r/UKweddings

We’re inviting approximately 100 guests to our wedding which is September 2027, got a while to go but some family will be attending from the USA so save the dates went out already.

I am only inviting a small selection of my family from the USA because we want to keep the numbers down but also because I am a woman marrying a woman and some of them are homophobic. In particular my aunts husband. However this aunt is someone I was very close to growing up and very close with my dad so he really wants me to invite her which I have along with her sister my other aunt.

Originally it was presented to them as having very limited numbers but that I wanted my two aunts to be in attendance (implying my homophobic uncle definitely can’t come, not that he probably would but I just wanted to make extra sure).

The dilemma now is my dad wants me to invite my second aunts partner, who I have met a few times and I’m more than willing for her to bring her plus one especially as she’s travelling so far but I’m so worried about offending my first aunt that she isn’t offered a plus one because, again her very homophobic husband who is also racist and overall a person with disgusting beliefs.

I almost didn’t invite his wife as well because of this but she is so close to my dad, I have lovely childhood memories of her and my parents are paying for the wedding so she definitely will be invited. I just don’t want to offend her.
Any advice?

We have a beautiful venue, and we are so excited to get married but I can’t stop stressing about logistics for the set up.

We only have access to set up from 10:30am, with a 2pm ceremony.

We have booked a cottage on the grounds for the night before so I can start my hair and make-up there before moving to the bridal suite which makes that side of things easier. However, how on earth do you set up the morning of?!

We have a coordinator with the venue but she was very clear that she can help oversee, but things like table and decor set up will ultimately be down to us to do. She did say that the staff will never let us fall behind and will provide help if needed, but I just can’t wrap my head around how the morning is going to go.

Has anyone had similar? How did it go and how did you organise it? I don’t want my bridesmaids or the groomsmen spending their mornings setting up for us (although they have all offered because they’re wonderful people).

Any help for a v anxious bride would be appreciated 🥲

We've had an idea of closing our reception at 12 then having an after party at a local club till 3:30 before a sunrise breakfast in a flat above. Is this just a total waste of time? Maybe just end it all at 1am?

Im just married (registry bit, will do a ceremony in October). Id like to change my name but im HCPC registered and I feel that would be a nightmare to do. I would also enjoy the separation of work name vs my personal life due to the area of the NHS that i work in. Both my first name and maiden name are very unusual and new surname fairly common in this area. Im also planning to buy my house but in my name only, not my husband. I would use my married name as an assumed name.

Does changing my name affect anything and is it worth changing everything in terms of banking, bills, insurance etc? Can I have both?

Hey guys I am planning a small wedding reception/ceremony in Scotland in early summer of 2028, and I wonder if y'all have ideas for places that you've heard of or tried that work well. We are coming from America. I was hoping to have a nice place where ~20 of us can stay and dance for a reception, and also looking for places in nature to do a wedding ceremony and/or pictures. It seems that places offering a full package of residence and dance floor/ ceremony location options might be best for planing from across the planet. I have found Airbnbs like Duns Castle, Hillhouse in Ayrshire, and a place called The Tormaukin inn as well as hotels like The Stair Arms and the New Lanark Mills which offer packages for this kind of thing. I know that you can drive a couple hours to get to some pretty nature no matter where you are, but find that it is hard to get a place near the biggest, seemingly prettiest mountains in the northwest. I am also worried about bugs causing problems in the early summer (last weekend in may in the current idea) the more northern we go.

If anyone has come across or knows about any nice places for a small, intimate wedding focused on keeping a connection with the nature of the country, let me know! We are taking a Scottish name (Douglass) and I know it might be a bit silly to put stock in that like this, but we've always wanted to visit and it seems like a good time to do it!

I’m from Brazil and have family in the UK. I’m thinking about buying an engagement ring for my girlfriend online and having it delivered to my family’s home in England. Since the exchange rate makes the pound seven times more expensive than the real, I’m looking for an engagement ring for £500 or less. I came across a store called The Diamond Store—what do you think? Has anyone bought from there? In Brazil—unlike in the Northern Hemisphere—the wedding band is more important than the engagement ring; the engagement ring is usually only worn on special occasions and otherwise kept safe, while the wedding band is the one worn daily. Do you have any recommendations for good-value stores for wedding bands as well? Thanks!

What’s your thoughts on everyone chipping in and paying for the bride to be on her hen?

So for context I’m going abroad for my hen and have paid my own way for this (I had no issue with this part) however I feel I was sort of pushed I guess into booking some activities for while we’re there. I mean I would’ve been happy just going with the flow and whatnot but anyway they’re booked now.

I don’t know I just kind of thought the hens would have maybe chipped in to pay for my activities, or am I just being totally unreasonable and sounding like a diva 🤣 it would’ve been around an extra £18 for them all if they’d have chipped in.

Any hen I’ve been on we’ve always chipped in for the bride. And when we went abroad for one of my friends hens her mum and dad paid her way but we all split the costs of her activities.

