Wedding Etc asked a group of brides and grooms to share their best memories of their weddings … and whether there was anything they’d do differently.

1. COMPLETE SURPRISE

‘The thing that I enjoyed most about my wedding was NOT the planning. I am blessed to have a fabulous mom who did everything for me, all based on three Instagram pictures I showed her when I got engaged. I walked into the venue on the day not knowing a thing – I was blown away and appreciated every little detail. I felt like it was done for and not by me, which only made me feel more special on my special day. It’s a cliché, but it was a fairy tale and I thoroughly enjoyed every single bit of it. Thank God for moms!’
– Zakia

2. LIKE A PRINCESS

‘Being all dressed up isn’t usually me. I’m normally a plain Jane, but on the day, I felt like a completely different person with all of the make-up, the jewellery and the dress – like a princess!’
– Paashanta

3. DREAM GOWN

‘My most memorable moment was when my father told me how proud he was of me. After that, he walked me down the aisle with the biggest smile on his face. We decided to have a small wedding, so my dress wasn’t anything glamorous. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would get my dream gown, regardless of how big or small the wedding was.’
– Stephanie

4. LOVE IN BRAZIL

‘We started dating in Rio while we were doing mission work for our church. A few months later, we got married. There with no notice, and we wouldn’t change a thing about our small, impromptu South American wedding. I would have preferred it if my husband hadn’t left his honeymoon packing for the last minute (making him late for our wedding), but at least we can laugh about it now.’
– Verna

5. CAUGHT ON CAMERA

‘I enjoyed how relaxed the atmosphere was, despite it being my wedding. We had a destination wedding, so our entire family was on this relaxed holiday buzz. It was so refreshing and it made everyone that much more present. If we could change one thing, it would probably be our video. We spent so much time, money and effort on the photographer that, come time and budget for the videographer, we were quite limited. Our video is beautiful and captures the memories, but seeing how professionally done it could have been, with the fantastic technology nowadays, we secretly want to redo ours!’
– Hassan

6. RAIN DANCE

‘We got married in late December, and in a rain-starved Western Cape, so we didn’t really think we needed to have a plan in case the skies opened up. Well, they did – our wedding day was the only day it rained that whole summer. It was a blessing in disguise, though, because our very small wedding party all ended up huddling under a garden umbrella together, drinking wine (and the odd shot of tequila), laughing, smiling and taking turns to dance in the rain. Weddings don’t always go to plan, but they often turn out better than you could’ve ever imagined.’
– Andrea

7. LAUGHING ALL THE WAY

‘The best part of my wedding day was how much fun I had. I expected it to be a stressful day, but that wasn’t the case at all. My husband and I laughed so much and we weren’t stressed at all. The only thing
I regret is that we didn’t take enough photos and I wish we had planned a bit better when it came to time management.’
– Yumna

8. THE FIRST LOOK

‘The best part of my wedding day was when I saw my wife for the first time. She looked absolutely angelic. It was at that moment that I realised that I would be spending every day with the most beautiful woman in the world. I don’t think there’s anything I would change about that day.’
– Rameez

Image: Unsplash