Potential Wedding Day Problems And How To Fix Them
No matter how perfectly you plan everything, even if you plan your wedding day down to every last minute, it is unfortunately quite likely that something won’t go to plan. From small hiccups to outright disasters, here are some of the potential issues you could encounter on your wedding day, and how to solve them. I have created a ‘worst-case scenario’ timeline, starting from first thing in the morning, to last thing at night, but please don’t let this list scare you. Like I said, this is all worst-case scenario, so don’t panic, just prepare yourself just in case! So let’s jump into it.
First of all on our wedding timeline, you wake up in the morning to find…
You’ve Had A Breakout On Your Face!
First of all, don’t have any facial treatments immediately before your big day. Facials can cause breakouts on your skin or you may even have a nasty reaction to some of the products used. If you really want to treat your skin before the big day, use products that you are familiar with and that you have used before. Sometimes breakouts and blotchy skin can be unpredictable and unavoidable though, but it’s nothing to panic about. Your makeup artist will be well prepared to deal with any breakouts and it will all be soon forgotten about. If you are doing your own makeup, make sure you pack some trusty concealer just in case.
The same goes for other skin products like fake tan. It’s just not worth the risk doing this on your wedding day.
Top photographer tip! If your dress is strapless, don’t wear a bra the morning of your wedding, as the indents your straps make on your shoulders could show up in the photographs! Also, the majority of photographers won’t take any photos of your makeup being put on until it’s nearly ready so no need to panic about any breakouts being captured on camera pre-makeup!
Next, you look outside to realize…
It’s Raining Cats And Dogs!
Unfortunately no one can perfectly predict the weather (even Karen from Mean Girls!) so you should always have a bad weather plan in place. Most venues will already have this in place, but if you are hosting your wedding in a venue that has little to no indoor space, you really need to have some sort of contingency plan. Even if your plan simply involves emergency umbrellas or the hire of a gazebo or marquee, make sure you have something in place, and a member of the bridal party nominated to deal with it should it be needed. If you really are stuck though, don’t panic and embrace the elements, after all, isn’t rain on your wedding day a good omen?
Top photographer tip! If you don’t mind getting a little wet, go all out and ask your photographer if they could take some atmospheric rainy shots of you and your partner. Most professional photographers should have an external flash in their kit, and you can create some pretty epic shots of the two of you dancing in the rain with the flash lighting up the water droplets around you!
Then your phone starts ringing and you find out…
A Vendor Has Cancelled Last Minute!
Every bride and groom dreads this phone call and hopefully it won’t happen. It is recommended that you hire a wedding professional wherever possible (instead of family or friends), and try to make sure you have contracts set up with them all to prevent any last minute cancellations. Also enquire with all your vendors what their back up plan is should an emergency occur. If they don’t have a back up plan for any reason, you can make one yourself to keep your mind at ease.
Should a vendor let you down at the last minute though there is usually always something you can do. Do you have a family member or friend that can help out in the vendor’s place? If not, call on your other vendors. Chances are someone will have a contact that can help out last minute. Wedding vendors work together all the time and make a lot of contacts in the industry, so it is very likely that someone will know who can help.
Top photographer tip! Photographers stay with you throughout the whole day, so we end up meeting nearly every single vendor at each wedding, as a result we make a lot of local contacts so if you are stuck you can always check with your photographer to see if they know anyone that can help!
Now that’s all figured out, you start to get ready, but oh no!
You’ve Damaged Or Stained Your Dress!
You should aim to have your dress on at least an hour before your ceremony, but not too early. Putting it on too soon leaves you open to more potential accidents, but leaving it too late means you will have limited time to make any fixes should an issue occur. Always pack a sewing kit just in case. If you don’t have one and are in need, check with your venue or one of your vendors. Someone somewhere should be able to assist you. Alongside your sewing kit, it is also advised you carry some safety pins and tape too.
Whomever you bought your dress from, ask them when you pick it up what they would advise should you stain it. Different materials clean in differing ways, so they may be able to advise a certain product to help with any accidents should they occur. When a stain occurs, don’t rub it in in a panic, firstly you should lightly dab at it with a cloth first to get the excess off. If you need to apply any cleaning product, test it on a bit of the dress that isn’t visible first before applying to the effected area.
Top photographer tip! I often keep a few handy tools in my camera bag in case of any unprecedented issues occurring. You won’t believe how often scissors and tape come in handy. I also keep general things like wipes, tweezers and I have my own first aid kit and sewing kit in the car with me, so if any of my brides are in need I can be confident I can help. Check with your photographer to see if they do the same! (If nothing can be done though, we can always edit out any stains when we edit your photos, so no need to panic!)
Phew that’s all fixed, but now you realize…
Those Aren’t The Flowers You Ordered!