My fiancé hasn’t paid a penny for his stag do (also abroad) as they’ve all split the price for him.

Maybe I’m just feeling a bit jealous! I mean it’s done now and I’ve paid so just having a vent. But do you think I’m being unreasonable 😅

Can anyone help me think through how we should structure our wedding.

My partner wants a Catholic church ceremony (I’d prefer to go to the registry office just the two of us but it’s important to him).

I’ve picked the reception venue, which is a Victorian court room.

I have a very small guest list (20) all of whom I would invite to the whole day. Partner has ~70 guests (due to large family and job) that could split into whole day/evening only if needed.

Neither of us want a sit down meal/speeches etc. We want nice food, music, dancing etc. Venue can basically do whatever kind of catering we want.

Im looking for suggestions. How could we structure the timings/food service etc? Do we do all day vs evening or not if we’re not doing a three course meal? Please help.

Hey everyone! Don't post very often so bare with 😂

I'm a bit worried that the gaps in my wedding day schedule. I'm particularly worried about the gap between the breakfast and the evening guests arriving. My partner thinks everyone will mingle, but I am not convinced, we are also not having speeches. I've suggested a band for around 6pm but he thinks it's unnecessary as we have a DJ for the evening. It is one of my biggest worries I will look around and see people hanging around not enjoying themselves.

At the moment it's the following:

1PM Ceremony

1.30PM Reception drinks and Singer begins first set (45 mins) Bride and Groom do photos

2.15PM Singer break -30 mins

2.45PM Singer performs second set (45 mins)

3.30 Wedding breakfast served

7pm evening guests arrive and first dance/cake

12pm Everyone to vacate.

My partner and I answered one of those free videography posts on Reddit months ago, and booked a guy looking to expand his portfolio to film our wedding. We were about to book a paid professional at the time, but this guy was a TV cameraman and his reel looked amazing, so we thought we had nothing to lose. We had a very friendly Zoom where we discussed every detail, including my fear that he might drop out on us. He swore he wouldn't.

Well. Three weeks till the wedding, I reach out and guess what? He's booked a paid gig over our wedding date, and didn't even tell us he was doing it. Now he's ghosted us. Technically I know we had a verbal contract, but short of actually taking him to small claims there's not really anything we can do here.

We're in the whirlwind stage of realising everything else we have to do before the wedding date (September 5th) and I don't know how to begin replacing him. I presume everyone good is probably booked up already, and anyway we've already used the videography budget in other areas.

If anyone knows of a good (ideally cheap) videographer close-ish to Wiltshire I'd be really grateful.

Otherwise, let me just be a warning to other Reddit brides - don't trust a free supplier unless you can 100% do without the service. I wish I'd been less optimistic!

Planning May/June 2027 wedding for 100ish people near London and struggling to find the right venue. Would love recs.

My requirements:

- London / 2 hours from it

- 100ish guest capacity (can be more or a bit less)

- indoor/outdoor vibe, lots of natural light,

-love the glasshouse / conservatory / greenhouse aesthetic giving that indoor outdoor feel. High ceilings, interesting architecture.

I loved Kew Gardens Conservatory and Syon Park but they're too expensive. Horniman Conservatory looks beautiful but doesn't seem well set up for weddings.

Please help! <3

My fiance and I have been so back and forth on this, we just can't decide, so keen to hear other opinions pls!

Our ceremony is at 3pm, we haven't finalised the tineline yet but assuming food will be 5 ish pm. We're thinking of having grazing platters instead of a traditional three course meal.

The only food our venue can't do is pizza, and as that's our favourite food, we're getting quotes from a pizza van for the evening - the ones we're looking at are quoting a fixed price regardless of how many hours we'd want them there for.

What we're stuck on is:

1. If the meal is around 5, plus cake at some point, is the pizza in the eve too much food? My fiance thinks so but imo everyone will be drinking?

2. We could make pizza part of the main meal, so choose grazing platters that go well with pizza (salads, fries etc), but then it feels like everyone is paying for their main meal which neither of us like?

3. We could have maybe pasta or mini burgers for the platters, so they're fine on their own, but have the pizza van outside from that point for anyone who would prefer pizza, and then keep it outside for the evening? But we're not sure if anyone would go for the pizza if there is pasta etc on the table.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

We’re locked in on a day, but annoyingly the only time slot available is 11:30 with the registrar. We had in our mind about 2/3pm as some guests are travelling 3-4 hour drive, gives bride and people longer to get ready. And I worry that the day might feel too long for people if we pick this and people burn out?

I just wondered if any of you could comment on a wedding at this time and how it was?

The alternative we’re leaning towards is hiring a celebrant so we can pick whatever time, but of course we’d have to do the legal stuff prior which is a little bit of a shame. I did feel like doing the legal stuff on the actual day brings a bit more emotional weight to the ceremony but I don’t know.. maybe it’s not a big deal? And a more personalised ceremony does sound like it could be nice.. I dunno, I appreciate any feedback you can give!

