Nowadays, planning a wedding can become a full-time job, and getting every detail right is nearly impossible. It's best to accept the fact that no matter how much planning goes into your wedding day, there will be something that will leave you saying, "I wish I had known that!"

In the hope that we can help other women avoid these pitfalls, we've asked some recent brides, as well as a current bride-to-be, to share some of the lessons they've learned.

"I had a really long, lacy veil—which was what I wanted, and I loved it—but I took it off right after the ceremony," says Melissa Johnson, a copy editor who got married in 2015, in East Haddam. "I wish I had kept it on for the outdoor photos taken after the ceremony. I spent more on the veil than on my dress, and I'm only wearing it in a few photos!

"I'm glad I didn't wear it to the reception, though," she adds. "It would have gotten in the way."

Some possible mishaps are hard to anticipate. "My pastor never told my guests to be seated after I walked down the aisle," says Johnson, "so everyone stood for the entire ceremony. It didn't even register until afterward, when my family and friends in the back told me they couldn't see anything!"

Friends and family can be a problem before the ceremony, offering advice whether it is solicited or not. "That has been the most stressful part thus far, not the planning itself," says one bride-to-be who wishes to remain anonymous. "It can be overwhelming to hear everyone's input, and makes you question your choices."

Jen Zalasko-Dlugolenski, a technical services assistant from Meriden who got married in May 2012, agrees that can be a problem. "Make sure you are in charge," she says, "not your bridesmaids."

For those who choose to do it, one of the biggest tasks that come after the big day is the process of changing your last name. "I truly believe the name-change process should be way more romantic than what it is," says Robyn Collins-Wolcott, the publisher of Shore Publishing, who got married this past October in Branford. "The process is made slightly easier with the service I used through Wedding Wire—you buy a package that walks you through what you need and the process for each item you'll have to change."

Collins-Wolcott adds that the worst part for her was getting a new social security card, saying she had to wait for an hour and half at the social security office. Then it took two weeks for the card to arrive in the mail. "I still haven't gone to the DMV," says Collins-Wolcott, "because I assume that'll be worse."

When it comes to sending out thank-you notes for gifts, brides seem to agree that it's best to do it sooner rather than later. "I waited an embarrassingly long time to send my thank-you cards," says Johnson. "My advice to brides is to send those out as soon as things settle down, so it's not weighing on you."

"Despite etiquette saying that you have three months to send them," says Collins-Wolcott, "I had some relatives wondering where they were."

Nonetheless, Collins-Wolcott says that putting this task off ended up working out well for her. After seeing her wedding photos, she decided to include ones of her guests in their thank-you cards. "Friends have already thanked me for doing it," she says. "I hadn't planned on doing that, but when I saw the photos, I knew I had to, so I was glad I had prolonged sending the notes out."

One bride says she learned the value of keeping it simple. Karren Muolo, a graphic designer who works in Madison, got married at New Haven City Hall in February 2015 surrounded by 14 family members and friends after a two-month engagement. "When I look back on my wedding day, there is not a single thing I regret or wish I could've done better," she says. "That day, honestly, couldn't have been any more perfect. I wish I could relive that day just as it was."