You’ve bought your dress and booked your venue and even thought about ever last detail of your wedding day to make sure it turns out to be as perfect as you imagined. In this blog post, I want to talk about things that could happen and how to rise above the common wedding day disasters.
When shopping for your venue, try to find a location that has everything you need in one place to avoid having to move from location to location. Try to make sure that they have a getting ready room, ceremony location and reception all at one place with great lighting and views. If you moved from location to location, important items can get misplaced or you could run into traffic so it’s best to find your one stop shop! Of course you may have a limo or a driver to take you to these places so you won’t miss anything but one thing that always gets missed is having parking for your photographer if there is more than one location. This might not be a big deal but when we are trying to park as well as get to very important memories that could be an issue. One time it took me 45 minutes just to find a parking place for the reception and they didn’t wait for me to start so I missed the beginning just because I had no place to park. So sad, just make sure to think ahead.
Take a moment to stand exactly where you would stand for your ceremony, at the exact time of day that you would stand there to make sure that spot is perfect. This is so important because lighting can change as the hours move throughout the day. A bride that I worked with faced this problem, and they discovered that the light of the sun shot through beams nearby and the sun spots landed right on the bride and groom’s faces. It’s always best to do a trial run through!
Make the best of your day! Things happen and everything is not always going to be exactly according to your plan and that is why it’s best to have a backup plan! For example, if your wedding is in the winter months plan for it to possibly rain and plan for a venue to have an overhang or covering. Bring some cute umbrellas for you and your wedding party. We can get some fun photos in the rain. If your wedding location gets burns down just days before your wedding (this has happened to one of my couples), you can take photos at another location for great photos and then book another venue even if it is farther away that you may like. Your wedding planner can assist you with this as well. The below bride is a great example of making a disaster become a miracle! Her venue burned down during the Napa fires this past year just days before her wedding. She was debating on if she should cancel her wedding but she knew that whether she cancels the day or not that she will be marrying the man of her dreams she has been waiting for. She quickly found a location that could accommodate her guests and we took photos at another beautiful location. She had absolutely the best day ever and I don’t think I have ever seen anyone happier than her.
If something happens to any of your details make the best of it! It is not the end of the world to replace it with something else. For example the bride’s cake was supposed to have flowers but the florist forgot to bring them. So the wedding coordinator at the venue picked beautiful flowers on site and added it to the cake and you would have never known! Below is the example of the cake, doesn’t it look great! (Amazing Wedding Planner in the photo below: SmittenKiss LLC)
If the dress rips, (like it did for one of my brides 10 minutes before the ceremony!), keep in mind who would be the best person to have on hand just in case you need a quick stitching party! Thankfully this bride had a friend that was a seamstress and I had a sowing kit. And if the dress gets dirty before the wedding, don’t stress because no one will even notice…plus you won’t see it in the photos. Bring a Clorox pen to be prepared! Seriously don’t stress, you will look great!
Forgot the rings? Borrow your friends and give it back to them after the wedding; No one will ever know. If you drop the ring during the ceremony, the bride should not bend over to pick it up, I repeat brides do not pick up the ring. Let your groom or one of the groomsmen pick it up. This is a big way you could rip your dress (if the material is too tight) also you could bump heads with the groom, (I’ve seen this happen).
If a close family member, like your grandparents get sick and can’t attend the wedding, have someone Face-time them during the ceremony so that they can celebrate the moment. They will have photos to view later but it’s a special moment that nobody will want to miss, and with technology they don’t have to! One of my brides went live on Facebook because her family in the Philippines wasn’t able to make it. They cried and laughed just like everyone else in the crowd.
I would suggest making an emergency kit that has everything that you might need. Such as deodorant, shout, Advil, shout, bobby pens, bandaids, pads, clear nail polish, sowing kit, tissue, scissors, mints/scope, wet ones, hair spray, safety pin, lent roller, shoe protectors (when walking in grass, most likely you will), etc… A good place to get most of these items is the Pinch Minimergency Kit. It doesn’t have all of these items but it does have a good amount of them.
And lastly, wedding insurance! Tamara Jones of Tamara J Events, who is a wedding planner and dear friend of mine, gave me this great idea after she experienced a few weddings that needed to be moved or cancelled. She recalls moments when things did not work out for her bride and groom due to weather and other unprepared situations, and the wedding insurance was a lifesaver!
All of these things I have been eye witnesses of. Now I don’t want you to be stressed or worried about it, just be prepared for anything to happen.
