It's fair to say that no matter how much planning you do something can and will go wrong on your wedding day. I know this thought may fill you with dread, it certainly did me, but on the actual day you will not care because you are now happily married (unless you catch the groom snogging the bridesmaid, now that wouldn't be funny).
I thought today I would discuss some of the common problems you may encounter and maybe prevent or have some sort of contingency plan.
Firstly, on your wedding day neither you (the Bride) or your husband should be organising anything. This is your day so please sit back and enjoy and designate somebody else to be the point of contact for the venue staff to speak to. I enrolled my father for these duties and made sure the Manager at our venue knew to speak to him if he had any queries throughout the day. Oh and for heavens sake, do not wear a watch and definitely do not have your phone with you. Your best man and Dad can have their phones for point of contact, that's it. You give all wedding suppliers their phone numbers on the day and they have to deal with any problems or queries which may arise.
Rain
Unfortunately getting married in this country you cannot guarantee the weather no matter which month you get married in. On my wedding day it rained once for 10 minutes which was when I left the house to travel to the church. My husband-to-be had surprised me with a white umbrella which he had had decorated with our wedding monogram and it made for some fabulous photos. Do not be upset if it does rain on your wedding day, brides with an umbrella look ace and if she is wearing a pair of wellies too, then all the better!Bridesmaids
There is bound to be one of your bridesmaids on the day who forgets the day is actually about you and tending to your needs (you'd think they get the hint with the word 'maid' being in their title) at least until after the wedding ceremony. Regrettably they will be more bothered with how they are looking than if your veil has fell out or you need a tissue. Don't worry, as long as you have more than one bridesmaid you have more chance of assistance on the day which brings me to one of their duties - toilet.Toilet visits
Yep, embarrassing as this may be to discuss, you are going to need the toilet at various times throughout your wedding day. Now, if like me you wear a dress which has to be taken off every time you need the loo then you need to have a team of ladies for this. One to help you in and out of the dress and one to keep an eye out for anyone coming into the room whilst you take a pee wearing only your undies. I employed my Mum and head bridesmaid Jacqui who were there every time I needed to relieve my bladder. After 2 or 3 trips they became very quick at looping every button on the back of my dress. Oh and the reason why my dress had to be removed is because it was a fishtail and very fitted and I couldn't pull it up high enough to be able to get on the loo. Dignity went out of the window!Period
I know this isn't a nice thing to discuss, but it happens and what are you going to do if it coincides with your wedding day? Me being me, (ridiculous over -the-top wedding planner who thinks of everything) I downloaded the Period Tracker app onto my phone and kept record of my monthly dates a year before our wedding day. This application also predicted the dates for each month from the information I entered. And you guessed it…..my period was due on my wedding day. Two months before our wedding I visited my GP who prescribed me the medication to delay my period so I had a trouble-free day. Sorted.Makeup to hand
Girls you will need to be touching up your makeup throughout the day because you are going to be photographed continuously. I bought myself a hot pink satin clutch which I used to keep my makeup in and kept it nearby so I could frequently slap some lippy on as and when required.Taking ill
You cannot prevent anyone becoming ill and it is a real pain in the ass if it happens to be one of the bridal party. The day before my wedding day my father was struck with the flu and was very poorly. He never let me down though. He walked me up the aisle proud as punch and grinned from ear to ear all day. But there was one thing he couldn't do - the speech. He had almost lost his voice and was coughing and spluttering all over the place. I was not at all upset about this and my son Charlie who was 10 years of age bravely stood up and spoke for him instead. Now, when a 10 year old boy stands in front of a packed wedding breakfast there is not a dry eye in the house. Nobody cried because Charlie delivered a very emotional speech, no, quite the opposite. My son was hilarious and delivered a heartfelt yet comical speech about how his Grandad had got a big cock and was unable to talk. Yes, my son said cough but everyone thought it sounded like he said cock. Dirty minds.Eyedrops
I cannot recommend these enough and they might not be something you have considered but believe me you are gonna need them! It's very doubtful you will get a decent night's sleep before your wedding so how on earth are you going to look fresh as a daisy?Firstly, get some cold teaspoons and hold them on your eyes for depuffing and then use your brightening eyedrops which you can buy from any high street chemist to rid your eyes of any redness. Sorted!
No Shows
Apparently you are meant to allow for 5% of your guests not showing up on your wedding day, whether this be through illness or what ever reason. Sadly there could be two empty spaces at one of your tables during the wedding breakfast which is a right bitch when you have paid for these two meals and drinks. So what can you do?I was quick thinking and told the venue instead of providing the photographers with a bar meal that they can have these meals instead. There was no way I going to let them go to waste! The photographers were very pleased to enjoy a fancy meal and dessert whilst they sat elsewhere and the guests who were sat at the table where there were two empty spaces got to enjoy a few more glasses of wine.
Cards and gifts
There are going to be lots and lots of cards and you have probably got a wedding postbox for all your guests to place them. Now if like me, your wedding cards are very likely going to contain some gifts of money you cannot leave these just lay about unattended. My father was on the job and he emptied the postbox throughout the day and evening and took them to his hotel room to keep them safe.No one dancing
I think we have all attended a wedding where a DJ is pumping out the tunes but the dance floor is empty. This was one of my biggest fears so we chose to have a band which I knew would guarantee a packed dance floor all evening. Which it did.But if your budget doesn't stretch to having a band then this is when your bridesmaids and groomsmen have to do a little bit of work. They should be the ones boogying away on the dance floor after your first dance. The only reason why a dance floor is ever empty is because people are too frightened to be the first ones to get up there so they wait for somebody else to do it. As long as your bridal party get up and start the dancing off then it should stay a busy dance floor all evening.
These are only some of the difficulties which you may encounter and can overcome, but if anything else does go wrong then please just laugh about it! It's not the end of the world and it will certainly make the day more memorable. Honestly, when the vicar's mobile phone rang during our wedding ceremony everyone laughed and it made it more of a momentous occasion.
Teresa x
