3 Ceremony Regrets You Don’t Want on Your Wedding Day (And How to AvoidThem)

First things first: hit save on this post so you can come back to it later — and send it to your

wedding-planning besties too. Trust me, they’ll thank you.

Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life — and it will be! But

after officiating hundreds of weddings, I can tell you that almost every couple has a tiny handful

of “wish we had...” moments once the confetti settles. The good news? You can dodge these

regrets with a little planning.

Here are the big three:

1. Skipping a Private Moment

Your wedding day moves faster than Aunt June when the dessert table opens. You’ll blink and

suddenly it’s 11 p.m., your shoes are off, and Uncle Bob is dancing to Shout like his life depends

on it.

The problem? In all the excitement, couples often forget to just be together. Everyone wants to

hug you, talk to you, grab a selfie with you... and that’s wonderful. But if you don’t carve out

even five quiet minutes for just the two of you right after the ceremony, the day can feel like it

happened to you instead of with you.

Take a pause. Hold hands. Breathe it in. Say “holy crap, we’re married!” to each other before

heading into the whirlwind. You’ll be so glad you did.

2. Settling for a Cookie-Cutter Ceremony

Listen — your love story is not a template. It’s not a fill-in-the-blank script from 1984.

Your ceremony should feel like you: whether that’s laugh-out-loud funny, tear-jerkingly sweet, or

a mix of both. Personal doesn’t have to mean long (nobody’s looking for a Netflix series here),

but it does mean custom.

I’ve lost count of how many couples have told me afterward: “We’re so glad we didn’t just go

with a standard script.” Those ten to fifteen minutes set the tone for your whole day. Make them

count.

So whether I’m the one rocking your ceremony or you’ve found another awesome officiant,

make sure they can craft a moment that feels one-of-a-kind, not copy-and-paste.

3. Forgetting the Unplugged Ceremony Rule 🤳

This one breaks my heart on behalf of your photographers. You hire them because they’re

amazing at what they do — and they’re not cheap. Yet so many couples regret not asking their

officiant to make the “phones away” announcement.

Picture this: you’re walking down the aisle, looking like a million bucks, and there it is... Aunt

June’s iPad blocking your professional shot. Or Cousin Mike’s phone flash going off like a disco

ball right as you kiss.

Don’t risk it. Have your officiant gently (or firmly, depending on the crowd) remind guests to tuck

their phones away. You’ll get professional photos that are frame-worthy instead of

Facebook-grainy.

Bonus Tip

Want your guests to still have their Instagram moment? There are fun ways to let them pull out

their phones for a quick snap without ruining your pro shots — but I’ll save those tricks for

another post.

Your wedding ceremony sets the stage for the entire day. With a little forethought, you can make

sure you walk away with nothing but happy memories — no regrets, no Aunt-June-iPad photo

bombs.

So save this post, share it with your engaged friends, and remember: take the private moment,

make it personal, and put the phones away. Future you, will thank you.

Photo By @every_angle