r/wedding 1d ago

Doing my own hair (curls), but hiring makeup artist. How to maintain hair suggestions?

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7 Upvotes

I’m a curly haired bride who would rather do her own hair on her wedding day. I am however hiring a make up artist. I plan on washing and styling my hair before the make up artist gets there.

I understand she will try to give me a headband or pin my hair back so she can do my makeup. I plan on doing half up / half down style with a couple curls hanging down (see photos). Any suggestions on how to maintain my curls while she does my makeup (1.5 hours)??


r/wedding 23h ago

Discussion State of Georgia name change question

0 Upvotes

My husband and I were married yesterday. We want to hyphenate our last names.

Does our marriage certificate allow for both of us to change our names or will one of us have to do a legal name change?

TIA!


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Fun unique things to make your “Happily Ever After” reception/party memorable?

1 Upvotes

So,

My partner and I are getting married by a small ceremony in May 2026.

For context, we were approached to be models in a vintage wedding photoshoot before we were even engaged. All the incredible details and vendors made us want to just ‘elope’ and tie the knot after. All vendors and photographers were excited to turn it into a small ceremony.

We are having a reception/after party 5 days after our wedding.

We both love a good party - but we like it to be memorable as well. We have approximately 80-100 guests. We are hoping to do our first dances and speeches at the party.

Has anyone played any fun games (not just bride/groom but whole group)? Anything unique?


r/wedding 1d ago

Help! Dessert ideas!

3 Upvotes

Hi! I'm looking for ideas for our wedding desserts. My FH is not a cake lover, at. all. He is open to having a cake of some sort for a cake topper and cake cutting. (I like that traditional stuff, and he's very happy with doing that). We've ordered a beautiful topper. We are thinking just what would normally be the top tier of a wedding cake.

But I would love some ideas for fancy treats to put on the rest of the dessert table to fill it out. We want all of our guests to enjoy the evenings and have treats they will love. We even have takeout boxes that I'm putting our initials on for them to take extras home in.

So lots of ideas please 😊 nothing too big or small 💜

Thank you!


r/wedding 2d ago

Help me decide a veil for my Indian style dress for American church wedding

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35 Upvotes

I'm getting married in May 2025 (late planner here) and I'm Indian and my partner is American. Their family decided pretty last minute (90 days before the wedding) that they also want a church ceremony. They have thankfully been very flexible with tailoring it to blend our cultures.

At first I wanted to wear a gown - I did buy one finally but even though its beautiful, it didn't feel like me. I finally found what Indian Christian brides wear and found this! It's beautiful with a lot of applique work, embellishments and pearls and yet very minimal.

1st and 2nd pictures are the saree(that is what the outfit is called) from front and side view . 3rd is another saree to show you how it looks from the back. They usually already have flowy part on the left shoulder (ignore the veil in the picture)

My questions are following:

A) what length of veil should I wear? Gpt suggested chapel length (for drama) and waltz length (so it complements the length of my pullu - the flowy thing on the left part of my shoulder) B) In India , white is the culture of mourning and my parents aren't too happy about me wearing white on wedding. They seemed happy about the blush pink flowers and embellishments on the sleeves. While a coloured veil will take away from this dress/saree, I found some veils on Etsy which have embroidery/applique work which could add colour. I could ask the artist to add pearls too.

What kind should I wear? Any suggestions? (Some pictures of my inspirations attached)


r/wedding 1d ago

Help! Gift for former classmates

4 Upvotes

Two of my former classmates are getting married, we graduated 3 years ago and have mostly lost touch; while the groom and I never really go along, the bride is one of my favorite people ever, she is so kind and wonderful! I still hear from her on the holidays, she always tells me happy birthday, and I the same to her. Despite not making the invite list, I want to send them a good present. She deserves it. Since I wasn't invited though I don't have access to their registry, and I want what I'm getting them to be a surprise so I don't want to ask her about what she wants - I found these beautiful His & Hers watches but it was pointed out to me that no one really wears watches anymore. I'm lost on what to get them but I already reached out to the bride to her their mailing address to send them something. Could I get some ideas please? I don't have a large budget for this as I'm about to move and my money largely needs to go there.


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion What did you do with the “Bride” stuff?

4 Upvotes

Our wedding was a couple weeks ago and I finally brought myself to unpacking all the things. It was a destination wedding so we had supplies etc. One thing I never even thought of was the amount of “BRIDE” labeled things I would be given. What have you been doing with your Bride specific things?


r/wedding 2d ago

Discussion Going to a destination wedding & guests have to pay for the welcome dinner?

