Hi fiances + Brides

Anyone have any wedding venues that they would recommend? Looking for an easy destination (close to airport/central city); could be in US or Europe.

Budget: 100k

Guest: 100-140

I am looking french garden exterior + Marie Antionette interior.

I am all over the place. My favorite venue has been Rose Cliff but with 100k, it will be way too tight. If you got married at the suggested venue, can you PLEASE give me your budget breakdown?

Any Lisbon wedding planner recommendations/price range? Fiancé and I are visiting in May and hope to have a wedding planner by then.

So here's the situation:

I'm planning my wedding, date set for early March.

I planned out my bridesmaids asap and asked them right away. Two weeks ago, I let my fiance know I was going to have 5 bridesmaids. They are all dear friends who I am close to, and my sister. It's who I want.

My fiance originally had 5 grooms to match. Earlier this week, he comes to me and tells me he wants to make another friend a groom.

Ok, I say, fine with me! Its your bridal party.

However, now the situation is that I have 5 bridesmaids and he has 6 groomsmen. One of his groomsmen is his best friend, whose girlfriend we see often as we are often all hanging out together. I'd say I see her about once every month or so, but don't talk to her when we're not hanging out together. Fiance sees/talks to groomsman almost every day. (He has always been in the party, he's not the add-on)

I'll be honest, I like her fine, but she can be bossy and negative, and I don't really love spending time with her. She is almost 10 years younger than me and we just don't have a lot in common. She is creative, and I am creative, and I feel like there has always been pressure there for us to collaborate - but she is too controlling and isn't reliable, so we haven't. I feel like she takes this personally.

Now the awkward situation: my fiance is asking me why I can't just ask her to be a bridesmaid to even the numbers out. I'm worried it will be obvious that I'm only asking out of necessity and strain things further. I also wonder if she will be able to order a dress in the bridal party color and have it get here on time.

With the rehearsal dinner, I think my fiance plans on inviting the bridal party (is this customary??) and I'm worried that him being invited and not her will make the snub obvious.

So a couple questions: I thought rehearsal dinner was for the families and MAYBE the best man/maid of honor. Is this not the case?

Should I suck it up and invite her to be a bridesmaid? I honestly just don't want to deal with her. She always makes things weird and like I said she can be bossy and negative. She's dealing with a lot right now but that's part of why I don't want to stress her out with being in a wedding - if I were her and I were stressed out, Id much rather attend a party without responsibilities!

However, I feel like she's going to be put into a situation where her boyfriend is going to bridal party stuff, and either staying home OR being there as not a bridesmaid will make her feel left out.

Is having an off-by-one bridal party to grooms party really that big of a deal? What are some ways they could enter so it didn't look unbalanced?

Wrap-up: I just don't appreciate that there's pressure on me now to scramble to find another bridesmaid, and I don't like that it feels like my fiance is trying to push his groomsman's girlfriend because it's convenient to them.

I’m getting married in June, what does everyone do before the wedding to glow up? I just had a baby 3 months ago and lost my bust and booty, and just feel dull so any tips are appreciated!!

Thinking of this timeline:

3-4PM: Civil Wedding with Immediate Family and Godparents 4-5PM: Photo Opportunities 5-7PM: Dinner with Family and Godparents 7-8PM: Rest/Change Outfit 8-11PM: Cocktail Wedding for Family and Friends

• Thank you speech for celebrating with us
• Play the SDE (Same Day Edit) video so relatives and friends can see what happened during the civil wedding
• No dinner, only heavy appetizers, snacks, and drinks
• Photo Opportunities with Family and Friends
• Games (wedding bingo, couples trivia)
• Karaoke night

How should we invite our guests? We’re from Philippines and I don’t think the cocktail wedding is considered here since they usually go with the traditional wedding ceremonies.

Will we save up if we choose this compare to the traditional wedding?

What type of venue should we look for?

