Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the best days of your life, full of special memories and beautiful moments you will cherish forever. I never thought of planning a wedding as a job…I thought it would be fun to make all the decisions…and it was at first. As we got closer to our big day, the fun ended. Our budget was busted, we still didn’t have a videographer, and I was essentially going nuts making all of these critical decisions. This was the time to call in reinforcements…an actual WEDDING PLANNER! Why didn’t I? Money, I am a control freak, I felt like I could just do it all myself, the list goes on…what I did not anticipate happening at our wedding is the following:

Best Laid Plans

1.  Our very last minute videographer hire was a bust. The result: A very shaky, inaudible visual of my husband’s back during the entire ceremony. My husband’s 93 year old grandmother was unable to make the trip to Iowa for the wedding, so this was supposed to be her way seeing the ceremony and celebration. As you can imagine, we were very disappointed that she was unable to understand most of the video let alone see her grandson’s face.

The Fix: A planner would have suggested a different vantage point for the videographer ahead of time. In pre-planning stages, a planner would have given us a list of preferred and vetted vendors to choose from.

2.  My husband saw me before our “first look” photos were to be taken. As I entered the venue after having my hair and makeup done, he was literally standing right by the door with his groomsmen.

The Fix: A planner and day of assistant would be in constant communication with one another on wedding party location and this would not have happened.

3.  The DJ: We are music people, so it was very important to have the right vibe at the right time. I sent a very specific list to our DJ that listed everything I wanted played at certain times. My idea for the recessional after the ceremony was for my husband and I to walk out to “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder, and then as we come back in to greet guests row by row, he would continue playing Motown hits like the Temptations, Smokey Robinson etc. The song that followed our recessional was Christina Aguilera’s version of “Lady Marmalade. Needless to say I was mortified.

The Fix: A planner would have gone over the song list with the DJ to verify everything he played was what the couple requested. If a DJ still goes rogue, a planner would request a quick transition to a new song from the DJ immediately! 

4.  My husband couldn’t find his wallet immediately after the ceremony. We were married at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines, Iowa. We used the auditorium for the ceremony, then the ballroom downstairs for the reception. In transit, his wallet was put into a groomsman’s bag. We didn’t know that at the time and my husband had quite a bit of cash for tipping. We missed much of the cocktail hour looking for the wallet and we were in panic mode versus wedded bliss.

The Fix:  A planner would find the wallet and tell the couple to go enjoy their guests. To prevent this from happening in the first place, a planner would have a game plan previously agreed upon with the couple on the logistics of transporting their personal items. 

5.  Double-booked: There was a smaller wedding taking place in another room in the venue at the same time. While my husband and I were searching for his wallet, the other wedding’s DJ’s microphone somehow synced into our wedding speakers and made an announcement for everyone to sit down. We still had an hour of cocktails and hor doeuvres! So, right when we walked into the reception my DJ came up to me and told me what happened. I then told him he needed to make an additional announcement stating that it was still cocktail hour and to feel free to mingle. It made for an awkward moment as guests were already seated for dinner.

The Fix: A planner would have the working timeline, would have caught the error, and would have had it rectified before I even knew what happened. The last feeling you want to have the day after your wedding is regret, and unfortunately, I did have some of that. Don’t get me wrong…it was a beautiful day filled with a lot of love and laughter. However, not having that weight of managing your own timeline, guests, wedding party, vendors, mini-disasters, to me, is worth leaving money in your budget for a planner!