Exploring the Unexpected Hurdles of Planning a Wedding

While planning a wedding should be such a magical and lovely experience, every bride and groom I have spoken to has said it has been very much the opposite. Closer to the big day, the stress and planning can get to you, creating not such a positive mentality when it comes to planning the happiest day of your life. 

Planning for the expected and unexpected can make planning events a much smoother and more enjoyable experience. We have put together a guide of unexpected hurdles so you can find a solution before one becomes one. This will ensure that planning your big day is a fun experience rather than one that is met with problems, drama, and stress.

Using my experience as a chief bridesmaid for multiple weddings, I have been the rock for many brides and grooms, which has left me with the knowledge of what is likely to occur and quick, easy solutions to keep the bride calm.

Financial Disputes

Unfortunately, it’s common to be faced with financial disputes with vendors, service providers, and all the in-betweens that you may want for your day. If I could give any advice, it would be to read the small print, get an agreed-upon round figure in writing, and ask for a second opinion before you sign a contract. It’s happened many times where you believe you’ve agreed to a specific price and when billing comes around, extra zeros are being added to it. This can really mess up with financial planning and the overall budget for the big day. Be sure to have open and clear communication with all parties involved.

Reliable Vendors

It’s a bride and groom's worst nightmare to be let down at the last minute with a vendor, but also with everything that's been booked, you want security and reliability. To ensure that you are doing everything in your power to avoid that, you need to do your research. I’ve heard and had to help with many horror stories or last-minute cancellations.

I would personally ask around and see who people you know have gone with in the past, recommendations are very key, but when in doubt, go through reviews, google the website, and see how long they have been in business, and so forth. These are little things you should be doing with anything and everything you book for the big day.

Visa’s

While this might be a niche, I have had friends and family who have married individuals who don’t have British citizenship and went to ensure that their wedding when it was out of the UK was legal in the eyes of UK law. Following UK laws, such as those recognised by the general register office, getting in contact with them really helped my friends and family ensure there were no problems when they relocated back home to raise their family.

The same goes for when you want a abroad wedding; keeping your guests aware of any unique travel information, such as a visa if key, makes the whole planning process for yourself and your guest much easier.

Scheduling and Timing

So when it comes to the big day itself, that’s where a lot of stress can come from, as you want the day to go exactly as planned and how you've been planning it to go for months and months. If there is a number one piece of advice I can give my brides and grooms is to let go of the stress. If something doesn’t happen the minute you planned it to but it’s ready to go, just go with the flow. 

Your guests have no idea what the plans exactly are and are just happy to celebrate the love. While creating a detailed timeless will ensure that an organised flow is achieved and no last-minute stresses are missed, it’s important to give extra time for things such as hair and makeup but also leave space for things like the first dance, as there is no right or wrong time to have those fun elements. As long as there is a rough timeline for your guests to follow, it will be an amazing day and will allow you both to enjoy the day more.

It also could help you bestow this on a wedding planner or the chief bridesmaid, who can help remind you what to do next but also relieve some of the pressure for you both.

Weather

Unfortunately, this isn’t something we can control but has been an issue for a couple of weddings I have been to, even during the summer weddings. I have found that keeping an eye on weather changes but having a few things in the pipeline, such as a venue with both indoor and outdoor options for your guests to enjoy. Additionally, a well-thought-out backup plan such as outdoor accessories allows your guests to still go outside comfortably without getting soaked or hit by the weather.

Keeping these in the pipeline means you are able to book and arrange for it to be in place with no stress of finding a vendor.