SECTION I: Introduction
Your wedding day is meant to be one of the biggest events of your entire life, and one you’ve probably been dreaming about since you were little. You plan and plan for months for just this one day, but do you plan for all those little things that could go wrong? A wedding has a lot of moving parts, and often, just one tiny glitch has the potential of derailing the whole day for you. If you’re not planning on how to prevent these glitches from taking over and ruining your big event, you’re setting yourself up for a pretty big downfall. Let’s go over a typical wedding day to see all the things that could go wrong, and then help determine the best ways to combat these wedding day disasters in advance, such as having emergency kits on hand and investing in customized wedding insurance through our agency.
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Chapter 1: The Perfect Wedding Day
The perfect wedding day begins with you waking up, getting ready, posing for amazing pictures, going through a hauntingly beautiful ceremony, and celebrating the night away with family and friends before hitting the trail for your well-deserved honeymoon. Everyone shows up on time and ready to do their assigned part of your wedding. The weather is picture perfect, and there’s hardly a cloud in the sky. The clouds that are dotting the skyline look like a decorator placed them delicately to accent the blazingly beautiful blue of the sky. There’s not a dry eye in the house as your ceremony goes off without a hitch. I mean, there’s the cute antics of the flower girl and ring bearer, but they just add the perfect touch of adorable to the event rather than retract from it. The celebration at the reception afterwards is a huge amount of fun. The food is great, no one is drinking too much, and both families are blending together nicely. This is your dream day, and everything works out as exactly as it’s been planned over the past weeks, months, and even years. The problem is that often, that’s not the case. As with anything in life, there’s bound to be something that will go wrong.
SECTION II: Waking Up
You wake up on your wedding day expecting blue skies and beautiful sunshine cascading down, but instead, it’s cloudy, windy, and raining. Your wedding is going to be completely ruined. All the beautiful pictures you planned for in an outdoor setting won’t be taken. If you do try to go outdoors, the wind will be damaging to your bridal party with their dresses and hair designs being disturbed, and the potential for their makeup to be ruined along with their clothing getting wet. You certainly didn’t plan on the bride and groom looking like drowned rats when you picked out the perfect gown and tuxedo for the event.
Plus, the wedding pictures that you dreamed of are going to be all washed out, and even the best wedding photographer is going to have a hard time getting gorgeous outdoor pictures on such a horrible day. Don’t even get started on how much panic you’re feeling when you realize that your outdoor ceremony is going to be a huge disaster in itself as you, your groom, the officiant, and the guests are rained upon as the wedding day from hell continues. It’s completely ruined, right?
Chapter 1: Turning Weather Around
That’s not necessarily the case with a little advance planning. Plus, keep in mind that in some cultures, rain on your wedding day is actually a blessing rather than a curse. You’ll want to keep the weather in mind when planning. Speak with your photographer about other successful venues for pictures on less than picture perfect wedding days. Ask them about how they handle bad weather, and even ask to see if they have any pictures in their portfolio of how they turned around a bad weather day into beautiful wedding pictures. This certainly wouldn’t be the first time that it has happened to them, so get their insights. This can be a good way to weed out the great photographers from the not so great.
If an outdoor venue has been planned, be sure to speak with the venue about what options you have open to you in the case of bad weather. Often, they’ll have an alternative space that can be used in the case of poor weather on the big day. If you find that they don’t have a good space that will work in a pinch, you may want to evaluate other venues rather than pigeonholing your wedding celebration into a space that may not be ideal.
SECTION III: Getting Ready
There’s a lot of ins and outs that go into prepping yourself for your wedding day. From makeup to getting into your designer wedding gown that cost a fortune, things can go wrong. In a perfect world, your hairdresser and makeup professionals will earn the term professional. They will get there on time or even a little early, they’ll be ready to provide their service, and do so without a problem. They’ll be able to duplicate the bridal look that was promised to you and your bridal party without fail. Your dress will be fitted perfectly, and no makeup will rub off on it as you put it on. No rips or tears will occur to mar the perfect lines of the perfect gown that is tailored perfectly for you.
Chapter 1: Hairdresser and Makeup Providers
You pre-booked your appointments to get your hair and makeup done for the entire bridal party. A great deal of your day will depend on how smoothly this will run. Things can go horribly awry when getting your hair and makeup done. Maybe they are running late or don’t show up at all. Maybe they do a horrible job on your bridal party and it looks terrible. The ephemeral glow that was promised looks more like a toxic glow, and you start to panic. That’s perfectly natural, but you should keep in mind that things may not go as planned during the planning stage, so you can have a backup just in case.
For instance, you can practice some bridal looks yourself in front of the mirror that you can handle or one of your bridesmaids can help with it just in case there’s a no-show for your vital bridal beauty appointment. It may end up being more simple than what the professional planned, but you won’t be left in a rut, not knowing how to handle it at the last minute. Another tip is to pack a beauty emergency kit with items like blotting paper, q-tips, your regular makeup, water bottle mister, bobby pins, drying agent, and shine lotion. Anything that you can think of that will help with your last minute disasters should be put into the kit. It’s always better to have something and not need it rather than need it and not have it.
