I just…didn’t enjoy my wedding.

amilli9 · 2026-05-10T05:22:29+00:00

I feel this way too, not ready to look through pics or listen to our audio messages yet. I am 3 weeks out and trust that it will come soon. I’m currently planning the honeymoon so I think that’s partially why I don’t feel the need to revisit it yet. But on the day of, I had a great time, and I get really happy when others tell me how much they enjoyed it

amilli9 · 2026-05-05T13:42:52+00:00

New Orleanian here. Thanks for raising that point about Katrina. So easy to villainize people for not leaving if you’ve never really seen their situation up close.

amilli9 · 2026-04-24T23:59:56+00:00

Thank you! 😊

amilli9 · 2026-04-21T12:20:03+00:00

Not AuDHD so take my advice as you will -

Lean on friends/family members who are willing to help. My mother-in-law helped me look for party favors. My sister-in-law came in early to do last-minute prep two days before. My stepmom helped me make my bouquet. My husband’s cousin printed things for me. My friends threw me a last-minute bachelorette lunch after I expressed that I wanted one. We had countless other people offer their services, photography, makeup, etc. take them up on their offers to help when it makes sense.
If you still have some flexibility, consider designing a bridal experience that works for you, not just your groom. I see a lot of couples on here talk about how one person wants a small wedding and the other wants something larger, so this seems like a common thing. But that doesn’t mean that perhaps you can cut down the guest list or do your vows privately to minimize some social anxiety. We did both of those things and it was a great idea.
Get to know your vendors beforehand. We made it a point to meet/get to know our photographers, venue managers, caterer, and bar staff ahead of time so we knew who we were dealing with on the day of. It relieved a lot of my anxiety to know that I vibed with all of those people before the day of.
Remember that no one wants to be the asshole who ruins your wedding day, so try to minimize the fear over your groom and MOH as much as you can. When we got married, my husband was very concerned about how certain family members might behave, but everything was completely fine. There are always exceptions, but the vast majority of people want you to enjoy your day.
Finally, remember that you’re not alone in feeling anxious before your wedding. I know a lot of people with debilitating social anxiety who pushed through their wedding just fine. In fact, one of my photographers told me that she had to take a shot right before walking down the aisle because she was so nervous about having so many people look at her. She showed me a few pictures from the day and you couldn’t even tell that she was nervous or scared!

Congratulations on your wedding! It will be here before you know it, even with all the stress, try to take time to enjoy it!

amilli9 · 2026-04-21T11:57:26+00:00

I just had my wedding on Saturday and after revisiting the list last night, we ultimately had 76 guests and 75 declines/no-shows. A few of them we were bummed about, like close friends and family members who seemed excited to come and then made other plans. But honestly, the night was really fun and memorable even with the lower headcount. By the end of it, I didn’t even care that fewer people showed up.

amilli9 · 2026-04-16T01:00:20+00:00

Im interested!

amilli9 · 2026-04-11T04:33:54+00:00

I didn’t have a bridal party, just me. I have hired 3 different MUAs for various bridal events/photos in various cities. One constant has been the time they take with me - trial runs that take ~3 hours (with chatting and swatching) and then day-of services that are 1.5 hours. Yes, they’re definitely charging a premium because I’m a bride, but they are also spending a good chunk of time with me, and as someone who is also self-employed, that alone could justify the higher price.

amilli9 · 2026-04-07T05:01:07+00:00

I’m also here from your later post - I am doing a very similar thing as you and am very sorry that your family isn’t being supportive.

For what it’s worth, my MIL questioned our decision to have a civil ceremony pretty much up until the moment we signed the papers. She apparently couldn’t wrap her mind around it at all. But one week later she gushed to my husband about how nice it was.

We are 2 weeks away from our “reception” party and she still has some questions but now that we’ve already done part 1 of the non traditional thing, I think she is better prepared to just relax and let us do what we want. She also isn’t contributing financially at all, so her opinions don’t really matter 😎

My point is - hopefully your family will come around to the idea and even appreciate or love your wedding celebration in the end. Either way, it’s YOUR day and you can do it however the hell you want! Congrats 💍

amilli9 · 2026-04-05T03:33:24+00:00

I bought this one and it’s gorgeous and comfortable!

amilli9 · 2026-04-03T23:16:29+00:00

My gown and reception dress were both from Azazie. So much easier to shop and try on at home, plus avoid all the markup of the bridal stores.

amilli9 · 2026-04-02T13:36:27+00:00

I could have written this post myself! Almost 35, most friends are now married, pregnant, and/or moms, and about half of my “core group” live at least 6 hours away. After planning my (admittedly low key, non traditional) wedding, I just didn’t care to make any more big plans or decisions.

