diff --git a/backend/internal/database/database.go b/backend/internal/database/database.go
index 3c6c66e..e2e30a9 100755
--- a/backend/internal/database/database.go
+++ b/backend/internal/database/database.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 
 	_ "github.com/lib/pq"
 )
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ func InitDB() {
 		log.Fatalf("Error connecting to database: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	log.Println("Successfully connected to the database")
+	log.Println("✅ Successfully connected to the database")
 }
 
 func RunMigrations() {
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ func RunMigrations() {
 		// Try fallback to relative path if running from cmd/api
 		files, err = os.ReadDir("../../migrations")
 		if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("Warning: Could not list migrations directory: %v", err)
+			log.Printf("⚠️  Warning: Could not list migrations directory: %v", err)
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -74,26 +75,28 @@ func RunMigrations() {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		log.Printf("Running migration: %s", file.Name())
+		log.Printf("📦 Running migration: %s", file.Name())
 		content, err := os.ReadFile("migrations/" + file.Name())
 		if err != nil {
 			// Try fallback
 			content, err = os.ReadFile("../../migrations/" + file.Name())
 			if err != nil {
-				log.Fatalf("Error reading migration file %s: %v", file.Name(), err)
+				log.Fatalf("❌ Error reading migration file %s: %v", file.Name(), err)
 			}
 		}
 
 		_, err = DB.Exec(string(content))
 		if err != nil {
-			// Log warning but don't crash on "already exists" errors if possible,
-			// but pure SQL Exec might fail hard.
-			// Given the SQL files use IF NOT EXISTS, we should be fine.
-			// If one fails, it might be syntax.
-			log.Printf("Error running migration %s: %v", file.Name(), err)
-			// Continue or Fail? User wants robustness. Let's Warn and continue for now to avoid single failure blocking all
+			errStr := err.Error()
+			// Check if it's an "already exists" error - these are safe to skip
+			if strings.Contains(errStr, "already exists") {
+				log.Printf("⏭️  Migration %s skipped (already applied)", file.Name())
+			} else {
+				// Real error - log it
+				log.Printf("❌ Error running migration %s: %v", file.Name(), err)
+			}
 		} else {
-			log.Printf("Migration %s executed successfully", file.Name())
+			log.Printf("✅ Migration %s executed successfully", file.Name())
 		}
 	}
 	log.Println("All migrations processed")