r/wedding

I recently got engaged to my boyfriend and we are both in our 30s. This would be his first marriage and my second. I have two girls (15 and 11).

So his job was giving away these vouchers to a venue if you wrote a love story so he sent it to me and we put in. We won! The voucher covers $5500 and a 12 hour rental with tables, chairs, and a decor warehouse included.

The only rules were that the date had to be in 2026 but his work sat on these vouchers for months and so when we won, the venue only had 3 dates left: July 25th, November 28th (2 days after thanksgiving), and december 26th.

We called the venue as soon as we won to discuss details. The lady said she felt so bad but those were the only dates left. We offered to include some add ons since we were getting the venue for free and she perked up and gave us the end of March which gives me about a year and it would be less stressful. She also offered a package that wasn't shown on the site. The package is normally $17,700. It includes:

the original amenities of renting the venue above, catering for 50 people and they do all the prep, serving, and cleanup, also includes all plates, cups, napkins, and table linens

fresh flowers for the bridal party, the groomsmen, and silk flowers for the ceremony and reception,

dj services for 4 hours,

a 3 tiered cake with serving tools and champagne flutes, bar service for 6 hours which includes cups, ice, straws, just BYO beer.

A photographer for 8 hours and digital release of all photos

bubbles and a fog machine for your entrance

coordinator 10 hours of the wedding and. 4 planning meeting before

Basically the package makes it so all you have to do is clean up what you bring and they do everything else. She discounted it down to $8900 because of our voucher. I thought that was a pretty good deal.

Im not close with my family but we told his family and they were so excited until we told them that they can relax and everything will be taken care of. They got their feelings hurt really badly.

We thought this was important because I helped with the last family wedding and everyone was so stressed out and even one of his aunts sajd "Im never doing another wedding again!" so I wanted to pay to make sure everyone can just be there for us. Apparently that was the wrong answer.

His aunt is a professional photographer but has not messaged me directly that she wanted to do our photos. My fiances mom said his aunt could do our engagement photos but that she would really want to do the wedding ones. His other aunt is a florist and would do the flowers but she also hasn't told me directly it hurt her. His mom told me to please give them those jobs.

The contract said services cannot be removed, but we havent signed yet. Even his dad was hurt (parents are divorced) saying that he wanted to bring food as well but the venue has strict rules on that for food licenses if contamination occurs. He grumbled about it. He also wants to do my flowers.

My fiance keeps encouraging me to try to ask the venue if we could take off flowers and photography in exchange for elevated catering or something else and not ask off money. I feel weird about it because she already bent the rules of the contest for us. I asked him if he would talk to his aunts today but he didnt.

I keep trying to offer up jobs for them that woild be less labor and more meaningful like his dad stock the bridal suite with food, set up the guest book, help his son pick out a tux and a gift for his best man

For his mom, shes crafty like me so I suggested we make some gifts or something with the Cricut. She just kept saying "we really want to help if you could just talk to the venue"

I don't want to be difficult and Im already feeling like I dont even want to do this. They told their son hes robbing them of a milestone. NOTE: They are not paying a dime of this. We are paying for it all on our own if that helps.

I’m the maid of honor in one of my best friends weddings and did not receive a plus one. I really only know her, her fiancé and her parents. I have met a few of her other bridesmaids and friends from college, but they are all married/ or in serious relationships with children. I’m a little disappointed I did not receive a plus one, I’m not in a serious relationship though (had a recent major break up) but did consider bringing another single friend she knows. It’s not an expensive wedding but I’m okay with not having a plus one (although I probably won’t give her as much $$ in the card, I always ensure I cover the cost of the plate per person + a couple hundred). However, I recently attended a wedding single and it’s not really fun once everyone couples off onto the dance floor. Now this was a family wedding so I pretty much played with the kids and it was fine.

So my question is, do I have to stay until the end as MOH? I would never leave before all the activities + cake cutting were complete. However I’m considering leaving once the dancing starts if I’m feeling awkward/not having fun. I just don’t really want to sit at a table by myself all night. Would I be a jerk?