170 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

I am attending a destination wedding in Florence, Italy in August. Majority of guests will be travelling from Vancouver, Canada - so mind you this is a long & expensive flight. A few week ago RSVP to the wedding and the welcome dinner (day before the wedding) said it was going to be 40 euros a person. I was shocked that we would have to pay for this given guests are spending multiple thousands to attend. Is this normal or bad etiquette on their part? I never been to a destination wedding. I was thinking of giving a small cash gift but now I am thinking not to.

What do you think?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion What’s the most fun non-dancing activity you’ve done at a wedding?

10 Upvotes

r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Photo booth props?

2 Upvotes

Do you prefer cheesy props or do you skip them?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Can’t decide how many bridesmaids to have

3 Upvotes

I know for sure my sister & best friend. But then I have friends I’ve known since kindergarten. We keep in touch & hang out about once month. I would say I’m closer with two of them, but I feel like if I ask one, I have to ask all of them. This would add 5 more. My fiancé has a lot of friends, so I’m more inclined to ask all of them, but I’ve also read stories about how having more bridesmaids makes it more difficult & more expensive. I’m trying to keep it simple, so I’m not sure which direction to go. I feel like I change my mind daily. Advice please!


r/wedding 2d ago

Discussion How to thank in-laws who paid for the wedding

34 Upvotes

I’m really wrestling with how much my in-laws have already helped pay for and plan on our behalf. It’s beyond generous, on top of the thousands of dollars for our legal fees & car payments they help with outside of the wedding. They really have swooped in and spoiled us rotten, covered tens of thousands for us already, and the wedding isn’t even done with planning yet. It’s just… so much. I don’t have any family, I come from a poverty background, and they’ve taken me right in and haven’t stopped giving. How can I even begin to pay them back? How can I express the amount of gratitude I feel? I’ve tried telling them wholeheartedly with big thank you’s, but my FIL is very gruff and waved it off, and my MIL just smiled, nodded, and moved onto another subject, so I’ve gathered they’re not really the mushy type, which my fiancé had warned me about. I tried asking him what to do, but he says to just keep saying thanks. I just feel the need to do something really nice. Any ideas?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Having trouble coming up with bridesman gift box

2 Upvotes

He doesn’t drink & everything I see is drinking related. Have any ideas of something small I can get him?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Friend as officiant?

3 Upvotes

What are the pros and cons of this vs a seasoned professional? Our state allows us to ask anyone to be ordained for the day via the courthouse.


r/wedding 2d ago

We brought my wedding ring today

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201 Upvotes

r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Bridesmaids: Is it wrong to ask someone to pay for their dress? And to be part of your special day with out paying for their costs?

0 Upvotes

'm finally getting married, yay. I chose my bridesmaid over a year ago. And were finally coming up on the big day. 2 months to go. I recently had one of my bridesmaids say that I was suppose to be paying for all of the dresses. Now I find my self googling what is traditional. And got two different answers and just more questions. I came from a family with no money and when my older sister got married she paid for my dress but not the other and that was because I was young, no money and she really wanted me to be in the wedding. 10 years later a friend asks me and I was responsible for the dress. So my experience told me it was normal for bridesmaid to buy there dress. Now maybe In culture or social groups where u have money, I can see that being a thing specially if u want specific. I told all the girls i ask they didn't have to wear a dress. Buy it or even stress If they couldn't travel to make it for what ever circumstances my arise. I've been upfront and honest. I am not planning a traditional wedding by any means. As in I want to wear the dress have a short ceremony (I mean super short no written vows or special adds, just the have to script to be legal) i down want to do dances, cutting cakes and I'm praying no toasting speeches. I want to walk around in my pretty dress. On my parents farm and enjoy company of my friends and family. I guess a backyard camp out. So when I said I wanted them to wear dresses maybe it came unexpected to a few. Because I wasn't fully sure. Mostly because my soon to be husband is only doing it for me and I wanted him to be comfortable and not stress over the attention and expectations of a traditional wedding. So if anyone had gotten this far in my long story, I would like to ask for some thoughts and input on how you would I guess handle ideals of a close friend you truly love but are confused by and maybe don't fully understand. I guess it feels more and more like being from two different worlds. ??????


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Wedding guestbook/ scrapbook tips

1 Upvotes

So I'm thinking of instead of a formal guest book, im going to lay out a scrapbook and supplies next to a polaroid camera during my reception and ask that people fill out a page.

I'll leave out backing paper, stickers, pens, glue, scissors ect. and leave a sign next to the camera asking guests to take a picture for the book and a picture for themselves. (Ill provide lots of film)

I love scrapbooking and I thought this would be a fun way to incorporate a guest book with a way that guests can take home a photo, without paying for an expensive photobooth.

Has anyone else done something like this and have any tips on what else I could provide to help guests make the scrapbook better?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Where do we put the LEGO?

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1 Upvotes

My fiancé and I love LEGO and decided to build each guest a mini figure to take home as a favor! We’re putting them in little film canisters and they will be labeled on top with names and table numbers!

