r/Brides

When my fiance and I got engaged 2024, his family seemed supportive enough. We have been planning our wedding for over a year and had made our dates clear and he's been in contact with his family (I'm talking aunts uncles cousins)

To add some context I'm white he's Asian and we planned on our wedding weekend an separate event for his culture to celebrate both as we were thinking his family is coming and we know it's important for their culture to feel included. Obviously it's for us to an extent but I can't say that family/peer pressure didn't contribute to the scale of it which was my mistake.

Now the wedding is a month away and EVERY extended relative has said no. Only his mom dad, and sister are coming. They are a quiet, introverted family who have no interest in participating in any aspect of the wedding.

I feel like we're putting so much effort into the culture and even he regrets the time, money and effort planning it. If we had known his family cared so little we would've saved a lot of money. And also gotten a way smaller wedding venue!

This is a rant idk if anyone has experienced anything like this lol

My fiancée (34f) and I (31f) are getting married in a private ceremony in March 2027. The thought of a big wedding didn’t feel right to us; however, we love our extended family and friends dearly, and they all want to celebrate us. I know they’ll be sad we won’t be having a big wedding, but we still want to find a way to celebrate with them.

Queue the casual reception.

Our idea is to have a family reunion style reception. Not a new concept, but a lot of posts on here are from a few years ago, so I’m hoping to get some fresh ideas and perspectives.

The reception will take place June 2027 in Central IL at venue (already booked) that has indoor and outdoor space. It’s out in the country (not a barn), so the outside space is very generous. There’s also a concrete slab in the back with a painted half court for basketball, as well as pickleball lines! We will be inviting around 200 people, and I expect many of them will RSVP yes, so maybe around 150-160 people will attend.

My fiancée and I will look nice, but we will not be dressed in full wedding attire. We will express to our guests that this is a casual affair. We are BBQ lovers, so we plan to use a caterer that does BBQ. Venue and catering together will be ~11k.

We won’t be using a DJ. We have our own audio equipment, and the venue has an AV system.

Here’s where we need help brainstorming:

1. What should we call the event? We really don’t like the sound of “reception” and have been calling it a “celebration” when planning. Any other suggestions? How would you phrase it on save the dates and invitations?

2. What can we do to make the event fun? There will be young kids there, so we’re thinking of things to do for them, too. We’ve thought of a field/sports day with yard games and basketball/pickleball. Coloring station for kids. Tarot card reading, magician, ice cream or lemonade stand, audio guestbook are some other items.

3. Would you hire a coordinator for day of? Or would you assign some trusted family members to assist? We just want to make sure that we as newlyweds aren’t doing anything the day of.

4. We want this to take place during the day. What time do you think would be the best to hold the event? We’re thinking it would be somewhere between 3-5 hours.

5. With it being more open form, we’re struggling to come up with an agenda or plan of events/activities. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Love to all out there planning their special day(s)!

Hello!

I'm getting married in October and recently picked out my dress! I'm having my first fittings in a month so the talk about shoes started.I saw these absolutly beautiful pumps on a japanese site and I fell in love. The only "problem" is - they are black.

I don't see a problem with it, and tbh I wear black shoes almost everyday including if my outfit is all white.

When I showed people the pair of pumps that I wanted to order, people looked horrified and said it would "take away from the purity of being a bride". I don't really agree, but I'm also very insecure about a lot of things during the planning of our wedding. So I was wondering - did anyone here married / plans to get married in black shoes? I would love some advice.

P.s. I'm sorry if the formatting is off, this is my first time posting.

Hi everyone!

I'm a meteorologist and I've been thinking about starting a weather forecasting service specifically for weddings, and I'd love some honest feedback from brides, planners, and anyone who's planned a wedding.

The idea came from a few panicked texts I've received from friends before weddings and bachelorette trips on what to do. I advised one of my friends to move fireworks at her destination wedding to earlier in the evening to be sure rain isn't a factor, and she said it was perfect timing before the rain came in.

Some ideas I've been tossing around:
• Historical weather reports before booking a venue (rain, wind, fog, heat, thunderstorms, etc.)
• Seasonal guidance on the best months for a particular venue or destination.
• Long-range planning forecasts leading up to the wedding weekend.
• Detailed daily forecasts for rehearsal dinners, ceremonies, welcome parties, and brunches, including outfit recommendations as the event comes closer.
• Hourly forecasts and weather decision support during the week leading up to the wedding.
• Live weather monitoring on the wedding day with guidance on timing, radar, lightning, and whether it's actually time to move indoors.

My questions are:

1. Is this something you would find helpful?
2. Which service be most valuable?
3. Would you pay for something like this? If so, what would feel like a reasonable price?
4. Is there anything weather-related that caused you stress that isn't listed here?

