The regrets, lessons and best parts of my wedding day: A guide for future brides
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MAISON OUI
WORDS BY RUBY KOHANE
“A wonderful part was driving away with my new husband after the ceremony. It felt so strange and exciting, I’ll never forget it.”
Planning a wedding can be equal parts magical and stressful. With so much to organise and so many people to think about, it can be all too easy to forget about what you actually want. For many women, one of the most time-consuming parts of wedding planning can be selecting the right dress. You want to feel comfortable and beautiful on the day, be able to dance and stand up in it for long periods and, importantly, see it in photos for the rest of your life.
Maison Oui, a Melbourne-based bridal boutique, has an intimate understanding of what brides are looking for on their wedding day. Established in 2015, it’s home to three bridal labels, Oui the Label, Chérie by Oui and Sienricher, each with its own distinctive flair. Sienricher, the third label to emerge from Maison Oui’s collective, offers bridal mini and event wear pieces that marry modern silhouettes with timeless elegance, including two-piece sets to be mixed and matched outside the bridal setting (civil ceremonies, second looks, hens, birthdays etc). And for daring brides, the label has more colours coming soon.
Interested to hear how others navigate the world? Head to our Life section.
But dresses are only one part of the big day. Eager to find out how newlyweds feel reflecting on their weddings, we asked six brides to share their regrets, lessons and the best parts of their day. After all, whether it’s the style of your dress, the size of the venue or the type of canapes served, it’s essential the day’s details feel authentic to you.
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Nathaniel, flight cabin manager
Our wedding was magical. I have no regrets whatsoever. What was important was that the day was authentically us. We’re creative and love to put our own touch on things, and had friends design the welcome sign so the day felt personal and homely.
A lesson? Enjoy the process. We were so focused on how it would be for everyone involved – especially as guests flew from all over the world – that sometimes we forgot about our own experience. You only get married once, so we could have put the spotlight more on ourselves. After all, everyone was there to celebrate us.
My advice is don’t forget to soak up the joy of those you love the most gathering to experience your love. Getting ready was also a highlight – a bit of champagne and a face mask set the tone for the day. And once all the formalities were done, just being in and among it with our favourite humans, celebrating as all of life’s problems fell away.
Lucy, lawyer
Despite the stress leading up, the day was truly amazing. That being said, it was a whirlwind and so tiring, starting at 5am with the arrival of hair and makeup and finishing at 11pm. If I were to do anything differently, I’d find a quiet moment with my husband post-ceremony to soak everything in. I’d also eat more food – I was too busy talking! – and change into comfortable heels sooner.
I learnt that nobody cares about your wedding as much as you! It’s crazy, you go through the planning and stress but then the day is over and you realise it is just one day. So don’t sweat the small stuff.
A wonderful part was driving away with my new husband after the ceremony. It felt so strange and exciting, I’ll never forget it. I also loved seeing family and friends celebrating together.
Georgia, interior designer
I don’t have any regrets but I do wish we didn’t listen to people saying to book things super early. We rushed our choice of venue, then changed it because it wasn’t us. You learn what you want the more time you get to sit on it and research. Another lesson is to not sweat over the small things because they come together on the day.
Best parts? So many! I loved getting ready with my girlfriends and family in the morning, seeing all our closest friends and family, and marrying my bestie.
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Mel, workshop manager
I have no regrets, but a venue with onsite accommodation would have been nice for the kids. A lesson I learnt is to do lots of research and spend time in Facebook groups so you don’t miss any little things when planning. Also, don’t rush it! For us, two years of planning was perfect (especially throwing a pregnancy in there).
The best part was the connection you have with your partner when you’re usually so busy with life. Even if on a normal day you’re not super lovey-dovey, on your wedding day you are and it’s nice!
Anna, project manager
We loved our wedding. If I did it again I’d have eaten more of the food, as I was too busy chatting! When I go to weddings now, I always make sure the bride gets some food, as the day can be so busy.
I learnt that despite our best efforts the budget still goes over. Also, we ended up with quite a large guestlist but we thought ‘We’re only going to do this once (hopefully) so why not have everyone there that we love?’.
The highlight was the dancing once all the formalities were over – we ended up breaking the dancefloor in half! And the music didn’t get turned off ’til about 6am. It felt like a big party with all our friends and family. Very us. Our wedding was also kid and dog-friendly so I loved having our daughter and our friends’ children. Of course, when the sun set and the kids went to bed the party really kicked off.
Madeline, account manager
We had our wedding on a family member’s property which we were super grateful for. It was a lot of work, and there were a lot of unexpected costs, booking everything from toilets to water jugs. We also had over 200 guests, so if I did it again, I’d prioritise a more intimate wedding so we could have had it at a beautiful venue and be doted on all day.
My biggest lesson was that weddings are expensive, and no one remembers your flowers except for you. My favourite part was the canape hour. We stayed on the property for photos so we could get back and mingle with our guests, which was the best part by far.
Sienricher can be found at Maison Oui in Melbourne’s CBD. Book online today for fittings, try-on appointments and styling assistance.
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