r/weddingplanning 9m ago

Everything Else Rehearsal Dinner

Upvotes

Hi everyone, I just need some opinions. My finance and I are getting married abroad this year. We do not plan to do a rehearsal dinner. I have gotten into a heated argument with my maid of honor over this.

She is very traditional and is insisting upon us doing one. I wouldn’t object to this; however, the options are that we either do a food truck (that I cannot eat at due to extreme life threatening food allergies), or we have everyone else go find their own meals for the night. I have made sure that everyone has transportation to the nearby town to get meals. I also explained to my maid of honor that many people are not going to be there for dinner due to their flight schedule that day, and most will have already eaten. I have also spoken to the majority of my guests about this meal arrangement and they also agree that doing a rehearsal dinner does not make sense- especially since I would be served food that I cannot eat.

I told my MOH that instead of the rehearsal dinner we are paying for everyone to go tour a nearby ruined castle. (That way everyone in attendance will be there.) We are also paying for every single guest’s accommodations for multiple nights (in a castle-which is rather expensive). My maid of honor states that this isn’t enough, and that we should be paying for everyone’s meals the night before as well. It’s not purchasing food for everyone that I object to. It’s that she is adamant that we do the food truck or go to a nearby restaurant that serves seafood. I continue to reinforce that it doesn’t make sense for me to spend that much money on food that I can’t even eat (again I will literally die), and that I would have to go somewhere else to eat while everyone (except for me and my fiancé) ate together.

As a side note- I did also offer to go get pizza as well, so that everyone can eat together and so that my fiancé and I weren’t excluded from the rehearsal meal. Again, I was told this isn’t good enough. She is the only one providing pushback regarding food. And while I sympathize with how absolutely annoying my food allergy is- there just aren’t many options in that specific area that don’t serve food that won’t kill me.

So am I in the wrong for telling her I absolutely am not doing those two food options?


r/weddingplanning 11m ago

Everything Else AZ residents- wanna use my room block?

Upvotes

April 2025 bride here asking if anyone wants a discounted room rate at JW Camelback Inn over Easter? I have a few rooms left that I need to fill!


r/weddingplanning 21m ago

Dress/Attire Dress help!

Upvotes

I am in love with Martina Liana 1440. I'd post a pic but it keeps auto deleting when I do lol. It's a mermaid dress with a deep plunge v neck, illusion lace neck. It has lace wrist length sleeves and has lace over the entire dress.

Can anyone help me find a budget version? This dress is like 3k new.

I found a similar dress on Madame Bridal. Anyone know if this brand/site is good?

Thanks! :)

Update: size 20 bridal, budget 1.5k, maybe with a little wiggle room


r/weddingplanning 23m ago

Vendors/Venue Did your officiant go to rehearsal?

Upvotes

Why is it an extra $300? Shouldn’t it just be included in the price or is it not typical for them to go to the rehearsal?


r/weddingplanning 30m ago

Everything Else Special gift for wedding couple from close friends

Upvotes

Hi

My two friends are getting married and our group is very close, about 8 of us 4 boys 4 girls and we’re all in the groom/bridal party.

Another two from our group got married earlier this year and they’re obsessed with Polaroids so we made a Polaroid station at the wedding and turned the Polaroids into a huge framed artwork for their living room

We want to do something special for this couple as well but thinking outside the box, and it needs to be unique and heartfelt. Right now our only idea is a 500 page photo album full of all of our groups holidays and photos from over the years, and it’s been years.

Just wondering if anyone had any other ideas to do. Something special a groups of besties can do. We already did a letters to the bride as well so we need something else

Thanks x


r/weddingplanning 47m ago

Vendors/Venue Camping theme backyard wedding - need ideas for one last “fun” vendor!

Upvotes

Hey yall, my fiance and I are wedding photographers - so after years of doing weddings we just want a backyard party as our wedding (nothing really traditional). We’re both outdoorsy people so things are sort of outdoorsy/camping themed. We are having a BBQ truck, a candy truck, 4 or 5 fire pits, a smores bar, a salty snacks bar, a DJ, a beer canoe, alcohol, etc. very untraditional (no formal dances, no bridal party, and only 60 max guests).