I'd really appreciate and welcome any honest thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Love her and she’s typically very understanding. She was dating this guy for like half a year and gushed over him like this is her man for her. And I believed it when I met him. Loved him! Was not opposed to her bringing him to the wedding would happily pay for it. They broke up. Invites have not been sent out yet only save the dates. We talked about it at the time when she was dating like oh yeah you get a plus one. I didn’t specifically say his name but like context it’s clear who I was talking about. I don’t want to give her a plus one anymore because I could spend the $200 on something else rather than some random guy she would probably bring. Thoughts?

ALRIGHT CHILL IVE ONLY BEEN IN TWO WEDDINGS ILL GIVE HER A PLUS ONE IM JUST ASKING AND ONE OF THEM I DIDNT GET A PLUS ONE AND THE OTHER I BROUGHT MY FIANCE I WAS JUST ASKING

Hello Reddit Family,

Posting this because I needed a safe space to vent. First off, it's important to mention that I have a complicated relationship with my father. He and my mom divorced when I was very young, he remarried and had 3 kids, and kind of left me out to dry in the process. Throughout my life, I see him 1-2x a year, though less and less as the years pass. He means well, but he's a bit of a narcissist and kind of clueless how his absentee vibe has impacted me. I have a superficial but friendly relationship with my siblings from my dad's second marriage, but we are not that close. I identify as an only-child.

Fast forward to now: I'm 38, getting married to my Italian fiance in a beautiful villa in Sorrento in September. My mom, who basically raised me completely on her own, is also funding the wedding. She absolutely hates my father, and I know if it were up to her he would 100% not be invited to the wedding. A part of me feels guilty for inviting him since he won't contribute to it financially and I don't want my mom to have to throw a party for him in any way.

I saw my father recently and he was asking the life update questions, "Are you seeing anyone?" and I said no. I need help processing the guilt I feel by not inviting my father or any of my siblings to my wedding. I know if he was there, I would feel that twinge of sadness of him acting like a father on the most important day of my life, but not deserving that role or recognition because he has been MIA my entire life.

I am anxious about posting information or pictures or really anything related to my wedding on social media because I am worried he or my siblings will find out that I just straight up did not invite them or mention the wedding to them ever.

Is this insane? Is this ok? I feel so guilty but I also know it's sort of how it has to go down.

Thanks in advance for the pep talk. My wedding is in 60 days from today.

My wedding is next Saturday, and I’m having such a hard time. My dad is 64, diabetic, and he’s in the hospital with pneumonia. The last time he had pneumonia, he ended up on life support, so I’m terrified.

All I want is for my dad to be there on my wedding day and to walk me down the aisle. I’m trying to stay hopeful, but I’m so scared and overwhelmed. I keep thinking about the worst-case scenario, and my heart just hurts.

I know no one can tell me what’s going to happen. I just really need a hug right now. Thank you for listening. ❤️

I know we can do whatever we want it's our wedding but I want honest opinions!

We are two brides. Here are our options:

1. All stand for bride A, stay seated through rest of ceremony
2. All stand for bride A, sit for bridal party, stand back up for bride B, sit for rest of ceremony
3. All stand for bride A, stay standing until bride B walks down the aisle, sit for rest of ceremony

My fiance who is masculine presenting will walk down first and she wants everyone to stand for her. My dilemma is I kind of prefer the guests to stay seated for me. I don't feel super strongly about it so maybe I should just let them stay standing but I feel like as a guest I have preferred when I don't have to stand because it's easier to get a better view of the bride when you're sitting. I also feel like having them stand the whole time feels like a lot and will make it much less dramatic when I arrive since they'll have been standing a few mins already and are probably itching to sit back down. But I feel like having them stand, then sit, then stand back up again is obnoxious. I'm leaning towards option 1. My fiance and wedding planner said to go with option 2 and that it's not too much to ask and the officiant will announce for all to rise and sit but it's not a matter of it being logistically impossible, I just think it's weird and annoying lol. If you were a guest, how would you feel? I would love any other opinions!

I find it Frustrating when I see people giving unsolicited opinions and advice to brides who are asking for specific feedback. Like how is it helpful to say that your dress isn't modest enough to a bride who simply asked if a style is flattering? Or how is it helpful to say something like "that will look dated in 10 years" if that's not the kind of feedback that someone is looking for? Maybe a bride is ok with not being modest or likes a trendy look and doesn't care that in 10 years her photos look like she was married 10 years ago?

Edited to add: for context, I actually prefer a level of modesty for myself and would prefer a timeless look. But I just feel the judgement of the people who chime in on these things where their opinions aren't relevant to the feedback requested.