'i managed to ruin my own wedding photos'

LEYONIE BRICE SAYS SHE IS TOO EMBARRASSED OF THE 'HORRENDOUS' IMAGES TO SHARE THEM WITH HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY DEMI KOUTOUZI and HOWARD LLOYD Regional content editor 13:04, 03 Jun

2025 A bride's desire for picture-perfect aisle snaps backfired when she 'ruined' them by trying not to cry - as she looked like she was 'holding in sneeze'. Leyonie

Brice walked down the aisle in February to her favourite song, James Arthur's Falling Down the Stars, and started tearing up the moment the violin cover played. But the

'emotional' bride said because she tried to stop herself from crying it left her making a series of 'weird faces'. The 26-year-old admits she was worried about ruining

her makeup as she spent a 'fortune' having it done, but said that she would have preferred to deal with that than see the 'horrendous' photos. Leyonie said she was gutted

to see how her photos turned out and was too embarrassed to have them printed or share them on social media. But after walking down the aisle, Leyonie let herself cry when the couple

started exchanging their vows and said she preferred the snaps showing her emotion. The mum-of-one said she gets emotional at happy things and can sometimes make weird faces when she cries.

Leyonie, from Abergavenny, Gwent, said: "I put a lot of thought into what I wanted my wedding photos to look like, I was thinking of my face the entire time. "You spend months

thinking about how you're going to look on your wedding day. I make some weird faces when I'm emotional. I wanted to look pretty but that went out the window when I heard the music

while walking down. It was a violin cover of James Arthur, Falling Like The Stars. Article continues below "It's one of my favourite songs, I've always thought about it when

I'm in love. When I was waiting around the corner I had already started tearing up and when the music started I thought 'Oh God, can I keep it in.' I thought, I wish I had

just let myself cry, wish I had let it all out. But I was worried about my makeup. "You spend a fortune having your makeup done and you get worried I don't want to ruin my makeup.

I would have preferred to deal with that than look like that the entire time. My biggest worry was about how I looked, that's why I was so anxious leading up to it, thinking, 'am I

going to like my hair, am I going to like my makeup?' "I told myself not to cry which made it look like I was holding in a sneeze. They were horrendous, I didn't think

they'd look that bad. It happened so fast and everything was so full of emotion, so when I saw the photos I thought 'Oh God, what did everyone else see me look like.' "I

thought I would just look like I was crying a little bit but not like that. I was a bit gutted thinking I can't use any of these, I'm too embarrassed about my face, I wasn't

going to post them or have them printed. I don't really cry over sad things, I cry more over happy things. Like when you're watching a film and there's a happy ending. During

our own vows, I couldn't hold it in then, but it was a peaceful cry." The master's student said she cried multiple times after that and that it was a very emotional day.

Leyonie is now warning future brides to let themselves cry freely instead of holding in their tears. Leyonie said: "I cried on and off the whole day really, in the evening, during the

speeches, it was very emotional. I'd say, don't try to stop yourself from being emotional. If you feel like crying, let yourself cry. "There are some photos where I am crying

and I quite like those because I look normal. Don't try to stop yourself because you will have weird faces like mine. "It was the best day of my life. I would have preferred to

look nicer walking down the aisle, but I have lots of other beautiful pictures. I wish I could go back and change it a little bit just to take it in a bit more." Leyonie shared her

experience online, with commenters sympathising and relating to the bride's experience. One commenter said: "Yep, I held in ugly cries all the way down the aisle too, those photos

man. Your photos are beautiful though, you look absolutely stunning!" Article continues below Another said: "Oh I cried, I ugly cried." A third said: "Thanks for the tip.

I can honestly see me blubbering walking down the aisle. You look beautiful by the way."