Weddings are fun, beautiful, memorable…and stressful. You are juggling coming up with the seating chart, picking out the perfect dress, deciding on invitations, let alone selecting a wedding venue.
What many may not know is that the planning doesn’t stop there. Let’s face it, as much as you plan, chances are, something will come up come your big day. Which is why it is necessary to have a wedding planner by your side—they’ve been through the ringer before and know a thing or two on common wedding problems that are bound to come up.
That being said, learn what 8 of these are, and how your wedding planner can help you conquer them.
1. Rain on Your Wedding Day
You’ve checked the wedding forecast daily. While it says blue skies with a small chance of rain, be prepared for that slight drizzle—or even the possibility of a downpour. Of course, this problem depends on where the wedding is located, the season, and if you want the venue outdoors or indoors.
If it is looking like a fifty-fifty chance of rain, you could use this as an opportunity to thank guests for coming. Decorate themed wedding umbrellas for your guests so that they can comfortably sit without getting wet.
Or your wedding planner could book a Plan B indoors wedding venue. That way, should the clear skies turn grey, you and your wedding party can always celebrate the milestone indoors.
Also, your wedding planner has dealt with rainy weddings. He or she understands the stress you are under, and can offer a shoulder for tears. Still, don’t let a little rain ruin your big day. Feel disappointed about the rain, and then embrace it. Life is full of inconsistencies. Once you go with it, you can refocus on the purpose of your wedding day: to celebrate the love you and your significant other share for one another.
2. Your Maid of Honor is Sick
Your maid of honor has been with you through thick and thin. She has helped you pick out your wedding dress, cheered you up when planning became stressful, and put on a killer bachelorette party.
Unfortunately, come time for the big day, and you receive a text relaying the news: She’s sick. What about the speech? What about the wedding pictures? What about celebrating this day with her?
No matter what, know that your maid of honor still wants you to enjoy your celebration. Tell your wedding planner the news. Worst case, he or she can skype or FaceTime your maid of honor so she can still be there for you on your big day.
Also, if she is too sick to give the speech via Skype or FaceTime, have another family member step up. Or, have your maid of honor have someone else read her speech.
3. Saw Your Significant Other on Your Big Day
According to tradition, it’s bad luck for you and your soon-to-be spouse to see each other on your big day. However, for whatever reason, you two run into one another. You both are dressed for the big wedding day—oops.
Know that your wedding day isn’t ruined. In fact, the reason this tradition exists dates back to times when weddings were rearranged. Soon-to-be spouses weren’t to see one another until married so that they wouldn’t change their minds.
Hopefully, you’ve seen one another and have already made your decision. Seeing one another on your wedding day doesn’t make your love less real. If anything, it highlights the fact that some things happen, and it’s how you and your significant other roll with them that counts. If you do feel uneasy about this, your wedding planner can help provide some perspective.
4. The Photographer is Late
It’s the big day. Guests have already arrived. You and your significant other are dressed up and ready to go. Everything is in order…except for the photographer. You can’t start the ceremony…can you?
It’s now pushing a half-hour. You rented out the wedding venue and can’t afford to wait any longer. What do you do?
Let your wedding planner handle it. Why not DIY your wedding? Take one of your phones and pass it around so that guests can take selfies with it. Also, ask guests to take pictures (without the flash or camera sound) of the ceremony and send them to you.
Doing one or both of these things can make up for the lost time. And, when the photographer comes, you can always switch over to traditional pictures. For a Plan B, you can even place several disposable cameras on each table, asking guests to take pictures with them and then leave them there so you and your significant other can view the beautiful memories.
5. Planning Before You Budget
You want a large, gorgeous wedding venue. Your significant other wants the guest count to be in the hundreds. And, of course, you are only getting the best of the best when it comes to catering, photography, flowers, music, you name it.
You are arranging all of the vendors. You have created a seating chart. You sent out the invitations…except, after calculating all of the expenses, you realize you don’t have the available funds to pay for all of this.
This leaves you with a few options. Use credit and pay it off eventually. Go over the wedding plans, and see where you can cut. Or, ask friends and family for some extra financial help. Still, why be put in that position, to begin with?
Talk with your wedding planner about your budget. Knowing a number of vendors, he or she can help you create a personalized (and affordable) wedding. The last thing you want is to hold off on the honeymoon for several months, if not years because of going over budget.
6. You Don’t Take Comfort into Consideration
You buy the wedding gown, heels… only to realize that after a couple of minutes, you are focusing on your itchy sleeves and train, and not on the big day. What do you do?
Remember, when you buy a wedding gown, you need to remember you are going to be in it for a couple hours, if not most of the day. You want to focus on the celebration and not on your aching feet.
That said, factor in not only style but comfort. Trust us, it’s worth it. Being around in the industry for a while, your wedding planner has several wedding gown contacts he or she can hook you up with. Take him or her up on it, and don’t be afraid to spend several weeks choosing the right dress for you.
7. It Is All About the Logistics
You realize that the beautiful restaurant for your wedding reception is 2 hours away from your wedding venue. Unfortunately, guests could get worn out from this drive, not to mention, you risk several running late due to logistics. What can you do?
Remember logistics when you are booking a restaurant and the wedding venue. Aim for the wedding reception being at most an hour away from the wedding venue. Discuss with your wedding planner several venue options that are close to one another. At the end of the day, you want to remember your wonder day, not the long drive from Point A to Point B.
8. What About the Honeymoon?
Usually, when we think of weddings, we think just that: the wedding. But what about the honeymoon? Don’t leave it up to chance who’s going to drive you to the airport or how you are going to get back home once you come back.
You need to plan not just the wedding but your honeymoon, starting with how you are going to get to your honeymoon destination from your wedding.
Discuss these logistical situations with your wedding planner. Being an industry leader, he or she will have some ideas up their sleeve.
Final Thoughts
Your wedding may not go perfectly planned, but that’s what makes a wedding a wedding: a reflection on life’s ups and downs, and the reality that despite those, you have the person you love riding them right next to you.
Still, to make sure those wedding bumps are smaller and don’t deter from your big day, consider hiring a wedding planner.
Summary
- Have a Plan B to your Plan A to stave off the rainy wedding day
- Use FaceTime or Skype if your maid of honor is sick
- Even though you saw your significant other on your big day does not mean your marriage is destined to be bad luck; if anything, it shows the small blips life throws at you
- Use disposable cameras or phones as a backup if your photographer is running late
- Always create a budget before you plan so you aren’t in over your head
- When buying a dress and shoes, go for style…and comfort
- Remember the drive between the wedding venue and wedding reception
- Plan for the honeymoon too!
For more information, contact us!
