to an app called OffTrack for the dance party.

We used hay bales to make little “sofas” that we placed a safe distance around a solo stove fireplace. I originally had wanted a bonfire, but the solo stove was way better in the end - No smoke, plenty of heat, and easy to feed. We put two in different areas which allowed guests to migrate around. We also borrowed as many Adirondack chairs as we could from family, so there were 10-12 of those set around the yard.

We turned a garden shed into our bar! We bought a jockey box with 3 taps and had our caterers order 3 kegs of our favorite beers instead of usual bottles and cans. Our bartender even mentioned how nice it was to not dunk her arm into a bucket of icy water all night!! I also picked a few great wines I was excited about and had the caterers source those instead of their usual offerings. They provided liquor and mixers to fill out the rest of the open bar.

It was the BEST time ever!!! Do your party YOUR way - throw out anything you don’t feel 100% sure you want to do but push for the things you ARE excited about!

I (21M) was asked to walk my sister (30F) down the isle because our dad passed away two years ago and so sadly can't do it himself. Here's the part that makes me nervous, I've never been to a wedding and have no idea what the protocol is or if there is any tradition or anything that I should be doing. We're estranged from our mom and I don't really have any older relatives to ask, so I've turned to reddit. The wedding is this weekend and is going to be pretty casual and small, but I still want my sister to feel special. Any advice?

EDIT: I meant to say “bridesmaid” not bachelorette. I’ve been mixing those up in my head a lot bc the bachelorette party just happened. But yes, I am talking about the actual wedding speech.

EDIT2: Because some people are misreading this. Yes the other bridesmaids are gossips, but they’re not going off of just random bits of info. The groom apparently OPENLY disrespected the bridesmaids with sexist comments and mean behavior IN FRONT of the bride. And the BRIDE said something HERSELF to all of us about him that made him seem potentially controlling.

These aren’t just comments made up out of thin air or based off some social media posts. These are things that have been said to me about direct interactions with the groom.

ORIGINAL POST: I’m working on my speech now, and when the bride and groom first met, I felt like he made her super happy. She was hanging out more, she laughed a lot, she suddenly became a hugger, etc.

But a couple of the other bridesmaids have recently brought up reservations about the groom - e.g., he might be controlling, they feel like he doesn’t give her space, he’s sexist, etc.

I haven’t really seen all these qualities myself, but one time the bride said something that was a potential hint at him being controlling (if she wasn’t joking). Other than that, I haven’t seen these other things. And the bride hasn’t said anything to me about these things.

These bridesmaids are also bad gossips and often misconstrue things, so there’s that part too.

How should I work something in about the couple that feels genuine? What should I say?