Chapter 2: Dress
You spent hours picking out that perfect dress, and going back in for fitting after fitting to make sure that it fits like a dream for your big day. There are some horrible things that can happen to your wedding dress from it ripping to having makeup stain it. Keep calm. In addition to your beauty kit, you should pack an emergency kit for the gowns and tuxedos in your bridal party. Safety pins, sewing supplies, stain removers, duck tape, fishing line, and alternative sized heels are all go-to items that professionals use to fix the situation. A note with the stain removers is that you’ll want to test it on fabric that is concealed on your gown before using it somewhere visible just in case it happens to make it look worse rather than better.
SECTION IV: Pictures
Your wedding pictures are one of the most important aspects of your wedding, and there are so many different moving parts that go into them. The photographer showing up on time, their equipment working correctly, and great skills are all needed on the photographer’s part for excellent wedding photos. The place you plan to have your pictures taken at needs to be in perfect shape. If it rained a few days before, and the ground is still muddy, that may detract from your pictures. You also need to ensure that your entire wedding party arrives at the designated spot at the designated time for the wedding photos. You wouldn’t be the first bride that was missing a groomsman or a bridesmaid in some of their early wedding shots because someone forgot to set an alarm.
Chapter 1: Photographer Troubles
There are so many different problems that can happen with your photographer on the day of your wedding. They can be late, not show up, take horrible shots, or not deliver your promised wedding pictures after the event. Planning ahead can go a long way towards helping to minimize this damage. You should look thoroughly at your photographer before picking the right one for your wedding day. There are plenty of horror stories online of unprofessional professionals. Be sure to ask them how they would handle particular sticky situations at your wedding. For instance, will they be willing to take group shots earlier in the day, and then later on at the rehearsal in case someone was late?
You should also think outside of the box for capturing your big day. For instance, provide each of the tables or wedding guests with those little disposable cameras. They are great for candid shots, and you may find that there’s a diamond in the rough waiting for you to discover when you get them developed. This is especially a good idea if you have any worries about your photographer. Another idea that’s becoming pretty popular at weddings and other gatherings are photo booths where you can provide fun accessories for wedding guests to dress up in, and take off-the-cuff photos.
SECTION V: Ceremony
The wedding ceremony is meant to be this beautiful expression of love between you and your partner and is the culmination of all your plans. You want it to look perfect, and be this ideal memory of when you tied your life together with your future spouse. The officiant, the venue, and the presentation all must be just right to get that effect that you’re looking to achieve, and you put a lot of thought into each of these key aspects of your wedding. If something goes wrong with just one of these things, there’s a good chance that the wedding that you were picturing isn’t going to look as you wanted it to look. Planning ahead here is a great idea to keep you ready for those last minute disasters that could pop up at any moment.
Chapter 1: Officiant
Your officiant is the key member needed for your wedding, and what happens if they don’t show up? They may end up being sick, having car trouble, or some other emergency that keeps them from your wedding venue. Think about how you can go about handling this. Can you build in a little time into your schedule to accommodate if the officiant is running late? What about asking one of your closest friends to become an officiant just in case something goes wrong? It’s relatively easy to go through the motions of being able to marry a couple legally, so find out your options before your big day just in case they need to be ordained online by the Universal Life Church or another website. This may seem like you’re going overboard while in the planning stage, but you’re not being a bridezilla at all to ask someone to help you with this as things can pop up even for your favorite preacher that will make it hard for them to officiate at your ceremony.
Chapter 2: Venue
Your wedding ceremony venue is the backdrop setting of that perfect moment when your lives will be blended together forever and should be perfect itself. Sometimes, things can go wrong with the venue before your ceremony is even scheduled. Some couples have reported that their venues were foreclosed on or were damaged before their big day, and that they were scrambling to figure out how to handle a new venue. Now, it may not be likely that your venue will cancel on you, but there’s always that chance. It’s a good idea to pay your deposit with credit cards rather than checks to get the protection that they provide along with keeping a B plan in mind. Your B plan should also have a few selected venues on it as there’s a good chance that if you’re close to your date that they may already be booked. You wouldn’t want to hold out all hope for a cancellation that will allow your wedding to fit into their schedule.
Chapter 3: Presentation
There are all kinds of presentation issues that can pop up for the ceremony. For instance, does your bridesmaid know how to present your train or how to handle any of the other little details that might not have been discussed at the rehearsal? Will the ring bearer and flower girl know what is expected of them during the ceremony? How safe will the ring be with the ring bearer before the ceremony?
The best way to plan for these little details is to try to go over them in advance. Ask at the bridal shop how your bridesmaids should handle your train. Ask the officiant, venue, and other bridal professionals questions that may seem silly or not important in advance, as they’ve been through this process before, and the only silly question is the one that’s not asked. Take the necessary time at the rehearsal to ensure that everyone knows how the ceremony is going to proceed rather than trying to rush to get to the dinner.