Just got engaged. Started lightly planning. Really overwhelmed with the cost but really confused by the recommendations to tip everyone including people/businesses that set their own prices?! I get tipping servers, bar tenders, etc. but is this really the norm to tip your planner, florist, caterer, literally everyone? So overwhelmed - would appreciate any and all thoughts

Hi everyone, I need some honest advice from women who’ve been through this.

My wedding is on June 27th, and based on my cycle, there’s a good chance I’ll either be on my period or a couple of days before it. That’s usually when I get the worst symptoms: cramps, bloating, and breakouts.

I take care of myself (work out, drink water, eat well), but my PMS is still pretty intense. I’m honestly worried about how I’ll feel and look that day, especially with photos and the honeymoon right after.

I’m considering trying to delay my period with hormones, but I’m scared of side effects making things even worse.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you try to shift your cycle or just go with it? How did it turn out?

I’d really appreciate any real experiences or advice ❤️

EDIT: I AM SO SORRY. Reddit got glitchy and my post got posted several times. I have removed them all, so sorry about this :(

Hi all-

I'm doing the flowers for my son's wedding and I'm looking for an easy option for what to do w/ the flowers at the end of the evening. I can load them back into my car, but what then? I was thinking that I could (next day) bring them to places that might appreciate them such as hospitals, assisted living facilities, etc. Has anyone ever done this and do the places appreciate them or is it a hassle for the facility?

Extra info: it's out of town for us, so I'm unfamiliar w/ the area but that doesn't matter. Bride has already said that few of her local relatives would take any arrangements home.

Edited to add: About 70% of the guests are NOT local, so can't really expect them to take them. The bride has already told me that she doesn't think many of the local guests would take them.

I think they are so beautiful. it's so unique. My engagement ring is a Montana sapphire. Can I see your colored rings?

I’m planning my wedding and started looking into wedding insurance and damnn what is going on with these prices?? I’ve been getting quotes in the $400–$700 range for basic coverage and one company even quoted me over $900-$1100 depending what I wanted to choose, which felt completely ridiculous but then on the flip side, I’m seeing some options for like $150–$250 and even though they look legit and have decent reviews, it almost feels too cheap?? Like I don’t want to cheap out on something important and then get burned if something actually goes wrong. So now I’m stuck between overpriced policies that feel like a ripoff, cheaper ones that make me nervous about reliability. Has anyone here found a good middle ground? What did you end up paying for wedding insurance and did you actually feel confident in the coverage?

Hi!!

My dad is in a wheelchair, he had a stroke when I was 11, so he’s been like that for a long time, I’ll be 27 at my wedding.

He also is pretty neurologically disabled, ie: doesn’t really laugh, smile, express much, converse very well, etc. anywho lol I am absolutely not wanting to do a father daughter dance where I just spin his wheelchair around, I was thinking of doing a “family dance” or moment, with my mom, my dad, and twin sister.

Since my dad’s stroke and disability has impacted all of us and made us very close, and I think it’d be less awkward then me just spinning him around or whatever.

Was thinking we’d play like 30 seconds of a song and us 4 would all be on the dance floor together, maybe just like hold hands or kind of huddle around my dad god I cringe thinking about it honestly I know it’ll be a sweet moment and I want to do something to honor my parents and everything but I’m just having trouble envisioning it…also like not every guest at the wedding is gonna know the whole backstory of it all (ie: grooms extended family, some of our adult friends, etc). Don’t want to make it like a sad/pity moment either.

Does anyone have any ideas, or any similar experiences and would be willing to share something they did, or saw someone do at a wedding before? Thanks <3

I just got married recently and everything went well no drama, beautiful setup, everyone seemed happy. But the whole day felt kind of surreal, like I was just going through the motions instead of actually feeling it. I love my partner, so that’s not the issue. I just expected to feel more present. Is this normal or did anyone else experience this too?

Hi

I can’t find a song ! Help. I look and listen but they seem more for couples .