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Wedding fiascos can be hilarious – as long as they happen to someone else. The last thing you want is for your wedding to end up on America's Funniest Home Videos. Here are 25 tips that will help make sure your wedding scenes do not win a contest.
THE PEOPLE YOU HIRE
1. Ahead of the big day, remind all those providing services exactly what you want and do not want. For extra reassurance, put it all in writing.
2. Two or three days before the wedding, call the people providing services to verify your wedding booking.
3. Do not ask friends or family members to provide food, flowers or official photography, even if you're on a tight budget. Think how dicey it would be if you were not happy with their services.
4. Neverlist a friend to act as bartender. He or she may pour too much liquor – which could exhaust a limited supply long before the party's over, up your liquor bill into the stratosphere or get your guests drunk.
5. Have the baker give you a sample of the kind of wedding cake he or she will be providing in advance of your wedding day.
YOUR WEDDING GOWN
6. Make every effort to protect your dress. Never iron it or attempt any kind of touch-up. If it gets wrinkled badly, take it to a bridal shop.
Do not eat, drink or smoke after donning your gown. Do not apply makeup, even blush, and keep all pets locked securely away.
7. Go through one practice dressing session in advance at home or at the bridal salon with the person who will dress you for the ceremony so she can figure out the buttons, snaps, zippers or other closures.
THE CEREMONY
8. At the rehearsal, pin a sheet to your waist so the person escorting you down the aisle can practice navigating your train.
9. If possible, it's safer to avoid having children younger than 4 from taking part in the ceremony.
10. Secure the rings on the ring pillow so they will not roll off. Pin them on with corsage pins rather than tying them on with ribbons.
11. If you plan to use a side door to enter the church just prior to the ceremony, make sure someone knows in advance so you will not get locked out.
THE WEDDING ATTENDANTS
12. Go to the first fitting with your bridesmaids to be sure their dresses will be altered to your specifications – not too long, too short, too tight or too loose.
13. Engage a friend who is not in the wedding to pick up out-of-town guests who arrive the day of the wedding on public transportation.
14. Ask out-of-town members of the wedding party to arrive at least one day in advance so they do not get held up and miss or delay the ceremony.
15. Request that all men try on their tuxedos, along with their shoes, well in advance of your wedding day.
NOT-SO-INCIDENTAL INCIDENTALS
16. Have a spare tape player on hand in case the one you're planning to use at the wedding or reception breaks down or acts up.
17. Make sure you marry in the same county in which your marriage license was issued, and before it expires, so you're not surprised on your wedding day to discover you have an invalid license.
18. Delegate a trusted friend to answer phone calls on your wedding day, handle problems that do not absolutely require your involvement and do last-minute "gofer" jobs.
19. Have your hairdresser try out your hairstyle several days in advance with your veil so you know you'll like your wedding day hairstyle.
20. Give yourself more than ample time to get to the ceremony in case you have car problems or get into a traffic jam.
21. Have a neighbor or security guard at your home while everyone is away at the ceremony to prevent burglaries.
22. Prepare a "goody bag" to carry with you to the wedding site which includes white bobby pins, needle and thread, safety pins in several sizes and extra pantyhose for yourself and at least one bridesmaid.
YOUR HEALTH AND SANITY
23. Consider hiring a bridal consultant who can hold your hand through all last-minute sentences of the plans and be there the day of the wedding to orchestrate everything.
24. Get plenty of rest prior to your wedding so you'll be fresh and better able to handle any sudden glitches.
25. If something does go wrong, keep it in perspective. You may be the only one who notices the ribbons are the wrong color on the bridesmaids' bouquets.
Finally, do not let little problems ruin your day. Accept the fact that your wedding will probably not go absolutely perfectly. Few do. So, if in spite of all your careful planning, scenes of your wedding do end up in a contest …. hope you win lots of money!
