10 Ways To Avoid Wedding Day Mishaps

Your wedding day will be one of the most important events of your lifetime. Naturally, you want it to go perfectly!

Taking a proactive approach to wedding planning can help you avoid extremely stressful situations. While every wedding is unique, the most common wedding day disasters are applicable to most ceremonies. Luckily, many of these mishaps can be avoided with a little preparation and planning.

Below are 10 ways to avoid wedding day disasters

1. Have A Backup Plan For Inclement Weather

Outdoor weddings can be beautiful, but there’s always the risk of bad weather disrupting the ceremony. One common solution is to put up a large tented covering, or have one on hand just in case.

You could also have large golf umbrellas on hand for guests in rainy weather or, if you know a cold front is coming, buy some heavy fleece blankets to pass out to guests. Ask your venue if they have a backup generator on site. If a storm knocks the power out, there should be a plan in place to restore it immediately.

Even indoor weddings can be affected by bad weather if parking isn’t located near the venue’s entrance. Have several large umbrellas on hand and task two people in the wedding party with possible valet duties.

2. Select Reliable Vendors

Ask friends and family for vendor recommendations rather than blindly seeking out unknown companies on your own. Whenever you can’t get a recommendation for a needed vendor, research each company you are considering carefully before making a final decision.

Look over their website and get a solid idea of what the company provides. Check their social media pages and search online for customer reviews, as well.

3. Ask Vendors To Show Up 45 Minutes Before You Actually Need Them

If a vendor arrives late, it could throw off your entire wedding schedule, especially when it comes to crucial entities like the officiant, the caterer or the DJ/musicians.

Figure out when vendors need to begin setting up and then ask them to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before that time. That will allow plenty of time for set up and give you a small cushion of time to deal with any last minute issues. Make sure the DJ or live band tests the sound system before the reception begins.

4. Make Sure You Don’t Run Out Of Food

Speak with your caterer to prepare for the amount of food needed for the reception. The most important information to relay to your cater is the number of guests you’re expecting and the length of the event.

The number and size of food item selections also factors in. When making a final decision, always round up to avoid the embarrassing situation of running out of food.

5. Try On Your Wedding Attire Two Weeks Before The Ceremony

If you’ve been planning your wedding for months, chances are all of the attire bridal gown, tuxes, wedding party attire was chosen well in advance.

A few months ago, those garments may have fit everyone perfectly. However, everyone should try on their wedding attire a couple of weeks before the ceremony takes place to confirm a good fit. This will allow for any last-minute tailoring to take place, if necessary.

6. Create An Emergency Kit

Bring emergency items like a mini-sewing kit, double-sided tape and safety pins with you to prevent wardrobe mishaps. Some other essential items to consider including in your kit are tweezers, breath mints, aspirin, stain remover, dental floss, hair spray and band-aids.

7. Practice Your Vows Ahead Of Time

Whether you’re writing your own vows or going with something more traditional, practicing ahead of time will help you feel more confident. Write out your vows and practice them out loud many times. If it helps, practice in front of a mirror. You could also use a voice recording app on your phone to record yourself, play it back, and tweak your delivery to perfection.

Don’t wait until the last minute to write your own vows! Plan them out well ahead of time so that you have plenty of time to practice them.

Consider providing a copy of your vows to the officiant. If you find yourself too emotional to speak or your mind goes blank, the officiant can quietly prompt you.

8. Start As Early As Possible

Even if you’re planning a long engagement, the sooner you start planning the wedding, the less stressful the process will be. Immediately after the engagement you should set an approximate budget and estimate the number of guests you plan to invite.

These items are crucial when it comes to booking a venue, which is the first major wedding decision that needs to be made, and one of the most costly.

9. Choose A Venue 12 To 14 months Out

Finding the perfect venue takes time and research. When you finally do find the venue you want, it could be booked as far as a year in advance. Before you set the date for your wedding, find the venue of your dreams. Once you’ve nailed down the venue and booked it, you then have a time frame to work within for the rest of the planning.

10. Make A Budget And Stick To It

Get a clear idea of how much money you have to work with. Create a list of expenses and set to work getting price quotes and researching your options. You may want to consider opening up a bank account where wedding monies can be deposited. This will help you keep track of how much you’re spending more easily.

Credit: WikiHow