Bride who spent TWO YEARS planning her wedding only to end up HATING how it turned out reveals everything she would change – including all the items she regrets spending money on
- Morgan Casper, from Chicago, Illinois, wed her husband in front of their family and friends at the Chicago Botanic Garden on September 3, 2021
- She had not one but two dresses, elaborate floral arrangements, and a massive tiered cake, but she has been candid about her disdain for how it turned out
- Her regrets have inspired her to help others avoid making the same mistakes by sharing her advice in tips in a series of TikTok videos
- Casper, who now has more than 78,000 followers, said if she could do it all over again, she would have a small, intimate wedding at a vineyard in California
- She noted that she would have also nixed buying a cake, having an outdoor ceremony, and spending money on matching pajamas for her bridesmaids
A woman who spent two years planning her wedding only to end up hating how it turned out has revealed everything she would change about her big day — and what she regrets spending money on.
Morgan Casper, from Chicago, Illinois, wed her husband in front of their family and friends at the Chicago Botanic Garden on September 3, 2021, after saying ‘I do’ in an intimate courthouse wedding in February 2020 ahead of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The bride had not one but two dresses, elaborate floral arrangements, and a massive tiered cake, and while it looked like a picture-perfect day, she has been candid on TikTok about the fact that she wasn’t happy about how everything turned out.
Morgan Casper, from Chicago, Illinois, spent two years planning her dream wedding only to end up hating how it turned out
She wed her husband in front of their family and friends at the Chicago Botanic Garden on September 3, 2021, after saying ‘I do’ in an intimate courthouse wedding in February 2020
‘POV: You start posting on TikTok as therapy after your wedding because you’re still upset about hating the once-in-a-lifetime event that you spent two years planning,’ she captioned a video on the platform last month.
‘But now you get to share your mistakes and tips with 60,000 AMAZING people. And you don’t spend time being upset about the day because you channel your feelings into creating content.’
Casper, who now has more than 78,000 followers on TikTok, regularly shares wedding advice and tips in her videos while touching upon the things she regrets about her own wedding.
With wedding season among us, FEMAIL has rounded up her best tips and biggest regrets to help brides and grooms plan their big day.
Keep the guest list small
In Casper’s new series titled ‘What what would I do if I re-did my entire wedding?’ she divulges everything she would change about her ceremony and reception if she was given another chance to plan her big day.
The first thing she reflected on was her guest list, explaining that it was a mistake for her and her husband to invite hundreds of people to their wedding.
‘This is absolutely no hate to all of the people invited to my wedding. I love you all so dearly, but if I were to redo it, I would only invite about 35 to 40 people,’ she said. ‘I would rather use my budget and just splurge and go all out than stretch it across hundreds of people.’
Casper’s husband had convinced her to have a big wedding, but she noted that it was a mistake because she doesn’t like big crowds in general.
‘I, personally, as an introvert have way more fun in an intimate setting than a big setting,’ she said. ‘I don’t go to bars or clubs. I don’t like to dance in public.’
Casper would have also opted for a destination wedding at a romantic vineyard in California
‘I would love to say that I would use my budget and jet off to Lake Como for my wedding, but I wouldn’t have felt right making even the 35 guests do that,’ she said
Pick a reasonable venue and skip outdoor weddings
The former bride would have also changed her venue and had a destination wedding — but one that wouldn’t be too taxing on her guests.
‘I would love to say that I would use my budget and jet off to Lake Como for my wedding, but I wouldn’t have felt right making even the 35 guests do that,’ she said.
‘So I would have chosen a beautiful wedding venue at a vineyard in Southern California, like Malibu or something, and I would have just made it a super special weekend for the people closest to us.’
In a previous video, she also advised against planning an outdoor wedding after it rained on her wedding day.
Casper is firmly against outdoor weddings after it rained on her big day
‘It was not worth the stress and the checking the weather for this outdoor wedding,’ she said
‘If you booked an outdoor wedding, it might rain on your day, and if it does, you can’t be super upset about it,’ she said. ‘It rained on my wedding day, and at one point, I had to be like, I chose this life. I chose this outdoor venue, and do you know what? I wish I hadn’t.
‘It was not worth the stress and the checking the weather for this outdoor wedding,’ she continued. ‘Unless you live in California, Texas, Arizona, whatever, it really could rain on your wedding day.’
She explained that she has come to the conclusion that booking an outdoor wedding venue like she did is not worth it unless you love your backup location or don’t care if it rains.
‘You can plan and dream as much as you want, but you can’t stop the rain,’ she said.
Casper, who had not one but two bridal dresses, loves the gown she wore to the ceremony but she regrets the one she changed into for the reception
‘What I found with this dress is that it looked much better in pictures than in person, and it just wasn’t that stylish,’ she explained of her reception look
Think long and hard about every look you plan on wearing
In the second video in the series, Casper opened up about her bridal looks, saying she still loves the gown she wore to the ceremony but is not a fan of the dress she changed into for the reception.