First of all, you should make sure that you are very specific and give your vendors lots of details so you can be sure you are both on the same wavelength. This is an absolute must if you have a very unique or particular idea on how you want your wedding to look. For example, if you absolutely must have David Austin roses as a part of your bouquet, make sure your florist knows it! If you have a specific vision, but are unsure of the names of various flowers, use a Pinterest board to help. You can show this to your florist ahead of time and give them a great visual aid when they are putting your creations together.
If the day comes though and the flowers aren’t what you envisioned, depending on your venue, you could create your own bouquet from flowers they have growing there (make sure to obtain permission to do this though of course!). Or if there’s enough time, you could entrust one of your bridal party to go and seek out some alternative blooms. Regardless, it’s important to remember that flowers aren’t everything. When you look back at your photos in years to come you’ll be remembering what a wonderful day it was and how happy you were to be married. You certainly won’t be thinking ‘yes it was a wonderful day, but I wish those had been roses and not peonies’! So come what may, try to relax and remember that the most important part of the day is the fact you are getting married!
Top photographer tip! If you love the flowers but they aren’t the colour you envisioned, it may be possible to do some subtle Photoshopping when your photos are edited, so you can always enquire as to whether your photographer is willing to do this, though it may incur an extra charge if this will create a lot of work in post-production.
You’re feeling a bit calmer now, but then you look at your watch…
You’re Running Late!
No amount of planning ahead can prevent you from potentially running late. It could be simply due to the fact that you are having such a good time that you didn’t realize it was already 1pm! Or it could be down to a vendor running late, or there being an issue with your transportation. When it comes to vendors, always try to have a contingency plan. For example, should there be an issue with your transportation make sure you have agreed in advance for one of your bridal party to drive you instead. When booking in your morning vendors, such as makeup and hair artists, make sure you allow plenty of time and if in doubt, ask them to arrive 30 minutes earlier to set your mind at ease. I personally always plan to get to weddings an hour before the agreed upon time, just in case I encounter any issues in the morning with traffic etc. I would much rather be an hour early than 5 minutes late! If people are running late through no fault of their own, remember to be kind, no matter how stressed you may be. Getting angry will inevitably put you in a bad mood which is less than ideal on your wedding day, so just take a deep breath, relax, and continue on with your day.
Top photographer tip! We usually travel ahead of the bridal party so we can capture your arrival. If you are running late, your photographer can let the guests know when they arrive. Also if you are running very behind, see if your photographer can change the time of the formal family photos and do them a little later instead. Swapping around your timeline of the day slightly could help if certain vendors have limited time restrictions.
Congratulations, you’re married! But now you see…
A Family Drama Starts To Unfold!
This is nothing to be embarrassed about; after all, pretty much every family has some sort of drama going on! If there is anything that you think could potentially disrupt proceedings on the day though, make sure you make your wedding coordinator (if you have one) aware of it. That way they can be prepared and be on the look out to diffuse any potential situations arising. Also sit down with any family members who you think may be at risk of ‘making a scene’ before the big day and politely ask if there’s any problems that they may be expecting to encounter. This way you can try to solve the issue before it happens. Also go through any seating plans with close family beforehand too, so there are no unhappy surprises on the day. Remember though, you’re not the designated ‘clean up squad’. This is your day and you need to remind people of that. Just kindly ask that everyone put his or her personal issues aside out of respect for your wedding day. If anyone does end up making a scene though, don’t get involved! Your bridal party should be straight to your side to help!
Top photographer tip! Do make your photographer aware of any potential situations as well. For example, if you have a family member who is notorious for bringing a different plus one to every family event, let the photographer know so we can make sure we take a family photo with and without the plus one in it, that way you aren’t looking back at your lovely photos and wondering who that person in the middle is!
You head to your drinks reception, and as the drinks continue to pour…
You Have Some Drunken, Unruly Guests!
There’s always someone at every wedding that goes a little bit too crazy with the booze! It’s pretty much unavoidable unfortunately, but whilst most people are what I would label ‘happy drunk’ you always run the risk of ending up with a ‘disruptive drunk’. So if a family member or friend is starting to cause a bit of a scene due to intoxication, discreetly ask the bar staff to cut them off or serve them something non-alcoholic instead. If things get really bad it might be time to talk to the venue staff to see if anyone can intervene and potentially remove said person from the venue, though luckily this will be a very rare occurrence! Whatever happens though, try not to get too hung up on it; you will most likely look back and laugh about it in the future!
Top photographer tip! Whilst it’s usually obvious who is drunker than the rest, do let us know if there is anyone who is at a particular risk of this. That way we can make sure we don’t snap too many photos of them that you may later cringe at!
Hopefully these tips have been helpful for you, make sure to keep up to date with my bi-weekly blog posts to help you along your wedding planning journey. Happy Planning!
All images in this post are copyright (c) of Aby-Joanne Photography.
