You guys are in for a treat! The brilliant Caitriona Foley from True Romance Weddings is here this week, telling us about the little things that can go wrong on your special day, but more importantly, how to be prepared for them!
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail! Spending up to two years planning your wedding and assuming that everything will go to plan is a major gamble – Ireland isn’t exactly famous for its good weather, and Murphy’s Law is part of daily life. By having a number of simple but effective contingency plans in place, you can rest assured that, no matter what, your wedding day will be amazing.
First things first, umbrellas in all of the bridal party’s cars! Ensure that the reception venue also has some handy so that your guests don’t get soaked running from their cars to the door. For your photographs, have a contingency plan. You might not be able to get to those beautiful gardens, but your photographer will have a back-up plan to shoot the photos either in their studio, or at an indoor venue. Make sure to ask your reception venue if they have any nice spaces for photographs too.
Aside from the weather, there are other little bits and pieces which might not go according to plan, but you can always be prepared! Have your emergency kit on hand (your chief bridesmaid should look after this) with painkillers for headaches, antacids to counteract a heavy meal, clear nail polish for any stocking runs and safety pins and mini sewing kit for emergency tears. It is also a good idea to keep white nail polish and baby powder to hand – use the nail polish for scuffed bridal shoes, and the baby powder to soak up any greasy stains on your dress.
If, for some unimaginable reason one of your suppliers bails on you the day of; don’t panic. By rights, the supplier should organise someone to take over on their behalf, but if they can’t, there are quick fixes for just about anything. If you florist flakes out, get a friend or family member to go to the supermarket or local florist and buy up as many of the same type of flower in as many shades as they can. Cut the stems to one length, and wrap ribbon tightly around and keep in place with pins. They may not be what you imagined, but at least there can be uniformity. Roses are an easy choice as they will be available year round.
If your photographer can’t make it and has no one to take over; figure out which guest has the most professional style of camera and ask them to take as many pictures as possible. You can always have them retouched afterwards. If the baker doesn’t show; stores such as Marks & Spencer here in Ireland & UK often have simple, white iced fruit cakes that can replace a wedding cake; alternatively buy up as many iced cupcakes as possible! A good tip is to give a contact number for all of your suppliers to your reception venue so that they can keep an eye on things and will try to help if someone is running late.
Finally, hiring a ‘day-of’ co-ordinator can help prevent any and all of these headaches – they will be on hand throughout the day to ensure you are ready in time, that your suppliers are all doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and will take care of all the little jobs that you won’t want to think about during the day.
Such great ideas, that could save you time and tears on your big day! Thanks again to Caitriona for passing on such wonderful wisdom. To find out more, visit her website, True Romance Weddings.
