Wedding Essentials: Common Wedding Dilemmas and How to Avoid Them

Wedding Dilemma: Wedding Pro No Show
The last thing you’ll want to do on the day of your wedding is track down a missing wedding cake or put out an APB for your florist. Days before your wedding, be sure to give your wedding pros the correct names and addresses of your venues to deliver the goods. Be sure to submit accurate contact information for the vendors to your wedding planner or day-of coordinator, and your wedding coordinators should also have a document with cell phone numbers and ETAs of your wedding professionals to communicate as necessary.

Wedding Dilemma: Temperature Tantrums
Even though the day is all about you, your guest’s comfort level shouldn’t been neglected. When meeting with the manager of your wedding reception venue, discuss climate control measures for your ceremony and reception. Have your planner or a point person know where the thermostats are in case someone needs to adjust the temp in the room. If your wedding venue is outdoors, be prepared to reserve outdoor heat lamps for cooler weather or fans for warmer temps.

Wedding Dilemma: Hairdo Horrors
It’s never a good idea to experiment with a new hairdo or cut right before your wedding. Schedule a trial run with your stylist a month prior to the wedding date to stagger cut and color services. Also, take a camera and any wedding hair accessories with you to the trial appointments to keep record of the looks you’re considering, and to get the best idea of the look that will be recreated on the day of.

Wedding Dilemma: Missing Rings
One of the worst things to realize when you’re at the altar is that your wedding rings have gone missing. Before the ceremony, grooms, be sure to hand over your bands to a reliable wedding party or family member. Traditionally it is the best man’s responsibility to care for the wedding rings, so make sure he keeps the rings in a safe space up until the time to say “I Do.”

Wedding Dilemma: Faulty Fittings
Always schedule wedding dress fittings in an appropriate time frame. The first fitting usually takes place six weeks before the wedding day, with subsequent fittings closer to the wedding date as needed. Remember to bring in accessories such as shoes and foundation/ undergarments to get an accurate fit. Your final fitting should take place a couple weeks before the wedding, and should include pressing/steaming any wrinkles and a discussion on dress care tips should you (God forbid) accidentally spill something on the gown.

Wedding Dilemma: Tumbling Wedding Cake
While your cake designer or baker might charge an additional fee to deliver your wedding cake, it’s totally worth it. Transporting a multi-tiered wedding cake might not be something you want to leave up to your groom or your mom, so just pay the extra fee to have it delivered by the pros. And while you’re at it, it might be a good idea to place someone in charge of keeping the cake safe before cutting time, away from the dance floor and any entry ways to the reception area.

Wedding Dilemma: Not Hiring a Planner or Day-of Coordinator
It’s always amazing to hear when a bride plans every aspect of her wedding on her own (not for the faint of heart), but there are some things she should leave to the pros. Wedding coordinators are a lifesaver for overwhelmed brides and can help tackle and take care of everything from contract negotiations to helping the MOB find her dress. And if you don’t happen to need a planner for every detail, a day-of coordinator can be used as a point person to touch base with pros and the wedding party, and to ensure that wedding events stay on schedule.