Every couple works hard to plan a special wedding day, striving to anticipate every eventuality and provide a memorable experience for themselves and their guests. However, as a few recent ceremonies demonstrate, it is impossible to plan for every possible occurrence.
At one recent wedding, the couple planned to make promises to their two young daughters after exchanging their own vows. But, after tolerating days of an unusual schedule, an hour with the photographer before the ceremony, and lots of waiting around, their toddler melted down early in the ceremony and was whisked away by a caregiver. When the time for family vows arrived, the older daughter joined her parents in front, the little ones absence was noted, and the ceremony continued without pause.
Weather provided two interesting challenges this summer. First, a rainy week and damp forecast prompted one couple to change their plans for the ceremony from outdoors to the reception tent. The decision was made the day before the wedding, and plans were quickly developed to arrange the chairs for the ceremony, with a planned flip of the tent during social hour to allow the same space to be used for dinner. The couple remained upbeat, and focused on the changes needed to accommodate the new plan.
The last recent experience was the most unusual, but shows that the unthinkable can happen. The outdoors loving couple had planned a lakeside ceremony on a private beach. The week before the wedding brought heavy rains and local flooding. Visiting the ceremony site the day before the wedding, the couple discovered that the beach was totally submerged. They scouted the area and located a lovely, well drained, wooded site. They notified all their vendors and set up signs to direct their guests to the new venue. Both the rehearsal and wedding took place in the wooded venue, allowing the wedding party to be comfortable and familiar with the new space. The couple handled the situation beautifully, focusing on the logistics and new plan.
The message in these three stories is: Even when you think you have all the bases covered, the unexpected situation can pop up on or near your wedding day, requiring you to be creative, flexible, and maintain your perspective. In all three cases detailed above, the grace, good humor and maturity of the couples allowed them to deal with the situations presented, and still enjoy their wedding days. Being able to roll with and adjust to the reality of the moment is essential to handling an event as complex as a wedding day.