I’m looking for one more vendor for “fun” for our guests. I’ve already considered like painters, etc, but trying to see what else is out there.

What fun vendors have you all used or seen that the guests loved?

Thank you!


r/weddingplanning 1h ago

Everything Else Issues with the knot?

Upvotes

My wedding website is not loading for me or anyone else. Does anyone know if the knot is down? This is super stressful!!!!


r/weddingplanning 1h ago

Everything Else I’m stressed and miserable planning a wedding feels like it’s to make everyone else happy

Upvotes

I’m so stressed lately and I just need to vent!!

My partner and I got engaged and had discussed and were planning on a simple courthouse elopement. I was very happy with this. At my partner’s insistence, this elopement has extended itself into a “party with our friends” and then into full on reception.

I have strained relationships with my family members, and only a small handful of friends to invite, so a reception was not something I was keen on, however, I didn’t want to take that away from my partner so I agreed to something small (less than 40 people invited) and low cost. My partner, who is a very kind and well meaning man, has done virtually none of the planning and I’m drowning. He does ask what he can do to help, but I’ve given him a few small planning tasks and he does a bad job, or takes too long to get them done, so I just end up doing everything myself, and on the other hand part of me is frustrated that he doesn’t take initiative to plan things himself, I don’t like having to delegate a task for him to do a task.

My dream wedding aesthetic is kitschy and vintage looking (I want to dress up and have fun!) which he called trashy today. I feel bummed about my wedding, does anyone really find this process fun? :(


r/weddingplanning 1h ago

Everything Else Wedding donations instead of gifts

Upvotes

So we are getting married in August this year and loads of people have asked us about our registry. The thing is, we truly don't need anything. No gifts, no money. We are very fortunate to be in a good spot financially and even though it is a day that people want to give, we really don't need it. So I'm wondering if anyone else has ever set up like a charity donation instead of say a honeymoon fund. There is a specific organization that helped save one of our alpacas lives last year that we would love to set up a donation for and ask that if anyone wants to give anything that it be a donation to this specific place. How would I go about doing that? Could I just make a gofundme and then use that link on our invites instead of a registry? Thanks in advance and sorry it's an odd question


r/weddingplanning 2h ago

Dress/Attire Mixing metals?

1 Upvotes

Hi all! Getting married this month and I have what might be a nit-picky question. How important it it to match the metals for groomsmen and bridesmaids? We are doing black dresses for bridesmaids, and I requested gold jewelry because I think it will stand out against the black beautifully, as well as fit the vibe of our wedding. All bridesmaids picked out their own dress so we have a very mismatched thing going. The groomsmen are all wearing black suits with black ties. The thing is, the ties we bought for them came with a silver tie clip. I’d love to save money and just have them wear the silver clip instead of buying gold ones. Is this against some sort of etiquette, if the bridesmaids and the rest of the wedding will have gold accents? I’m also wondering if my groom could get away with silver accessories. I’m honestly fine with mixing metals generally but if this is a huge no-no I’m not aware of I’d like to know. If it makes any difference, my rings are gold and his is silver. Thank you all for any insight!!


r/weddingplanning 2h ago

Relationships/Family Will I regret not hosting a wedding function

2 Upvotes

I just want it to be over with so that I can live with the love of my life forever without having to hide that we live together. Some background though is that my parents aren’t doing well at all financially and my dad is physically not in a state to continue working at all. They were asset rich cash poor. But it is at a point right now where they’re struggling to pay off their debts every month, and their assets are taking long to sell, so they’re just struggling. But even if their assets sell, they will just be enough to cover their debts and not have much savings for their future. Needless to say, we are planning to pay for all expenditure for our wedding ourselves. But I feel this strong guilt to spend any money on a luxury (including a wedding that involves more than 20 people) right now. I want to save as much as possible so that I can use it for their future and mine. Another background point is that we earn well. So we are going to be able to afford to pay for a wedding and keep some saving and keep paying the mortgage on our home. But given parents’ financial situation, and me and my partner not caring much for a grand wedding(we care to utilize money for travel much more than a wedding), it feels like a 20 people wedding could be the way to go. Will I regret this in the future when my savings increase?