I'm going dress shopping tomorrow, feeling quite stressed about it. I'm trying to keep in mind that I might not find my dress.

However, if I do come across something I like, how do I know it's the one? Will I cry? Will I just know? Is it supposed to make me feel things?

I'm trying to plan a bachelorette party weekend that includes a fun dress/accessories shopping day and struggling with ideas. I plan to gift each bridal party member $100-150 to put toward this occasion and the theme is "upstage the bride" or basically, pick anything from a gown to a sparkly mini poof dress that makes you feel absolutely beautiful, nothings off limits, do your thing baby. I was considering an eclectic vintage shop but I'm concerned about sizing inclusivity and don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. Maybe a more casual shop with lots of fun options like For Love and Lemons...? But they can get pricey and I dont want anyone to have to put up too much cash. It's not important that we all find dresses the day of, just shoes and stuff would be fine too, but I'd like that to be the goal. I'm seeking any ideas for a fun shopping day with all my best friends, basically. East coast US only please. Thank you! <3

We’re having a large (250 guests) fall 2025 destination wedding in New Orleans, and every venue I’ve seen offers a “Traditional New Orleans Style Reception” which includes passed small bites, 2-3 action stations (think carving station, pasta station, gumbo etc.), and maybe a charcuterie display. This is unlike anything I’ve experienced as a guest at other weddings where dinner is typically a buffet or it’s a served seated dinner. I am told that the NOLA style reception is popular there because, instead of sitting/waiting in line/waiting on food, the food is immediately available when guests arrive and we have the chance to quickly get the party started, with food options available throughout the entire night.

To other NOLA brides that chose the traditional NOLA reception (and even for guests who experienced it for the first time) did you feel like there was enough food? Guests- were you happy with having a wider selection of food or would you have preferred to sit and eat a formal dinner for an hour and then party after? Grateful for any input you guys can offer! Thanks!

I’ve been helping my sister plan her bridal shower, and I have one plea for brides everywhere: please let 2025 be the year we ditch the basic themes. No more “Put a Ring on It” showers, no more generic tea parties with nothing but pink.

As a former event stylist (and someone who gets way too into party themes), I put together a list of fun, creative bridal shower themes that actually reflect the bride’s personality. Think Parisian cherry motifs, medieval princess vibes, Marie Antoinette decadence, and a full-on ACOTAR celestial fantasy shower.

If you’re planning a shower, what themes are you considering? Do you love the classic ideas, or are you looking for something more unique? Would love to hear your thoughts!

For anyone who needs theme inspiration (or help shopping for decor & favors), I put together a full guide with theme ideas + Amazon & Pinterest boards here: https://theoriginalnugget.substack.com/p/a-public-plea-to-my-sister-to-reconsider?r=4y9qzt

So I’m curious what people have done here!

I just sent my save the dates and people are starting to get them.

I have our wedding website up and going and didn’t think about making the RSVP page private. We have already started to receive a few people accepting.

Do I shut down the RSVP section until invites go out?

I need some recommendations for some wedding perfumes! I like a soft smell. Florals, vanillas scents like that. I just don’t even know what direction to look in

I am going to do my best to keep this short but in need of advice. My bridesmaid is being very difficult and dumping her anxiety on me and idk how to proceed. She lives about 2.5 hours away. We have been friends for almost 15 years and in that time, I have always gone to her to meet up, never once the other way around (for context). She works part time but is in 2 more weddings later this year/next year. My wedding is in May. She has always been very difficult about planning and I do my best to work around things she wants to attend.

