Non-Traditional Brides - Any Regrets?

Only you can decide if you will regret it!

That said, yes I regret it. We planned a wedding with just the 2 of us. I had the big white dress and we went through the motions. I dont think I would have regretted a small ceremony with all the bells and whistles though.

My husband and I were together for 8yrs prior to getting married...we knew it was inevitable just never in a rush. Neither one of us wanting anything big, nor we are religious either. We married in my parent’s back yard, where our family created a circle around us. For us, it was intimate, and perfect. Congrats!

Edited to note: Family was IMEDIATE family (both sets of parents, sister, brother, gramma, nieces....total of 12 of us

I loved every minute of my wedding...it was beautiful. The reception was a huge party and people still talk about it 3 years later. We had about 80 people at the end of the day, and never once did I feel stressed out and was a bridezilla...tons of happy wedding party goers..

THe only thing I do regret is the size of the dress I got married in...that dress doesn't stay on my body today...we're going to renew our vows in Aruba on our 10 year and I CANNOT wait to pick out that new smaller dress.

Whatever you know is best for you....you won't have any regrets if you go with your heart and instincts.

There was 21 family members at my wedding, including us, at 10 am, everybody got to be in the photos we took until the reception, lunch was at a very cool Japanese restaurant at noon and we were back at the hotel and napping by 230 pm. Everything was SIMPLE - no theme, no colours, not even any decorations - I just wanted to get married, I wasn't looking to create an "experience" for anybody! Everyone plus all our friends were invited to our favorite pub later that night for drinks and laughs. It was OURS and it was perfect. We regret not one thing. (Plus, the whole thing, including the dress, came to less than $8000.)

(Note: I did do the Vegas thing, first time around, and that I did regret. Having my family there was very important to me. So we stayed put this time round, it just had to be on our terms, since it was our day!)

I had the traditional wedding the first time around. Second one was in the booth at the pub where we had our first date. Save yourself a ton of money and go small.

I had a small wedding and it was perfect! We only had 20 people in attendance for the ceremony and the minister had them stand in a circle around us for the actual vows. Everyone participated and we felt like we were surrounded by love (not just our love, but the love from family and friends) the entire time. It was stress free and I remeber everything! I don't think you have to sacrifice what you want however, just do it on a smaller scale. I did the white dress, and the flowers, and the pictures. I didn't have any attendants because I didn't want to have to decide between friends. The day was peaceful and so special!

I have heard from so many brides that had huge weddings that they wish the could remember it but that the entire thing was a haze! After the wedding and honeymoon, we had a big celebration party for everyone else! Who doesn't love a good party? It was a wedding celecration party, casual dress since there wasn't a ceremony, and people ate, danced, and had a great time. We showed the wedding ceremony video, and had a photo slide show of us from dating through the wedding. We went light on decrations since it was casual, but had great food catered in. For the wedding and the celebration party, we spent about $5000 total and paid for it all in cash. We weren't about to put our parents or ourselves in debt for a wedding.

If I had to do it all again, I would choose it the exact same way! I couldn't stomach the thought of spending a down payment for a house on one day, and I have never regretted the decision. We were all about the marriage, and not just the wedding. I hope that you find the best choice for you and your fiancee! Good lick!

Oh, and we're going on 13 years.

I can't tell you if they (or espicially she) regrets it because it was my brother's wedding, but what I can tell you is that they had a small 30 person wedding, in my backyard with a dinner following and having been thier wedding planner, I can tell you that its still a lot of work and there was still family drama and in some cases more because it was smaller and they feel they have more access to you.

I say, have the wedding you want and can afford. Go small if you want to, go large if you can and want to. But don't go small expecting there to be less drama and less work because that is not always the case.

The big white wedding is just one option in a great sea of choices. It's also typically an expensive event to put on.

Remember, our grandparents' generation, the 'traditionalists', got married during war time. It was usually a fast courtship, a short engagement (if any at all), and a courthouse wedding. And many of that generation were/have been married for decades longer than their children were. The outcome of their wedding (a lasting and happy relationship) was not dependent upon it being a big tah-dah.

That being said, if that's the kind of wedding you have always dreamed about (the big white wedding, I mean), and you're willing to put the time, energy, and resources into making it happen, then it's more than likely that you will be happy with the outcome.

His parents and siblings.
My two best friends
JP

Never regretted it. I KNEW a wedding would stress me out. And he thought it would be a waste of money.