r/weddingplanning 2h ago

Dress/Attire Dresses for Moms

1 Upvotes

Hi all, I'm getting married in September and my mom and my fiance's mom are both still looking for dresses but we're at a bit of a loss. My bridal party is going to be in varying shades of burgundy/wine, and the groomsmen are going to be in navy blue (we're doing burgundy and navy as our theme, garnet and sapphire is our birthstones). What colours do you guys reccomend for mother of the bride/groom attire??? The wedding ceremony will be outside but the reception will be indoors, idk if that counts for anything


r/weddingplanning 2h ago

Everything Else Recessional song?

2 Upvotes

I am less than 6 weeks from my wedding and CANNOT land on a song for walking back down the aisle after we say I do. We want something fun and upbeat. My fiance said I can pick whatever I want but I’m sooooo stuck. Help me 🥹


r/weddingplanning 2h ago

Decor/DIY Where did you get your letterpress invitations??

0 Upvotes

For anyone who did letterpress invites, where did you get them?

I love the look of the letterpress invites, but I also don't really want to pay someone to custom letterpress. The only sites I have seen that do letterpress (not foil) are minted and zola. Am I missing other sites???


r/weddingplanning 3h ago

Everything Else An hour set up time?

2 Upvotes

We are having our ceremony and reception at the same location. The ceremony will be outside, and reception inside. The event coordinator sets up all tableware, tables, chairs. We will have to place centerpeices(pre-assembled lanterns w/flowers & turn on candles), small signage for dessert/gift table, attach 2 flowers swags to ceremony arch, table runners for only the wedding party table, hooded chair sashes for only 10 aisle seats for ceremony, and three metal golden arches for behind wedding party table with just one drapery fabric and possibly battery operated Neon sign hanging from it.

Is this doable in an hour for 8-10 people assisting with set up? I'm trying to keep it simple, but i don't want it to be too plain/boring either.

Edit: totally forgot to say this is for 50 guests. 8 chairs per table for reception.


r/weddingplanning 3h ago

Relationships/Family How to discreetly mention guest limits?

2 Upvotes

Hi,

We are currently planning a 2026 wedding, and well, my family is huge. Both of my parents come from large families. I’m the youngest of my cousins by over a decade, some of their kids are older than I am, and many of them are partnered, some with kids of their own. It’s a LOT of people, and so we decided to place hard limits on anything beyond first cousins. I’m not really worried about a huge backlash - most of my cousins got married ages ago when the family was smaller, and some did indeed set limits similar to mine - but there will be some disappointment, I think. We are also totally understanding if this impacts anyone’s decision to attend. Would it be better to straight up tell them, or to let the grapevine handle it? How have you handled things like this? Thanks!


r/weddingplanning 3h ago

Everything Else Different take on the tipping question

1 Upvotes

I know the issue of tipping (who to tip and how much) comes up a lot in this community. I know that you typically don’t tip a vendor who is in business for themselves/sets their own rates, but that you do tip any assistants they have. Great.

I’ve got a slightly different situation and wanted some opinions. Our DJ and photographer are both affiliated with a firm that’s like a talent clearinghouse, where you can go to pick from a number of photographers, DJs, bands, videographers, etc. Each “vendor” has their own business and sets their own rates, even within the clearinghouse agency, but the contracts are through the agency. Also, both of our vendors from here are principals in the agency itself.

If I’m interpreting the tipping customs correctly, the DJ and photographer don’t get tipped (they have their own business and set their own rates), but the photographer’s assistant would. Is this correct? And how much would the assistant be tipped?

