Horror Stories - A Day in the Life
Happy Monday Loves! Today I wanted to write about some horror stories that I’ve experienced at weddings. Yup, you heard me right, insane turn-my-head-twice horror stories. We try and keep those hush hush, but I need to spill the tea and let you know how we diverted major f-ups, how too many cooks in the chicken just doesn’t work, and what happens when you’re a couple who thinks you are above the vendors you hire.
First thought for many couples, “Why hire a day-of coordinator? What could possibly go wrong? I am very detailed person. I know exactly what I want. I have parents / friends who are offering to help.” Any of that sound familiar? Well, don’t get us wrong, all of that is great, but here are some things that have happened in our 10+ years of event planning and how we were able to avert the disasters for the type of couple that I mentioned above.
Last minute Assumptions: One week before their wedding, our couple thought charger plates, menu cards and table numbers were included for guest tables based on their venue’s open house table design. OMG… try calming a couple down a week prior after breaking the news that these items are definitely not included and will incur additional costs. This can sometimes happen when there’s a bit of a ‘lost in translation’ between the couple and a vendor. Luckily, we have amazing vendors on speed-dial and were able to find the perfect charger plates for our couple’s theme and a stationary expert who was able to create beautiful menu cards, all within 48 hours!
Indecisive couple: Sometimes being indecisive can be the ghost that comes back to haunt you. This couple had ordered a 6-person Cadillac and had realized a month before the wedding that it was an SUV and not a limo. The bride’s dress was so beautiful and intricate that she wasn’t going to be able to climb into the SUV, but they couldn’t decide if it was worth the upgrade or not. When the SUV arrived, the bride was close to tears because she couldn’t get into the SUV, and we were already late for the ceremony. Can you just imagine! So, what’s a planner to do? Well, I got the bride and bridal party into the SUV, and then got them to the church because someone had to get married! While they were in the church, I called the limo company and got them to change the SUV to a 10-person stretch as a surprise for the couple at no extra cost.
Miscommunications with your fiancé: We once worked with a couple who had an issue with communicating with each other, and it, unfortunately, flowed into their wedding planning. You see, this couple ordered beautiful artisan chocolates for their guests, and although they ordered enough chocolates, the groom didn’t order enough tags for the chocolates, and since the chocolates were to be picked up two days before the wedding, we didn’t find out about the mishap until three days before the wedding. So, what’s a planner to do? Well, we had one of our fabulous stationary experts (who printed all of her stationary at home, btw) create, print and cut thank you tags for the remaining chocolates in enough time to allow us to hand-tie each and every one to the remaining chocolates!
Bride Thinks She’s a Wedding Planner Even on the Day of Her Wedding: Hello? I am right here, where you going? Can you just imagine a bride frantically obsessing over every detail, then changing plans up until the last minute? We always send our clients our extensive itinerary for them to approve and re-approve before sending it to vendors but this bride started changing items on the wedding day so last minute… well, it could have turned into a confusing time. We needed to think quickly to be able to accommodate and re-adjust their master plan to suit these last minute changes. Sometimes, however, things just can’t be done in a timely manor, especially when you alter an already solid itinerary, so please don’t shoot the messenger if you decide to jump ship by yourself and go on a mission. Trust us when we say your wedding day is not the day for you to manage your wedding; that’s what you hire us for, remember?
You are not a concept designer: Our last post is about a bride who ordered a naked cake, sent her baker a photo of what she wanted, received the exact looking cake with the flavourings of the couple’s choosing, and then stated the cake was too “naked.” This classic story of a couple ordering something they thought they liked and thought would go well with their theme created an extremely upset bride, and an angry groom because his bride was upset, which is why a designer is always recommended. So what is a wedding planner to do to fix this “too naked cake situation?” We went to all of the centerpieces and took out one flower from each. From there, we began placing the florals into the cake in such intricacy that it looked professional and phenomenal! I still love the way the photo of that cake looks!
Luckily, our couples had an extremely qualified and competent wedding planner like those from Jessica Lisi Events, and we were able to fix all the issues for the couple as they happened without a flinch. That’s what we do; we work well under pressure! Solutions were instilled despite dealing with some of these couples from hell… lol! Contact us today to hear more about what we can do for you!