‘I would keep my first dress. Because I bought it three years before my wedding, it became very sentimental for me,’ she said. ‘It was just huge with a big train, very modern for a ballgown, and I loved it. But I would do a different second look.’
Casper’s second look of the night was a simple, yet elegant mermaid-style gown with a deep V-neck that she feels cost more than it was worth.
If she could do it all over again, she would go with a gown from the budget-friendly British brand House of CB (pictured) for her second look
Casper added that she would have also done a third look and worn a short fun dress like this Nana Jacqueline frock (pictured)
‘What I found with this dress is that it looked much better in pictures than in person, and it just wasn’t that stylish,’ she explained. ‘I want to be cooler than this. I don’t know — and it was expensive for what it was.’
If she could do it all over again, she would go with a gown from the budget-friendly British brand House of CB for her second look.
‘They’re under $1,000 and just so romantic yet modern and cool all at the same time,’ she noted. ‘And, wait for it, I would do a third look for my very intimate wedding.’
Casper pulled up a photo of a playful white lace frock from Nana Jacqueline, saying, ‘I would have loved like a faux sendoff in a short fun dress like this.’
A common thread among Casper’s complaints about her wedding is that she wasn’t comfortable advocating for what she wanted
She admitted that she hated the floral arrangements at her wedding but didn’t say anything during her trial because she is ‘too much of an introvert’
Don’t be afraid to stick up for yourself and what you want
A common thread among Casper’s complaints about her wedding is that she wasn’t comfortable advocating for what she wanted.
One of her issues with her second bridal gown was that it wasn’t tailored well, but she didn’t feel comfortable asking for the changes it needed.
She had a similar issue when it came to the bright floral arrangements that were seen in many of her wedding photos but were not the exact look she wanted.
‘POV: You just walked out of your flower trial for your wedding and hated everything (looked like Halloween) but you’re too much of an introvert to stand up for yourself,’ she captioned one video.
Casper added that she is ‘too Type A for everything not to be absolutely perfect’ on her wedding day.’
#greenscreen what do you regret? #weddingbudget #weddingplanning #weddingadvice #bridetobe #engaged #weddingtiktok
The wedding aficionado also has a series about all the things she regrets spending money on for her big day, including matching pajamas for her bridesmaids
Another thing she would have nixed was her ‘ugly’ tiered wedding cake, which she noted cost $1,800 and no one ate. ‘I don’t even love cake,’ she admitted
Don’t waste your money on useless items
The wedding aficionado also has a series about all the things she regrets spending money on for her big day, explaining that some things she thought were must-haves at the time ended up being unnecessary.
Casper urged brides to avoid buying their bridesmaids matching pajamas to wear while getting ready together because the cutesy pictures aren’t worth the money.
‘Just tell everyone to wear neutral or black,’ she suggested. ‘Save yourself here.’
Another thing she would have nixed was her ‘ugly’ tiered wedding cake, which she noted cost $1,800 and no one ate.
‘I don’t even love cake,’ she admitted. ‘Why I felt I needed to do this I don’t know.’
She advised passing out desserts that people will want to eat at the end of the night as a more cost-effective option.
While Casper loved the Portuguese olive oil wedding favors she chose to honor her late father, she said it was a struggle to get guests to remember to take them
Casper has advised against renting lounge vignettes because guests only use them for a half-hour or so, and they can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars
Casper had a similar issue when it came to guests remembering to take her thoughtful wedding favors.
‘We did Portuguese olive oil because my dad was born in Portugal and he passed away and it was to represent him. I loved them, but getting people to take them when they left was impossible,’ she explained.
‘If you’re going to do them, put them at the table setting so they see them when they sit down. It will remind them to take them at the end.’
Casper has advised against renting lounge vignettes because guests only use them for a half-hour or so, and they can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars depending on the number of seating arrangements.
She also disliked the acrylic table numbers and menus that were incorporated into her wedding décor and doesn’t recommend them.
Casper despised the acrylic table numbers and menus that were incorporated into her décor, saying they ‘didn’t look good’ and ‘you can’t read them’
Casper noted that the custom acrylic card box she had made for her wedding is ‘useless’ and now sits in her basement collecting dust
Casper also regrets hiring a full-service planner, saying she really only needed someone to help her the month of her wedding
‘They really didn’t look good, you can’t read them, and they’re so wasteful and bad for the environment,’ she said.
Casper noted that the custom acrylic card box she had made for her wedding now sits in her basement collecting dust.
‘It’s useless to us now, and it cost a lot,’ she said.
And when it comes to wedding planning, she insisted it’s not worth hiring a full-service planner in most cases.
Casper explained that she would have been better off paying for a planner to help her the month of her wedding and the day itself, which is a far cheaper option.
‘Unless you are the most disorganized person, you don’t need a full-service wedding planner,’ she said.
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