The worst mistakes I made as a bride:
As someone who's been in your shoes, I’ve learned the hard way what not to do! From guest list surprises to invite mishaps, these are the mistakes that cost me time, money, and a few gray hairs.
Save yourself the trouble—here are the top four planning blunders I made and how you can avoid them!"
1. ASSUMING GUEST LISTS
Let me tell you, we made the mistake of assuming who our parents would want to invite. Three months before the wedding, my fiancé’s parents reached out wanting to add an additional 20 guests! 😳 This led to a bit of a heated family discussion, and it was ultimately too late to accommodate everyone. 😓 So, don’t assume—just ask! A simple “Hey, is there anyone specific you’d like us to invite?” could have saved us all that stress. You might also consider setting a cap on the number of invites for your parents. A group chat with you, your partner, and your/their parents can also keep everyone informed on the conversations and planning! 🫶
2. LOSING THE ADDRESS LIST 💌💀
Here’s a real doozy: we did not save our address list for our invitees! I’m still scratching my head wondering where it went (I swear it was a Google Doc or a shared Apple Note). I mailed out about 100 invites while juggling a long-distance relationship during the planning phase, and when it came time for thank-you cards, we had to reach out to everyone to get their addresses again. Talk about a time-waster for everyone! Keep your address list organized and safe—some friends used The Knot for requesting addresses and had great success with it, so I recommend checking that out!
3. SENDING INVITES TOO EARLY
We sent our invites out way too early! 😩 My husband proposed in April, and we tied the knot on New Year’s Eve, so I thought I had everything covered after putting a deposit down on our reception venue and chatting with our ceremony location. But then, surprise! Our ceremony location fell through right after we sent the invites. 🤯 We had to inform all our guests about the change, which was a bit of a nightmare! So, lesson learned: make sure everything is set before mailing your invites. Ultimately, this made it so that my cute detail photos with the invitation suite were incorrect, and of course, we still had a few folks show up to the wrong ceremony location. 🤦♀️
4. OVERDOING THE FAVORS
I got all DIY-enthusiastic and made these cute newspapers & Christmas ornaments as favors ❤️, but we had way too many extras left over💔. As a wedding photographer, I’ve noticed that most guests aren't even looking for favors anymore! My advice? If you decide to do favors, task a bridesmaid with passing them out or leave them right on the guest tables to encourage people to grab one. This will save you time and money (trust me, DIYing favors can be a lot of work) and you don't want to be left with 50 of the same magnets!
I hope sharing these personal experiences helps you navigate your own planning process a bit smoother. Mistakes Happy Accidents are just part of the journey, and I’m here to help you every step of the way!