12 Things People Regret About Their Big Day

Spare yourself from making the same mistakes.

Weddings are beautiful and joyous occasions.

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But sometimes things just don't go as planned. We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community what they would have changed about their weddings and this is what they said...

1. They would have skipped the cocktails the night before.

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"We all had cocktails after the rehearsal dinner. Cocktails turned to bottles and I woke up at 6 a.m., sick and hungover. All of my photos of me getting ready look like I'm about to make the biggest mistake of my life, but in fact, I'm just trying to not puke... again. Looking back, I would have saved the drinking for the wedding." —Melissa Norris, Facebook

2. They would have invested in quality photography and videography.

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"If your friend is not a wedding photographer by trade, do not have a friend take the pictures. You will be disappointed ... I have no pictures of my reception space, the big dances (with my father, with my husband), the cake, or the 100 masquerade masks my cousin hand-painted." —THarv25

3. They would have screened the DJ better.

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"I would have hired a different DJ who didn't play 'It's Raining Men' and 'Who Let the Dogs Out?' at my wedding. And one that didn't bugger up both first dance songs by not playing the right music/having the right music. Alexandra Stan for a father daughter dance? Apparently yes." —Corinne Loertscher, Facebook

4. They would have prioritized their health.

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"I wish I had given myself enough time to relax and recharge before the actual week of events. Because of all of the last-minute planning and stress, I fell very ill during the week of my wedding. I had to skip my bachelorette party, and I lost my voice the night of my wedding." —Alycia Cardiff, Facebook

"I would have waited a day to leave for our honeymoon instead of leaving the morning right after the wedding. I was so tired and sick the first day of our trip." —Teal Chastain Blacksten, Facebook

5. They would have cut down the guest list.

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"I would have only invited people that I am truly close with, and that were there to support my boyfriend and I through our journey. I had to invite certain family that aren't so close to me, and they never even got close to me to take at least one picture. It's like they only went for the food." —Norma Marquez, Facebook

6. They would have stood their ground about the things that mattered most to them.

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"I wish we hadn't pandered to everyone. My dad wanted me to look a certain way (poofy princess), Grandpops wanted me in a certain church (say 'bye-bye' to the casual beach wedding), and Mum insisted on doing my hair and makeup ... Even the suits were picked by my brother. Literally every detail became someone else's idea." —Emilia Bancs, Facebook

7. They would have scheduled more alone time.

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"We didn't book a separate wedding car but I really wish that we had ... It would have been really nice to have a few minutes to decompress after the ceremony ... and enjoy those first 'wow' moments of being married." —davethecat16

8. They would have spent more time with guests.

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"We didn't have a receiving line, and I so wish we had. There are so many people that I remember seeing briefly at our wedding but never actually talking with because we thought we'd have enough time to greet everyone when we actually didn't. We were pulled away from the fun for pictures, eating, dancing, garter, and bouquet tosses, and such that we didn't have time to share our joy with all our guests." —Hannah Lane, Facebook

9. They would have included the most important people in their elopement.

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"My husband and I eloped, but it would've been nice to have a few family and friends there to share that special day with us." —Diana Martinez-Mendoza, Facebook

10. They would have planned the first dance more.

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"We definitely would have planned for our first dance better. It took us a while to decide on a good song to dance to and when we finally did, it was about a week before the wedding. So we just got up there to dance and slowly strutted in circles for almost four minutes because we hadn't discussed or worked on any sort of fun routine." —Jeremy Sammut, Facebook

11. They would have planned for after the wedding.

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"I would have assigned someone to make sure everything at the church was cleaned up, organized, and put away after the ceremony. I swear there are things like makeup and jewelry that I still haven't found because they were hurriedly thrown in random bags by my mom/bridesmaids." —Mariah Masell, Facebook

12. They would have put most of their budget into the honeymoon instead of the wedding.

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"We should have gone to the courthouse and spent all the money on our honeymoon instead. That was the most fun part anyway. Married is married no matter how much you spend on the wedding." —Holly Doughty Glenn, Facebook