She has anxiety. While I get that, she basically attacked me the other day via text saying that ‘the way I’m planning my wedding is giving her great anxiety’ and she told me she needs things planned months and months ahead of time. She said my ‘expectations’ are stressing her out like crazy and she told me she needed Bach things planned way before this and that i ‘wasn’t being fair’ Mind you, we are not doing a big trip. For my bachelorette, I asked to do a spa day and was open to any of the spa locations around. I’m honestly just confused. The only thing I have asked from her was to pick a dress she liked (which she did) and to try to find dates with the rest of the bridal party that would work for her. That was it. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. I explained to her that my sister is my MOH and she is planning the events and the only reason it is a bit later is because her friend died and she has a newborn child. She insists that I should have hounded my sister to start a long time ago. I have adhd and 3 months seems like an eternity to me to plan a day trip to a spa.

This is where my feelings are hurt. She said that it was ‘completely ridiculous to ask this of me and that her other friend said to just come to whatever you can’. I am lost on why she is acting like I am a bridezilla when all I asked was if she can try to come, id like her to. She has anxiety driving and that may be the problem, but I’ve offered to pick her up at the train, I’ve offered to have her sleep over to relieve stress and she always says no. I feel like being in someone’s bridal party is showing unless it’s completely not possible. The tension is causing me to want to cancel the spa day.

She has basically pushed the bridal party to do this thing 2 hours from where I, and 2 of my bridesmaids live. My last bridesmaid is coming 7 hours from the opposite direction and not it’s adding on even more time. I’m very quickly feeling like my wedding things are no longer about me. I’ve been treated like a burden and it’s feeling a bit ridiculous to me. Am I out of line for expecting the bridal party to TRY to attend ? All it is is a day for a bridal shower and a day at the spa, and obviously the wedding.

I asked her if she wanted to be in the wedding and she said ‘idk why you would ask that, where is that coming from. I’m just telling you my feelings’ but in all honesty, it feels like she doesn’t. And is going to cause me grief instead of just bowing out if she can’t handle it. Idk what to do. I am trying my best here but I’m extremely unhappy with how I was talked to. What would you do in those situation?

Me (24NB) and my fiancé (27NB) have been engaged to get married since 2021. We were supposed to get married this year but moved it to 2026. Why? We can barely afford to survive. Even without rent, and with my grandparents buying most of the groceries, most of our money goes to bills. I don’t know what to do. I’m a college student and can only work a few hours a week, which ends up equaling out to only $600 a month. My fiancé makes more, but not enough to afford us our own place. The real kicker is even though we barely make anything, it’s still “too much” for food stamps. Originally my budget for the wedding was about $20,000, and the goal was to save that throughout our engagement. But in the end, we still have nothing. Every time we get a little saved up, something goes wrong. My dad and my grandparents have made it clear that they’re not going to put a cent toward our wedding, which I understand. I don’t want other people paying anyway. It’s our decision, and our expense. We could just do a courthouse wedding, but it really has been my dream since I was little to have a real wedding. I’m not trying to make anyone pity me, I just need some advice. I see everyone around me having these beautiful weddings and it’s hard not to feel like I’m failing somewhere.

Make sure you order invites per FAMILY and not per PERSON like me. We needed 20, I ordered 70. Would love to get that money back.

Oops, but yes, I am laughing in a good way at myself.

Hi I have a HUGE family and i have no desire to have a wedding with 100+ people. My partner and I chose the people who have been a part of our story. We've been together for four years and my mom's biological father has reached out to me once in that time (to wish me happy birthday the day after my birthday). They're really hurt that they haven't received an invitation. How did you guys go about handling these reactions? Did it make it awkward having to see them in the future? Thanks

I have a tumultuous/toxic relationship with the majority of my immediate family, to the extent that I am no contact with one of my three siblings and my Mum is at the least an enabler but probably a narcissist.

My fiancé and I want a very small intimate wedding and I’m struggling to figure out what to do about inviting my immediate family.

I have a great relationship with my Dad and one sibling and a strained relationship with the third sibling. It feels like I couldn’t possibly invite just my Dad and one sibling to my wedding, but I feel like my Mum/other two siblings would do something to ruin the wedding - either on the day or in the build up.