SECTION VI: Wedding Reception
Your wedding reception is the huge party that everyone has been looking forward to enjoying where there’s going to be flowing alcohol, good food, and lots of fun, except when things go wrong. This is the unscripted part of the day where you plan for what will be served, who will sit where, and what music will be played when, but other than that, it’s a free time that could allow for issues to happen. In many cases, the bridal couple considers the wedding reception the thing that can make or break how wonderful their wedding day was because it’s the final culmination of all their hard work in planning. This is where you get to cut loose and finally relax now that the ceremony is over.
Chapter 1: Venue
Your wedding reception venue may or may not be the same place as your wedding, and issues can crop up that turns your blissful time of relaxation into a mess of stressful incidents. The venue may double book your party, you may find that the promised decorations and set-up were not delivered, or that you’re dealing with a cancellation. Get ahead of these issues by calling the venue a short time before your wedding to verify everything. Be sure to get a contract that spells out their responsibilities to your wedding party. You’ll also want to send someone over to the venue in advance of the rest of the party to see if everything has been arranged as requested. This may help things get into place before the bulk of your party arrives. You’ll want to document anything that hasn’t gone as planned.
Chapter 2: Vendors
Your vendors were carefully vetted and arranged to ensure that they would provide the services, food, beverages, floral arrangements, and more that will round out your perfect day. Sadly, there are vendors out there that are only looking to scam you out of your hard-earned cash, and either don’t plan on providing the services at all or are going to give you much lower quality service than promised. You should look for red flags before signing with your vendors, such as poor reviews or being unable to answer your questions directly. If you happen to have a late or no-show, use your already created contacts to find something last minute. Ask the vendors that did arrive if they know of someone that could help out in a pinch as they may have contacts that could help. Reach out on social media to see if there’s anyone available at such a last minute.
Chapter 3: Family and Friends
Last, but not least, you want to consider your family and friends as a potential disaster at your wedding reception. A wedding is all about celebrating a big moment when two families come together, and you want everyone to be there to witness your ceremony before the big celebrational reception party. You don’t want to think of your family and friends as potential hindrances, but where alcohol and large groups of people come together, problems can crop up.
You already know all about your family, and who should probably be kept away from who, when the alcohol is flowing freely, but be sure to talk with your spouse about seating charts. You don’t want to cause any additional problems by placing Great Aunt Ann with Great Uncle Mark who haven’t gotten along in forever. Beyond this, there’s not too much else you can do with the adults besides asking the guests respectfully to try to be respect of your special day since you’re not paying your relatives to be there, but just keep it in mind.
For the children in your wedding party, plan ahead. Not all weddings allow kids at their reception, but if you do plan to allow this so all your family will be there, make it kid friendly. That doesn’t mean getting rid of the booze or anything else, but that you provide fun stations for the kids. For instance, crayons, stickers and coloring books can go a long way towards making it fun or if you’re using a hotel, rent a room to show kid’s movies and get a sitter. Just be prepared for the wiggles and giggles that come with kids.
SECTION VII: Preparation
There are a lot of ways that you can prepare for any last minute wedding day disasters, but one of the best ways to prepare is to invest in wedding insurance. You may be able to handle all of the little disasters that come your way through planning, but why spend good money on something that didn’t work out the way that it was supposed to work out. Yes, you were able to fix your own hair or pick up a new wedding band to replace the one that was lost by the jeweler when getting resized, but you paid good money for these services that you never received or were not as advertised. That’s where wedding insurance can step in and help make it right for you. Your wedding day doesn’t have to be completely ruined for you to use it either. It’s just peace of mind that you can remain calm about the investment you’ve made for your big event.
Chapter 1: Wedding Insurance
Wedding insurance may seem like going a little overboard, but it offers a great deal of peace of mind for those just in case situations that can occur to anyone. It’s not extremely expensive and should be fit into your bridal budget. You won’t have to worry about if your venue cancels on you and refuses a refund, or if one of your bridesmaids turns an ankle walking down the aisle in the high heels you picked for them. The beautiful thing is that your wedding insurance policy can be tailored to your particular wedding. That means you’ll get all of the coverage that your event needs. It won’t be too small to not cover all the bills that could occur, and it won’t be so large that you’re paying too much for a cover that’s not necessary or not being used.
SECTION VIII: Conclusion
You wake up shivering thinking of all the horrible things that happened during your wedding day. How did it get to be so bad? What are you going to do to handle the financial aftermath? Don’t get into a panic just yet.
Chapter 1: Bon Voyage
The good news is that you’ve woken up from this horrible nightmare of what could be on your special day. Thankfully, your wedding is still pretty far off in the distance, and none of those horrible events have occurred. Your wedding is still shaping up to be a beautiful event without a hiccup, but now you have the knowledge that disasters may pop up. Thanks to your wedding insurance, and these last minute fixes, you’ll be able to tackle any disasters that happen during the big event. You’ll be able to help yourself to save the day, and give yourself the dream wedding that you’ve always desired to have since you were little.
Call us or check out our contact page today to speak with a friendly and knowledgeable (real and not automated) staff member who will explain the many ways that Marine Agency will ensure that you’re insured and prepared for the unexpected!