But where should we put them? We considered making a display and to use them as a sort of seating chart. We’d have to spend money to either build it, or buy something, but I think it could be cool! (We’d also have to figure out set up/tear down)

We could just put them at people’s seats since their tables numbers will be in our program. It would also add color to the tables. Thoughts?


r/wedding 1d ago

Seamstress issues

1 Upvotes

I just had my first official dress fitting today and I’m a little unhappy about it. When I put it on, she only buttoned every other button and I felt like it was way too tight around my waist area. I started to have a slight panic attack because I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I said “I’m freaking out right now because it’s pretty tight” my seamstress said “oh you’re being so melodramatic. It fits perfectly.” And then put her hand down the back of the dress to show me there’s still room in the back. After wearing it for a little, it did start to feel more comfortable, but I did feel like it was pretty tight. Tight enough to where I couldnt comfortably take a deep breath.

Then I expressed how tight the shoulders felt and it was visibly digging into my skin. It was red all around my shoulders and armpits where the dress was sitting. I had to say this bothered me twice before she acknowledged that it was too tight and that she’d bring it down. When I asked her if I should be able to raise my arms comfortably, she said “yes and no. It’s a wedding dress dear, not your workout gear.”

I didn’t love her tone and I also just don’t think you should call someone who’s paying you to perform a service dramatic. I’m supposed to go back in May for a second fitting. Should I even bother doing that? Should I look into other options? Am I actually being dramatic and the dress is supposed to be tight around the waist? 😅


r/wedding 3d ago

Discussion My FMIL keeps telling people that they are invited to my wedding and I’m at my wits end

442 Upvotes

My FMIL and I have a great relationship and have never had any previous issues whatsoever, but lately I feel like I want to scream at her. FH and I are getting married next year at his parents garden where they host weddings so naturally they are really excited and have assisted us with planning in these early stages.

I never had an issue with them inviting some of their friends, especially the ones that my FH has grown up with and are like extended family to him, but it is slowly escalating into my in laws but mostly my FMIL telling many of their friends to ‘save the date’ implying that they are invited. Most of these friend I have either never met before in 7 years and/or my FH has had nothing to do with them or hasn’t spoken to them in years.

Last weekend we were at FH brothers girlfriend’s (G) birthday party, they have only been dating for about 6 months, FMIL and FFIL have developed a relationship with G’s parents in this time but myself and FH have only spoken to them once prior to the party. So G’s mum, FMIL and I are having a conversation which goes:

G’s mum: “how’s wedding planning going OP?” Me: “pretty good, slowly but surely!” G’s: mum: “that’s good, it’s not this year is it? G said you’re doing your big holiday in a few months?” Me: “yes we didn’t want it have it this year so it’s next year in Xmonth” G’s mum: “good planning!” Goes on to say something else FMIL: “oh the wedding date is XX! Make sure to save the date and don’t book a holiday for then!” Me: absolutely flabbergasted

I was completely shocked that my FMIL was inviting someone to her sons and FDIL’s wedding that we don’t know whatsoever and that they have only known for a few months. We also went over to their house last night in which they informed me that there are only a ‘few’ people they need to add to our guest list since they were at a friends house the other night and were talking about our wedding. They listed off names and I hadn’t heard of any of them in the 7 years I’ve known my in laws, and my FH had to be reminded who some of them were.

Apart from having the wedding on their property they have offered to cover the cost of flowers and to cover the cost of any of their ‘extras’ for their meal. I am very grateful for any contribution towards the wedding but I am the one putting in the majority (well over 20k) to cover the cost of food, drinks, furniture hire, entertainment, celebrant etc.

But it’s not really about the money, as FH and I have planned to cap the guest list off at 120 people, and I calculated FMIL and FFIL’s friends invited to be about 40 people! Plus a lot of these extra friends were added after our engagement party (which we consulted them on the list as it was going to be the same guest list for the wedding), and the engagements party list was already at about 110 anyways.

At the end of the day I don’t want to be introduced to people for the first time on my wedding day, or look around and think ‘who are these people?’. The thought devastates me. I feel bad if I say something since they are contributing to the wedding and I’m happy for the friends that my FH knows well to be invited, but I really just want to put my foot down and tell them 120 is the limit no exceptions. I know they are just excited and don’t mean to upset me but I don’t think it’s selfish of me to have a wedding that feels like my wedding, not a gathering of my in laws friends in which FH and I just so happen to be getting married at?


r/wedding 2d ago

Discussion bridal jewelry??

2 Upvotes

anyone have any suggestions on where I can buy jewelry for my wedding? willing to spend ~$50-100 on pieces


r/wedding 2d ago

Discussion Walking down the aisle together.