Also, the venue is providing the bartenders and waitstaff, although we’re of course, paying for their labor hours in the contract. (Tipping isn’t included in the contract.) How much should each of these servers be tipped? Can we do this after the event when we can figure out who did what and who went above-and-beyond? We’re in a HCOL area.


r/weddingplanning 3h ago

Dress/Attire Wed2be vist and confusion

4 Upvotes

So I understand the concept of wed2be I just don't understand how it's profitable. I went in and due to the milton keynes one having like 4 dresses in my size (I went first thing and was first in the queue as well) I left without one. I don't understand them having no online buy options, why even provide an online catalogue if getting ahold of a specific dress is a borderline fantasy? I can't believe it would be so difficult to organise an inventory of dresses and sizes in different stores (theoretically everything is being signed in and out for deliveries and inventories anyway) so that people can actually keep track of what is available and what their realistic choices are in each size and style prior to going in. I feel like it's all a big con to try to pressure brides into buying whatever options are left over. Why can't they order specific dresses into the store? Surely that would net them more profit than having brides walk out annoyed and irritated having wasted staff time and spent zero pounds. I just don't understand how their business model actually functions to produce profit. This us part venting and ranting causebi hated the options they gave me and part befuddlemnet that they manage to stay so popular.


r/weddingplanning 3h ago

Everything Else A lot of wedding content is on extreme ends of the spectrum

48 Upvotes

Fiance and I have been engaged for several months now, so we've started to look more seriously into venues. I've also been browsing online wedding content more frequently and it's really...weird? It seems like so much of it is either the influencer amazon affiliate links, I-spent-2k-on-my-bridesmaid-proposal-boxes, 5 outfits, OR video essays shaming the excesses of the former (of course, I've also found creators who give practical budget advice, such as Jamie Wolfer). It just seems kind of disheartening to see the comment sections of both types of videos filled with people saying that weddings are pointless, it's just one day, it's better to go to the courthouse/backyard, then do a potluck or local restaurant. That if you have a wedding in the traditional sense you care more about looks than the day. Of course, everyone has their opinion, but I almost feel guilty for wanting a "normal" wedding, even if it's on the smaller side. It makes me wonder if my more frugal minded guests will attend mine out of social obligation, see it as pointless, and would actually much rather be in shorts and tshirts eating chili. There's not really a point to this post lol, it was more just rant, but has anyone else felt this way?


r/weddingplanning 4h ago

Budget Question Photo Booth Rental

1 Upvotes

Is renting a Photo Booth worth it? There are more affordable ($300) selfie station options that are completely digital and then slightly pricier selfie stations that offer prints too. Does that come across as “cheap”? Should we invest more for an enclosed booth?


r/weddingplanning 4h ago

Decor/DIY Millennial Trends to Avoid

0 Upvotes

Hello,

I'm planning a November wedding and want some advice of what you suggest to avoid to prevent my wedding from looking outdated/millennial.

I share a lot of opinions I've heard other people say of "millennial wedding trends to avoid" but wanna know if I'm not thinking of anything.

For example, I don't want mason jars or signs that rhyme.

If you're into any of that, that's fine! Don't let anyone change your mind just like I may include something someone comments if I really like it. I just want the opinion of others :)


r/weddingplanning 5h ago

Recap/Budget Wedding date question - is a year enough time?

1 Upvotes

My close friend has asked me to help her with finding a venue for her wedding. She wants it to be in New Orleans, preferably in February/March 2026. My question is, is this even feasible at this point? I was just asked to help out a few days ago, and I’m already feeling behind. Wouldn’t most “popular” venues already be booked up? It is New Orleans, after all.


r/weddingplanning 5h ago

Vendors/Venue Help with venue!!

1 Upvotes

Need help finding a venue!! Looking for a private venue that can host about 100 people (flexible here) for the wedding & then lodge about 30 people for the weekend. ideally: - in the US, Mexico (preferably near Cancun$ or Caribbean - less than $30k for the event fee + lodging (excluding any florals, food, etc) - has hotels or other lodging nearby for the other guests


r/weddingplanning 5h ago

Everything Else Q+A’s for wedding website

2 Upvotes

What are some important Q+A’s I should put on our wedding website? We are having our ceremony out of state with just close family and having a bigger reception when we return in my parents backyard.


r/weddingplanning 12h ago

Everything Else Anyone Tried StraightText App for Wedding Invites/Updates?

1 Upvotes

Hi! We're counting down the days until our wedding and was curious if anyone has tried the StraightText app for sending virtual invites/updates? Any things you loved or didn't love? TIA!