I just want to say I've always been really insecure about my smile. When I was young my teeth were really wonky. I've had braces, composite filling, etc. to get them fixed but they're still far from perfect. I also hate how gummy my smile is. I hate that my eyes squint when I smile. I could go on.

I was really worried about wedding photos and thought I'd just bin all of the ones where I'm not soft smiling or not stoic.

I will admit when I first looked at them my heart sank because the first thing I saw were flaws.

Now it's been a few weeks I'm seeing and loving the sheer joy on my face. I think I'm actually starting to prefer them over the 'soft smiles'. I don't look anywhere near as happy in them and I'm glad I stayed in the moment rather than trying to force myself to not smile for my wedding photos.

It was genuinely one of the happiest days of my life and I'm so glad I have photos that reflect that.

Edit: Oh wow, I wasn't expecting this response! Thankyou all so much for your kind comments. I felt quite vulnerable posting this but comments, particularly from those who have similar insecurities made me really glad I did.

Hello everyone. Let me just get into it because I'm trying not cry lol.

I am no contact with my bio father, and my grandpa passed 20 years ago when I was 13. The man who IS my dad(weird non adoption stuff)could possibly not make it as he's almost 90 with health issues and lives out of state. Lastly, I wouldn't want to have this moment with any other family.

With those things in mind I picked my deceased best friend's dad. This wonderful man and his beautiful wife allowed me to basically live with them and took care of me like I was actually just their kid.

I was thinking "count on me" by Bruno mars because it was her song and we play it when we have events to honor her. But also because I could count on him too. But that feels too sad for our family since It's only been 6 years.

So any recommendations would be great. Spanish songs would also be great! Thank you.

My fiancée and I are getting married Dec 2027, and we booked our photographer in Aug 2026. She was super nice, had great photos, and seemed to be the right choice. I signed the contract in Aug and haven't heard much. I also recently saw, at least in Honeybook, the photographer still hasn't signed her portion of the contract. I let her know we signed the contract 8/6 and didn't get a response.

We are getting married in OK where my family lives and are visiting in Dec for the holidays and wanted to use our complimentary session for save the date pics. I reached out 10/7, didn't hear back, then 10/12 and 10/14 as I forgot to include things in some messages. I dm'd her on instagram and got an immediate response that she was sorry and she had her computer repaired and was having some email problems, and that she wants to schedule. She said she would email me on 10/16 and still hasn't. I followed up on instagram and she left me on read.

My fiancée and I want to get our money back, but I can't tell if we are being unreasonable. I just don't understand why she's being so unresponsive. I'm paying this photographer almost $3k for photos, and I can't even get the included session scheduled?

thanks

EDIT: i paid first deposit in august of $966, the other two are due next year of the same amount. she also hasn't posted on her socials since 2025, and i believe we found her on Zola and she's no longer listed there.

Long story short, my father and I have a strained relationship. My parents separated when I was five, and since he was in the military, I only saw him a handful of times throughout my childhood. He also had personal struggles of his own that he was working through.

Throughout my life, I’ve made an effort to build a relationship with him, but I can’t deny that he has disappointed me time and time again. When I was in my mid-20s, I visited him, and we finally had a real heart-to-heart conversation about his shortcomings and the ways his absence impacted my life.

Fast-forward to today, and I’m engaged and getting married next year! 🎉 However, I’ve been putting off having a conversation with my father about the fact that I don’t want him to walk me down the aisle.

What makes this even more difficult is that I have a father figure who came into my life through my grandmother when I was a teenager. He has watched me grow from an awkward teen into the woman I am today. He’s someone I’ve turned to for help, guidance, and advice, and I want him to be the one who walks me down the aisle because of the role he has played in my life.

I’m genuinely at a loss about how to handle this situation. My fiancé thinks my father should just assume he won’t be walking me down the aisle, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving him in the dark. Despite all his shortcomings, I know he still sees me as his little girl, and I don’t want him to be blindsided by the decision.

At the same time, I want my wedding day to reflect the relationships that have truly shaped my life, and I feel that having my father figure walk me down the aisle is the right choice for me.

How do I approach this conversation with my father? I want to be honest about my decision without being unnecessarily hurtful, but I also don’t want to feel guilty for choosing someone who has consistently shown up for me.

Any advice, especially from anyone who has navigated a similar situation, would be greatly appreciated!

My fiance and I were talking about what's important to us for our wedding. We both don't really find it necessary to have the officiant, the formal "I do's", walking down the aisle.

We found out that in Colorado, you can get married without an officiant or witnesses. Its basically just paperwork you have to sign and you're married.

What we both want is to privately exchange vows, and the rings, and also get a nice photoshoot done.

We had the idea to travel to Colorado, sign the papers, privately exchange vows and rings. And then after we would find a location in Colorado to take wedding photos. I would ask my mom and sister to come along with us. I would still want to have the "getting ready" and wedding dress moment, and I'd want them to be there with me.

But...I'm afraid of a few things. I'm nervous it wont feel "wedding" enough, if that makes sense. Its like, I do want the ceremony part, but I also dont at the same time.

I also dont know if I want family there or not.

Our previous idea before this was to have an intimate ceremony, maybe in New Orleans. It would be about 15 people total. We wouldn't have a reception, just go to dinner afterwards. We've never been to New Orleans but we like the buildings and houses for photos. I don't know if it would be too chaotic of an environment though.

I am nervous of having a ceremony and feel like I'm "performing". I also have anxiety/social anxiety, so I just don't know what it would be like.

I do know that it would probably feel like a bigger and more special day if our family was involved, and if we had a ceremony. But I'm just nervous about the social/attention part.

Thanks for any advice!

My wedding date was supposed to be July but now the venue I want is only available in December. It's gonna be 5 more months away. I would push back everything. I already sent save the dates. Have you ever changed your date granted all your vendors are still available on the new date? Just to get the venue you want?

my wedding day was literally the best day of my life. there’s truly nothing like it. we got married at a scottish castle outside of edinburgh! it was a sensational day.

my only regret is having tendrils for my updo. they looked gorgeous when they were first styled, but quickly fell flat because of the wind outside when we took photos. i feel like it made me super self conscious about photos and videos for the rest of the evening 😭