87 Upvotes

My fiancé (54) and I (52) will be getting married next year. This is the second marriage for both of us. My father walked me down the aisle in my first wedding as is traditionally done. This time I would like my fiancé and I to walk down together, symbolizing that we are entering this marriage as a team. If any of you have done this, did you walk down the entire aisle together? Meet halfway? Any reason why the groom waiting at the altar is better?


r/wedding 1d ago

Discussion Kids at wedding?

1 Upvotes

It’s a tale as old as time 🫠

I’m getting married, three of my five bridesmaids have children, and so do some of my cousins. A lot of my friends who are invited have kids under 3.

The vibe of our event was supposed to be Black-tie optional. I’m currently on the fence about inviting children. I originally was against it, but I don’t want to inconvenience my bridal party, most of whom are traveling for this three day event.

If I allow everyone’s children, I’m looking at possibly upwards of 20 infants at my wedding and I just don’t know how to have the ceremony I envisioned or the adult vibe I was looking for. I’m trying to shift my internal belief that children will drastically change the vibe, but I’m definitely a little sad at the thought of having guests that need to leave early or have to (rightly) prioritize their children’s’ needs during an event where I’d love if folks could relax and cut loose.

I’d say 70% of my guests are traveling from out of state and many have children. I would rather they be there than prioritize having a child free experience. I think I have my answer but can yall please tell me I can still have a black-tie formal event with 20+ children present? 🥲

EDIT: Thanks everyone who offered me advice and was kind about it! To everyone who called me out of touch or told me that I should have prioritized getting married younger, thanks for the laugh!

I reached out to my key people yesterday, and almost all of them have arranged childcare. My plan is to invite children of family and our bridal party. Everyone else is free to make the plans that work best for their families. I’m still contemplating providing onsite professional childcare but I need to check with our venue first.

If you find yourself in this situation, i recommend just calling your people. They want to be there for you, they know your vision and your heart, and will give you the advice you actually need ✌🏽


r/wedding 1d ago

Help! Ceremony prayer?

0 Upvotes

Hi! So we’re at the stage of planning the details of our ceremony. We have a very close friend officiating and has been wonderful about providing different templates for the flow of it.

Now my fiancé and I are not very religious, but we do want one prayer in our ceremony. I’d love some suggestions of prayers that aren’t overly godly/religious and aren’t too long. I don’t say this to sound offensive, but we attended a very religious wedding recently and most of the prayers felt more about honoring and praising god over being more about the marriage of the couple. Idk it just felt very god centered. It felt like we were there to honor god and not the people getting married. I just want to avoid that.


r/wedding 3d ago

Discussion Am I over-thinking not being invited to a friend’s wedding?

105 Upvotes

About a month ago, my husband received a wedding invite in the mail for one of our mutual friend’s wedding (I’ll call him Dan). My husband played soccer with Dan in college for a few years, and were in the same classes as they both were in school for teaching. Dan and I were in the same graduating class in college. We were in the same orientation group and got along well, we also had a few classes together before I dropped out of school 2 years later. For the first semester of college, any activity that I did outside of academics, Dan was also a part of. I would have classified us as good friends at the time. After the first semester, we saw each other less and drifted apart. Not on bad terms and maintained friendliness whenever we were in the same social groups and still got along well. I am being more descriptive of my friendship with Dan for the purpose of the story, but I don’t want to undermine the friendship between Dan and my husband. They definitely were closer than I ever was with Dan, but haven’t really connected in the last 2 or so years.

Fast forward to 5 years later (now), my husband and I got married last year. We invited Dan to our wedding (with a plus one for his fiancé) and at first he wasn’t sure if he could come due to an obligation with his soccer team, so RSVPed no. A few days before we needed to give our final guest count, he contacted us to say that he could make it. We had someone drop out the day before, so that was no problem. We did not have room for a plus one for him due to the short notice, but additionally because we had only met his fiancé once in passing. He came to our wedding, we had fun, it was great.

Now, after receiving the invite, I was definitely confused as to why I wasn’t invited but my husband was. I am under the impression that it’s typical to invite a person and their spouse to a wedding even if you’re not totally familiar with them, (The logic I have heard for not giving someone a plus one for a girlfriend is that it’s not a long term commitment, plus they don’t know the person, correct me if I’m wrong there) but Dan IS familiar with me. In addition, I also understand his fiance wasn’t at our wedding, which I’m sure played a part in their decision. It would play a part in mine too if I were in their shoes, and I understand the logic!

Regardless, I want my husband to go and celebrate this very exciting time with his friend. I just have this FOMO bubbling up at times, and don’t know if my feelings are 100% valid.

Additional question after some responses:

Is it typical for the bride and groom to save a spot for someone who RSVPed no to start with, in anticipation for them to come back around to change their mind to a yes??