Hello everyone,

Throwaway account; looking to get some clarity as to whether I’m in the wrong for this and acting irrationally.

I (30,f) got engaged toward the end of last year and asked my best friend (30,f) of 11 years to be my maid of honour. She was over the moon and quickly started planning the hen do.

For clarification, the hen do is a complete surprise. I have no visibility over the chats or the activities planned. It’s a one day event in our city and my understanding is it’s about half organised.

Last month, my best friend got engaged and I was so happy for her because she’s been waiting two years for him to pop the question. However the next day, she sent me a message to say she’ll no longer be planning my hen do as she now has her own wedding to plan and she’ll have to call on the other bridesmaids to plan the rest of the day. I was a bit shocked to be honest as she’d literally gotten engaged less than 24 hours before and wasn’t planning to get married until 2028. Since then I’ve heard from my other bridesmaids that she’s turning down activities for the hen do because they’re too expensive and she’s now saving for a wedding.

Anyway, we finally met up last week and I confessed how I was feeling. Her response was to tell me I’m entitled to my opinion, but she doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong. She now no longer wants to be my maid of honour and said she doesn’t want me as her bridesmaid any more. She’s also said she’ll leave it for me to reach out to her if I still want to be friends and if not she hopes I can be civil in future meet ups with our friend groups.

Edit: Honestly I was a bit shocked and kind of just sat there in silence while she said her piece. I don’t know if I’m blowing things out of proportion. My partner thinks I should just apologise to her and move on so as not to lose 11 years of friendship but I’m still a bit hurt by the whole thing. So I’m hoping to get some impartial thoughts that aren’t my other friends and family members.

Hello reddit, sorry for the long one!

My partner and I (both 30sF) are in the very early stages of planning our wedding for late 2027.

We're splitting some of the guest list by ceremony and reception to not only save costs but also out of closeness. It's important to me that everyone at the ceremony is someone we know and we want there to celebrate our love.

The issue is I have a few friends that could be a problem. These are old school friends that I sometimes see - I'll call them friend A and friend B.

Friend A has a long-term boyfriend - I think they've been going out for 3 years now. I have heard about this guy and seen photos but I have yet to meet him. Despite us both agreeing that we need to do something, it never happens (not for lack of trying on my part).

Friend B I haven't seen in at least a year, and usually I only see her once a year at most. We don't really speak anymore and any updates I get from her are on our group chat. She's engaged and might be married before we are. Like with friend A, I have not met this guy and I only saw 1 photo when she started dating him (about 3 years ago as well). This man is a complete stranger to me and I am not comfortable with him at the ceremony.

It's complicated because at least one of my friends from this group I am close with and will be a bridesmaid, and it will cause issues if one or the other isn't invited to the ceremony.

I was initially thinking that I would invite friend A and friend B to the ceremony and then allow them to bring a plus one to the reception. But these two men will be the only people I don't know there. I don't think I want my wedding to be the day I meet them as I don't have a lot of trust in men.

Has anyone done something similar where they either only invite partners to reception or not at all? I know at the end of the day it's my wedding and I should be comfortable but I think that causing this rift IS uncomfortable

Had a shit day, hen do is next month. Since I'm the bride and it's farmer themed I have ordered some white dungarees. What else can I add to make it funny, whimsical etc?

Morning all!

It is currently 4:30am and I have been awake since 2:30 and have been unable to get back to sleep due to the fact that I am getting married today!!!

I am in a hotel and people will start arriving in about three hours and I know I should try to get more sleep but I am just sooooo full of excitement (and I am also so anxious that I feel a bit nauseous!!)

Any tips to get me through the day on 4 hours sleep??

For people that did a grand announcement/entrance to their wedding breakfast how did you make it not feel staged/awkward?? Our venue coordinator has asked us to pick an entrance song and an MC to announce us to kick off the wedding breakfast and I’m struggling to think of a song and intro that feels natural. We could opt not to do it of course but as it seems so common I’m thinking it must be important for setting the right energy/tone for the day?

Every time I see an instagram video of the bride and groom dancing in to everyone cheering waving their napkins I internally cringe imagining myself doing that! Absolutely no hate to couples that do it - but it feels awkward to me to have a “second” grand entrance when we’ve just been mingling and chatting to guests during the canapé/cocktail reception before the wedding breakfast. In my mind, walking down the aisle is the big entrance, and the celebratory walk back down the aisle after the cows is when everyone cheers/applauds. Am I just overthinking this?

For people that had a grand entrance, did you have your ceremony on the same day? I’m wondering if all these videos I’m seeing are from receptions that were held at a later date to the actual ceremony, which then makes sense as it’s the first time guests are seeing you!

Any song/intro wording recs or advice from others who were hesitant to do the grand entrance?