As one of the most important days of your life, your wedding day will be the pinnacle of months of planning and potentially vast amounts of hard-earned money. But, once the event is over, will there be anything you wish you’d done differently?

Below is a list of common factors brides often rethink once their big day has passed.

You don’t need to spend a fortune

With figures released regularly stating that average wedding costs are going up and up, you might feel under pressure to spend something like the $20,000 average that couples fork out for their wedding celebrations.

There’s no need to spend exorbitant amounts of cash if your budget won’t stretch to it; your wedding should be personal to you, so even if your friends are spending thousands of pounds on their big days, you shouldn’t feel you have to compete. A simple, understated wedding at an intimate venue can be more enjoyable than a large, impersonal event that sets you back more than you can afford – take a look at Country House Wedding Venues for ideas.

You can ask for help

Organising your wedding can be both exciting and stressful, and although you’ll want everything to be just as you envision, you shouldn’t shoulder all the planning and execution yourself. Trying to take on too much can lead to frayed tempers, and the last thing you really want is to feel burnt out and annoyed before your big day.

It’s a common belief that the groom doesn’t really get involved with the wedding planning, but this doesn’t have to be the case. You can assign tasks to your future husband and even to trusted friends and relatives who are happy to help, spreading out the responsibility and reducing the strain on yourself.

You shouldn’t lose sight of the meaning of marriage

It’s very easy to get caught up in the aesthetic aspect of your wedding day, and every bride wants their nuptials to be perfect, but it’s possible to lose sight of the real meaning behind the event when you’re busy looking at dresses, sorting out seating plans, choosing centrepieces and rarely being off the phone. Make regular time for your spouse-to-be so you can reconnect and spend time together to keep in mind the real reasons for your wedding.

You can stick to a budget

Weddings are increasingly glamorous and indulgent, but it might be really important to stick to a budget, especially if you don’t want to begin your married life thousands of pounds in debt. You might be sorely tempted to blow the budget on occasion, but weigh up how doing this will impact on your future. If you’ve saved up money towards a deposit for a house, for example, you might regret spending this extra cash on your wedding when it takes years to build the funds back up again.

What you can do instead is work out your budget and prioritise elements that are the most important to you. The venue, your dress and the entertainment may take priority over hiring a formal photographer or arranging a lavish sit-down meal, for example. Once you’ve worked out costs, you may find you need to change your list to reflect how much you want to spend on the important factors, just don’t change your budget if you can’t afford to.