There is a saying “The most fertile source of insight is hindsight”. We couldn’t agree more and what better way for brides to ensure their “I do’s” are awesome than getting feedback from brides that have been there and done that and tossed that bouquet.
So we asked our fans – if they could do their wedding day all over again, what would they do all over again? And here is what they said.
The Photographer/Photos
“Definitely would have gone with a more expensive photographer; the cheap one didn’t do a good job; some memories are priceless.”
Pauline Mudau
“Yes. I only have a few photos because the photographer’s film jammed and most of my photos are gone.”
Nicolené Engelbrecht
The Guests…
“Would have had an even smaller wedding (it was only 80 people). Only invite people who you really care about and are in your lives! It was an eye opener at a massive cost. And take more family and couple photos and eat!”
Cindy Turner
“My guest list! Some people did not deserve to be there! And I would make sure to take all my expensive wine that was not used straight after and not the next day (venue workers stole all my wine).”
Lelani Groenwald
“Some people (family) wouldn’t have been invited.” ?
Louise Nev JV Rensburg
“It was 5 years ago…Thinking back, the young people our age (friends and family both) were just there for the alcohol. No one danced because half of them were not happy for us and the other half stood outside all night long smoking. Today, 5 years later, we don’t have any contact with any of our friends of that time, and the family (like the cousins etc) were just there to keep everyone’s mouths shut. Today we have friends closer to our hearts than ever before. We know which family members were really happy for us on that day. So yes we would change the entire guest list except for the parents of both sides. Our entire guest list!!!!! ?Our guest list was 100 people. If we had to do it all over we would only have 20
Catharine Dippenaar
DJ
“My wedding day was perfect for me on the day except for one thing and that was our DJ. We were very young and couldn’t afford much, but I think we did very well. This year would be our 14th anniversary. I’d love to do a small vow renewal one day and try to invite as many of our original guests as possible.”
Mart-Mari Breedt
“Will go for a better DJ, & will do a full vintage wedding.”
Portia Tendani Hlabyago
Venue Choice and Captain
“Not to get married on a ship. 80% of the guests were vomiting due to the fact that there was a storm going on. My veil blew off in the wind and I staggered through the aisle to be married to my lovely husband by an Italian captain that didn’t speak any English because the actual captain had gotten sick just before the trip. Seasickness also got my
Bianca Hersov-Lisman
Wedding Dance:
“We didn’t do a wedding; we got married in my mom’s garden, with minimal setup, in front of just our parents and siblings. The only thing I would change is to have done a first dance together, or at least played our wedding song at some point in the background.”
Everything But…
“I’d change everything except the groom. It rained, gusty winds, my father refused to walk me down the aisle until my mom arrived. I cried almost throughout the whole day. Still married though – 25 years on 7 August…”
Sharon Oosthuizen
“Everything except our ceremony…Married 10 years this year. Was planning a wedding vow refresher but financially we not there yet. But we still happily married.”
Tania Audrey Swartz Villor and Brandon Villor
Wedding Planner
“I was more concerned about everybody else and everything going according to plan. I was my own wedding planner which is not advisable.
ZeKo Ymages
“I would have hired an Event Manager at least for the day of our wedding. I could have just enjoyed the whole experience without worrying about things happening at the right time.”
Joey Aucamp
“I would get a wedding coordinator so I wouldn’t need to plan everything :)”
Adele Campbell
Walking Down the Aisle and Advice
“The only thing I would have changed was to make sure the DJ had the right song for when I walked down the aisle. Otherwise it was a perfect day! The best tip I received was not to stress about the day. It goes so quickly, so relax and savour every moment with your husband. And nothing goes according to plan so don’t set a rigid plan. Have a basic idea and go with it.”
Heidi Gouws
The Bar
“The venue… the Bar was in a different room to the reception – most guests hung around the bar. The dancefloor missed some guests. And the DJ…”
Evy Ioannou Du Plessis
Catering, Dress, Photos and Honeymoon
“I would have a catered affair, a better dress and better photos…. and a honeymoon. Almost 32 years ago…”
Andrea Croy
Honeymoon and Too Much Involvement
“We were young when we got married and well weren’t as financially prepared as we had hoped; neither as clued up with the in’s and out’s of these things; so basically received a lot of “other people’s” involvement; if I could do it again I would like to renew my vows at 15 years… currently on year 12 ? and do it better this time and go on that honeymoon we never had!”
Samantha Kerchhoff
Smaller Weddings/Elopement
“I would elope and spend the money on a better honeymoon.”
Rene van Zyl
“Smaller wedding, bigger honeymoon…”
Ash-Lee van Jaarsveld
“Elope! Or write vows on a post-it.”
Shirvani Naran
Videographer
“I just regret that our first dance wasn’t captured on video… Everything else was perfect!”
Jolene Miles
“I would definitely go smaller. And would have
Jennifer Pillay
Photos, Dress and Location
“Would get more photos of us and do my dress over, and take it to another location that is more romantic, like Mount Amanzi.”
Bettina Fouche
The Groom
“The groom!!! 😉 😉 ;-)”
Mandy Deysel
“Different groom!!!!!!!”
Lucille Cresswell
Everything Perfect
“Our wedding day was perfect. Memories at Mount Amanzi this is my 2nd marriage, but our wedding day was everything I dreamed of since I was a little girl. We discussed everything with each other and planned together. We planned a day that all our guests could see our love for each other. God was on our wedding day and still is our first priority in our marriage. Not even a month after our wedding I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My hubby by my side through all off this.
Ronet Broodryk Heyns
Pregnancy
“Not be 9 months pregnant ? … And so exhausting! But I am grateful for my son and happily married, that is the reason why I want to have a do-over and it’s on the cards :)”
Lynn Nolan
Everything But the Groom
“Everything except the man that I married ♡ Was never “mine” [wedding] to begin with… most important part worked out ♡ married my best friend and that was the best thing ?”
Marcelle Schoeman
The Dress
“My dress.”
Michele Silver
“My dress… It did not come out as I wanted it to. The lady at the dress shop spoke Greek and we could not understand one another. The wrong material was used. And the whole dress did not end up as I envisioned.”
Adele Olivier
“Loved my wedding but afterwards I opened a Bridal Shop and would love to wear a different dress … and have my mom & sister here to help me choose and fit this time!”
Melanie Jane Martin
Everything – Hair, Dress, Photographer
“Omg everything?♀️my hair was a mess, my dress straps got cut. The photographer was a disaster. I would redo everything”
Govender Tamaine
More Relaxed …
“I will be more relaxed! I was far too nervous and uptight about everything.”
Jackie Bedeker
Wedding First and Less Jägermeister
“It’s going to be so obvious but I would have rather gotten married before the baby. ??♀️ the only thing I stressed about was him [baby boy]. I didn’t stress about the decor or the cake or the schedule. It was exactly as stress-free as I wanted it, except for stressing about Lex [baby boy]. OH and I would have had less Jägermeister ?”
Chanel Bedeker
Have you gotten married recently or not so recently? Any pearls of wisdom you would like to share to help brides/grooms-to-be not repeat some mistakes?
Please share any insights with us on Social Media or the comment section below.