Has anyone had experience with a similar family dynamic? I’m at a loss at what to do and I know this is our day (my fiancé and I), but at the same time I know inviting half my family would be the end of my relationship with the other half for good.

My fiancé and I have friends where we have no relationship whatsoever (I could not pick them out in a lineup) with their SOs. Would it be improper of me not to invite them to my wedding if I’m already inviting their husband or wife. TIA!

I’m getting married in May and I’m started to think about hair and makeup. I’m definitely going to have my hair done by a professional, but I’m stuck on the makeup. I never wear makeup. The only makeup I know how to do is eyeliner, and I wear it once or twice a year. Whenever I’ve had my makeup done as a bridesmaid I always hate how I look, even when I bring inspo pics and emphasize I want to look natural with extremely light makeup. I really want to feel like myself on my wedding, and that’s more important to me than the photos. I did my own makeup for my brothers wedding (eyeliner, a little bit of concealer, and some lip tint) and I liked how I looked in photos better than when I was at bridesmaid at two different friends’ weddings.

I recently bought some mascara, an eyelash curler, and a new liquid eyeliner with the intention of trying to learn and doing it myself. I’m of Italian/ashkenazi descent with what MILK calls “medium beige” skin tone (I went to Sephora for a color match before my brothers wedding), very dark eyes and eyebrows, and stubbornly straight eyelashes. I’ve searched for natural/simple/DIY bridal makeup tutorials on YouTube and they always start out with like 4-5 products for the face that utterly confuse and overwhelm me. I can’t even make it to the eye portion of the videos! Looking for advice - is there one essential face makeup I should consider? Best tutorials for 3-5 products or fewer total? What to tell my photographer about my level of makeup? Other things to consider? Again my main goal is to just feel and look like myself at my wedding! Thanks!

US-based bride. We sent around 100 out about a week ago, and since then we've gotten around a dozen friends & family who've reach out out to tell us they got theirs (yay!). While there are a few guests that are overseas and so we expect those ones not arrive for 2-3+ weeks, is there a certain point where we should check with people in the US that they received theirs, since the shipping time should be shorter?

I am in Virginia, and my Mom has told me that a few of our family who live in NY and CT haven't gotten theirs yet, while others who live in the NY & CT (or even people who are much further away from us, like Louisiana) have. It's only been a week since I sent them out, so I'm not in like panic mode, but just curious what others have done to put their mind at ease. We have about half a dozen spare ones we can send out if needed, and Plan B is just email out a PDF of the card to anyone who reports that they haven't gotten it.

I am wondering if there would still be availability of wedding venues in Hawaii for fall 2025? Aiming to have 30-40 guests.

What is everyone using for their key songs? Both partners entrances Exit back down the aisle Entrance to reception First dance Parent dances

The only one we have picked out is our exit song, which will be Angel by Shaggy. Would love to hear everyone else’s!

Hi all, we are having our 6 month venue meeting in 2 weeks and I was hoping people would provide any useful questions we should ask in case we are forgetting anything 😊

Bride here! I am not having a hair and makeup artist, and the bridesmaids and I are doing our own hair and makeup. One bridesmaid thinks it's plenty of time and the other doesn't.

I, myself, will only have minimal eye makeup.

Asking cause the earliest we can get in the bridal suite is 9 am with pictures starting at 11:30 am.

Thanks!

In my wedding planning journey thus far I’ve always assumed/known/accepted that I would do my own florals and decor to save money (I honestly can’t justify spending thousands and thousands of dollars on florals, nor do I have the room in the budget). However, in the recent weeks I’ve been getting nervous about the actual logistics of this. Anyone who has done/is doing this, do you have any thoughts or feedback?

