4 Wedding Day Regrets (and How to Avoid Them)
After photographing weddings for years, I’ve learned that no matter how beautiful and perfect the day looks on the outside, couples sometimes walk away wishing they had done a few things differently.
Here are the top 4 regrets I hear most often, and how you can avoid them on your big day.
1️⃣ Letting Others Dictate the Guest List or Details
“We should have stuck to what we wanted instead of trying to make everyone happy.”
Your wedding is about celebrating your love, not pleasing every single guest, relative, or opinionated friend. It’s natural to want to avoid hurt feelings, but in the end, you’ll feel much happier if you stay true to yourselves. Choose the guest list, traditions, and details that reflect your relationship.
Tip: Practice saying, “Thank you for the suggestion, we’ll think about it!”
2️⃣ Not Carving Out Alone Time as a Couple
“We barely even saw each other during the day.”
Between greeting guests, posing for family photos, and hitting the dance floor, it’s easy to feel like ships passing in the night. Building even 10–15 minutes into your timeline — right after the ceremony — gives you a chance to breathe, laugh, cry, and really soak in the moment together.
One of my favorite ways to do this is for couples to walk down the aisle after being announced and just keep going, straight to a private room, garden, or quiet corner. You can savor your first minutes as a married couple without interruption, and meanwhile, guests naturally move along to cocktail hour instead of crowding you in a receiving line.
Skipping that post-ceremony line saves so much time, helps the day flow, and gives you more room for portraits before the reception without feeling rushed. You’ll still have plenty of time during dinner and dancing to greet everyone, but you’ll also have a sweet memory of those quiet, just-married moments all to yourselves.
3️⃣ Eating! (Yes, Really.)
“We didn’t even get to taste our cake!”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen couples miss out on the food they carefully chose — even their own wedding cake — because they were so busy mingling and taking photos. Plan to actually sit and eat. It’s your day, and you deserve to enjoy every bite.
Tip: Ask your caterer to pack you a plate of dinner and cake to enjoy privately or to take with you at the end of the night.
4️⃣ Not Scheduling Enough Portrait Time (or Hiring a Second Photographer)
“We felt rushed and missed out on some of the shots we wanted.”
Beautiful portraits take time. Without enough time, photos can feel stressful and incomplete, and a second photographer ensures you get different angles, candid reactions, and all the little moments you might otherwise miss. While some photographers prefer to pack all the portraits either before or after the ceremony, I’ve personally found that spreading them throughout the day works best.
If you’re planning a first look, we can get the majority of the group and couple portraits done before the ceremony, leaving you free to relax and enjoy more of cocktail hour. However, family photos — especially those including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins — tend to work better after the ceremony when everyone is present and easy to gather.
I also love scheduling an extra round of bride and groom portraits after the ceremony. Earlier in the day, those couple shots often get cut short (since it’s just the two of you and we can “grab them later”), but making time to revisit them ensures you have plenty of romantic, unrushed images. And don’t forget about sneaking away at golden hour! Later in the evening, we can capture more candid, glowy portraits — less formal and more relaxed — which always end up being some of my favorites.
Tip: Work with your photographer to build portrait windows into your timeline, and if your budget allows, consider adding a second shooter for even more coverage and creativity.
Your wedding day will fly by! But with just a little planning and intention, you can avoid these common regrets and focus on what really matters: celebrating your love story.
If you want help crafting a timeline or advice on how to make the most of your day, I’m always happy to chat!