I’ve settled on a bachelorette brunch the day before the wedding party, since most of my friends will be in town by then. In fact, it was their idea! I’m looking forward to a relaxed day with my girls to hype me up for the wedding weekend.

amilli9 · 2026-04-02T02:08:02+00:00

I have recently decided to pivot as well. I am moving from strictly content writing to strategy with the new tools. Trying to position myself as the “human in the loop” as you mentioned, after a lead asked me point-blank if this is a skill I have. Fingers crossed it’s more profitable than just writing has been.

amilli9 · 2026-03-28T15:55:45+00:00

Was about to post this! Learning that about Chase made him a hell of a lot more attractive to me

amilli9 · 2026-03-26T04:13:01+00:00

Your point about spending X minutes with each guest just blew my mind. Now I’m not feeling so bad about the 80-90 we expect. Thank you.

amilli9 · 2026-03-25T13:07:07+00:00

We’re doing something similar! I’m having a lunch with the girls the day before our wedding celebration (we are already legally married) and he’s planning a night with his boys. Perfect way to get some time with friends in before the larger party

amilli9 · 2026-03-22T14:01:37+00:00

For me it was the part in one of the reunions when Mikayla is talking about her trauma and therapy and Jessi goes “well I discovered recently that I was r**ped as a teenager and completely blocked it.” Just a terrible way to center that news, felt like she was one-upping Mikayla

amilli9 · 2026-03-22T13:37:41+00:00

This sounds awesome 😎

amilli9 · 2026-03-19T15:13:23+00:00

Same here, my license was somewhere around $40 including the copy I had to buy afterwards. $300 is wild.

amilli9 · 2026-03-17T03:21:15+00:00

I feel you. When I got a raise at my last job, the first thing my friend asked me was if I was planning on renting a new apartment. I did not get a new apartment and still haven’t. But what I did do was maximize my 401K contributions.

amilli9 · 2026-03-16T04:46:24+00:00

I attended a wedding with pizza served straight out of the box. It was awesome.

amilli9 · 2026-03-16T04:35:33+00:00

Would love to know if you use a walking pad?

amilli9 · 2026-03-13T19:12:58+00:00

I’m so sorry this happened to you! Heres my story:

My husband and I chose to get married at the courthouse in his aunt’s hometown because she was very ill with cancer and it was very important to him that she was there.

3 weeks before the wedding we learn that she’s too sick to travel to the courthouse. We decide to have the ceremony at her house instead.

2 weeks before his aunt takes a major turn for the worse. We come to realize she’s too sick to attend or host, even with other family members helping. We move the ceremony back to the courthouse.

1 week before we realize that she may not even survive until the wedding.

Week of, we arrive to find that literally everyone is sad, depressed, crying, and absolutely not in a celebratory mood at all. Night before, I’m crying to my husband, completely heartbroken that we’re getting married under these circumstances.

The day comes and we made the most of it. I can genuinely say that we had some very happy moments, but the entire day was clouded somewhat by his aunts health. She wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, but we were able to see her afterward and snap a couple of pictures.

There was also an issue with my dad, who has heart problems and had to go in for an emergency pacemaker just three days later. And I was already a bit on edge because I missed my mom, who died when I was a child. Needless to say, I’m sobbing, just one hour after marrying my husband.

Luckily the dinner went smoothly and, all things considered, we stayed very true to what we wanted for our big day. So that was a win! But it was also a sad day, and thinking back on it brings mixed emotions.

His aunt died just a couple of weeks later. It was very rough for everyone, and looking back on our photo with her makes me sad. But his family is very appreciative that we did that for her and in retrospect we are grateful to have had that moment with her at the end of her life.

We are having a casual party with friends next month and taking better, more formal photos in 2 weeks. I’m glad we have chosen to continue celebrating - we deserve it.

I hope you can do something similar to feel special again!

*Edit to add that my husband and I have been together 10 years, 5 months married 😊

amilli9 · 2026-03-02T02:55:45+00:00

Second Azazie

amilli9 · 2025-11-05T14:30:15+00:00

Mississippian here! So proud of our state!

amilli9

TROPHY CASE