For context, here’s what we’re planning for florals:

• dried bouquets from Etsy or affordable ones from TJ’s, then repurposing for the reception
• bud vases for centerpieces, and probably some candles/tea lights as well
• dried citrus garlands for some more decor

And here’s where I get hung up:

• ceremony arch decor - our venue has a gazebo that serves as their backdrop for the ceremony, but all the pictures I’ve seen of it have florals on it and it’s hard to picture it without flowers. We do probably want a little something there, but I honestly don’t know how the h*ll to approach this
• aisle decor - maybe it’s the Pinterest brain, but I think flowers along the aisle are so beautiful. However, these are so pricey and i don’t know if we really need them?
• bar decor/tent decor - again, I see these beautiful pictures online of the bar and tent being decorated with greenery, and in the weddings I’ve been to I honestly can’t remember if they’ve all been decorated like this or not. Is this necessary for general vibe?
• we also haven’t hired a day of coordinator, but our venue does provide one. I’m not sure if they can do the setup/repurposing of some of these elements or if that’ll be up to us…?

Our dress code is “Garden Formal” and I am also considering this in planning. I think this dress code probably necessitates a lot of flowers, no? We have floral tablecloths - does that do a lot of heavy lifting in the decor department or no?

I cant really justify spending thousands and thousands of dollars on flowers tbh. Any feedback/advice/help is more than welcomed! TIA!

Are you doing a grand exit? If so, how?

Sparklers, bubbles, rice?

If you're doing one, are you leaving right after or doing a staged grand exit?

Hi all! I picked out an incredibly beautiful dress for my wedding in March 2025. However, its pretty heavy with sequins and beading and has poofy layers even bustled up. Any suggestions for navigating this during the wedding day and having a good time while dealing with a heavy poofy dress?

Thank you!

My Fiancee and I have booked our wedding for the last weekend of march in 2026, this will be a destination wedding for us + family.

I didn't do my research and instead chose this weekend because I felt like having my birthday and wedding in the same weekend would be super special.

I thought we would miss the craziness of spring break crowds since it falls earlier, but I could be wrong. I am now seeing that this is the weekend Ultra Festival is held and feel like I completely screwed myself signing this contract.

Airfare and hotels are going to be stupid expensive for guests and we likely won't get the quiet honeymoon we expected since this is taking place at a hotel in Miami Beach.

Is it worth changing the date?

I want to get either my two cats in a tuxedo and gown OR OR OR have my fiancée and I and our two cats. I love them so much and want to incorporate them in my wedding as much as possible. Has anyone done this before and if so who do you recommend ?

Hi! So we are having a small wedding, about 50 people. My baby nephew is the ring bearer and will be 3 years old at that time. We have lots of guests, traveling by plane, who have kids under 1. To accommodate that, we are allowing babies under 1 year old but want to put a rule at no kids over 1 years old. The reason is mainly because we don’t want a bunch of toddlers running around. Is that rude? And any idea on how to phrase that on the wedding website or to guests?

I want to say first that we’ve been really happy either the quality of photos so far. Our engagement shoot was incredible and the sneaks we have are great. Our photographer is really nice and fun to work with but relatively new to running their own business.

Our wedding was first week of October 2024. The contract says “around 12 weeks” for full delivery. Fine, a little long but I understand it’s busy season.

The sneaks were supposed to be uploaded within 2w of our wedding, when that passed and we didn’t have anything, I emailed. Apparently there was a mistake and the upload didn’t complete, so we finally got our sneaks (which had been ready) at 3-4w.

12w hits right as hubs and I are on our honeymoon. I haven’t heard anything so I send another email asking for an update on the flight home (now 13w). They respond that they’re hoping to complete it in the “next 3 weeks”… which brings us to 16w?

Which brings us to now, 17w later with no pictures, no update, no apology, just the promise that the wait will be worth it.

I feel like I’ve been incredibly patient but now starting to feel walked over. 17w cannot possibly be construed as “around 12w”.

Is this delivery time totally unreasonable? The lack of updates? Both? Idk if it warrants a bad/iffy review but I’m not sure what else to do if this keeps being kicked down the road