Woman Admits She 'Hated' Her $30K Wedding — So She Had a Do-Over for Just $1K

A woman who admits she "hated" her lavish, $30,000 wedding did a do-over five years later — on her terms and for just a fraction of the cost.

Alexandrea Acevedo, an event designer from Orlando, told SWNS that she and her now-husband, Michael Acevedo, threw a "giant" wedding in September 2018, inviting 200 guests. But instead of celebrating a picture-perfect day, she recalled feeling "stressed" and "anxious."

Looking back, Alexandrea, 27, now realizes she made the milestone occasion about "what everyone else wanted" instead of planning a wedding that fit her and Michael's dream vision for the day. On top of that, the wedding was a costly affair.

Related: Woman Says Her $50K Wedding 'Ruined' Her Life After 'Snowballing' Out of Control: 'Life Isn't a Disney Movie'

"It was a little over $30,000 — that was such a waste of money. We could have put that towards a house deposit," she told SWNS. "We were so young. I don't know why we ever did that."

She shared her opinion that weddings are often "not for the couple [but] for the guests" — and her nuptials were no exception.

"We put all this energy and stress for a big, shiny event. Why did I go through all of that for a few hours?" she wondered, adding, "We did what everyone else wanted instead of what we wanted."

So, five years later, Alexandrea and Michael, a 33-year-old operations manager, decided to give themselves a second chance at having the wedding experience they wished for and spent "a beautiful day" renewing their vows in September 2023.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The couple, who now have four children, hired a photographer and drove to the Fred W. Symmes Chapel, an open-air church that sits atop Stone Mountain in Cleveland, South Carolina. "We had a moment between us, the kids and God," Alexandrea recalled of the intimate family ceremony.

"It was completely stress-free," she added. "It was just about us not pleasing anybody else."

Related: Bride Regrets Her Recent Wedding, Can't Bear to Look at Photos: 'Traumatized from It All'

After the ceremony, the family enjoyed a simple lunch together and then hiked some waterfalls. The whole day cost less than $1,000, Alexandrea told SWNS.

It was a full-circle moment for the couple, as it fulfilled the original vision they had for their wedding day — before they let other people's opinions and ideas sway them. After getting engaged in 2017, the two were keen to elope — with Alexandrea wanting nothing more than "a pretty dress, a photographer and to go to the mountain" — but their families strongly opposed the plan.

So they went ahead with their big wedding, and Alexandrea remembers very little of the occasion. "I was super anxious the whole day. It was like a blur," she said. "There was so much chaos going on."

She added, "This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, [but] it ends up being for everyone else."

Now, Alexandrea wants other couples to learn from her and Michael's mistake. Her advice? "When it comes to your marriage, it should be what you want, not what everyone else wants," she said. "It should be about you as a couple, not trying to please extended family."

Read the original article on People