How to Prevent Wedding Day Disasters and Mistakes

Your wedding gives you a chance to celebrate a happy milestone with the people you love. Even if you haven't been obsessively planning your wedding since you were five, you probably still want your special day to go flawlessly. Although there are some catastrophes, such as a tornado or zombie attack, that you simply can't plan for, you can take a few steps to prevent some common mistakes and disasters.

Unless you normally prance around in a ballgown, you're probably not accustomed to wearing such finery. You can avoid a torn dress or a tripping incident if you pick your dress carefully. Choose a style you like, but try to be practical as well. If you can't breathe in your dress, don't bother buying it. When you try a dress on, wear it for a few minutes and walk around in it before swiping your credit card. Buy your dress months before your wedding so that you have enough time to get alterations done.

Your shoes can also lead to an accidental fall if you're not careful. After buying your shoes, practice wearing them around the house to break them in, making them much more comfortable to wear. Don't go too overboard with a heel; only wear shoes you're comfortable wearing. Depending on your wedding's schedule, you may be wearing these shoes for hours.

Some brides choose to wear an elaborate hairstyle for their special day. If you have a hair trial before your big day, you'll learn several important lessons that will help your wedding day scheduling, including how long it will take the stylist to fix your hair. In addition, you will have the chance to wear your wedding hair for a day, letting you experience how well your preferred style holds through normal activities. If your hair doesn't hold up well after a trial, you may need to rethink your hairstyle to avoid a hair disaster on your wedding.

You can apply these same lessons to your makeup trial session. In addition, trying out your makeup ahead of time will help you determine if you have any allergies to the makeup that you plan to use.

Unwanted guests can turn your happy event into a drama fest of ex-girlfriends and estranged friends. You can keep some uninvited guests out simply by guarding your privacy. Don't include every detail of your event on your wedding website. Instead, keep those details strictly on your wedding invitations. If you don't want to run the risk of strangers wandering into your event, don't hold your ceremony or reception in a public space.

Be aware that it's not unusual for your guests to bring along extra guests. In some cases, this can be extremely disruptive. For example, if you decided to not invite children and a friend brought her children, you may suddenly find yourself with a babysitting nightmare. In these situations, the best you can do is just delegate someone else to deal with the problem.

Capturing your wedding through photographs will help you relive your memories for years to come. Sometimes, however, your photographer doesn't deliver the results that you imagined. If your photographs are absolutely critical to you, plan to spend hours of research and a large chunk of your budget on a professional photographer. Instead of turning to search engine queries, ask friends and family members for recommendations. Once you have a list of candidates, take the time to meet each photographer and check out their portfolio. Ask the photographer for references so that you can get some honest feedback.

It's not a bad idea to ask a family member or friend with an eye for photography to act as a backup photographer. Even if your professional photographer fails to deliver a quality product, at least you will have some pictures to put on your wall.

Unless you're having a basic wedding ceremony with no roles to play beyond the bride, groom and officiant, it may be wise to rehearse your ceremony prior to the wedding to avoid potential confusion and disasters. A low-key practice will give everyone a chance to learn the sequence of your ceremony and where to stand. You can also use this opportunity to run through your music selections and check for any technical issues that may pop up at inopportune times.

Bad weather has long been a plague to brides and grooms who want the perfect outdoor wedding. Unless you have some magical powers, you just can't do anything about this one. You can, however, create a backup plan. If you live in an area that doesn't enjoy summers full of endless sunny days, look for a venue that offers both outdoor and indoor options. If the weather turns disastrous, simply pack up your tables and chairs and put them in the indoor venue. If you don't have this option, invest in some large tents to provide shelter for your guests.

Drama among your guests can result in heated words, broken tables and hurt feelings. Fortunately, disruptive guest drama is not always unforeseeable. If you have some friends or family members who have an unfortunate habit of creating drama, plan a strategy. For example, if your reception includes a sit-down dinner, seat troublesome guests near guests with cooler heads. You can also ask a trusted friend or family member to keep on eye on the drama-prone guests.

Of course, if you really have an issue with a potential guest, you always have the option to not send them an invite.

Your wedding will certainly become memorable if everyone gets food poisoning. If you're using a caterer for your reception food, research each company carefully. Ask around for recommendations and search online for more reviews. If possible, visit the caterer's location to see their practices in action. You should also plan carefully how you will serve your food. If you let the reception food sit out in the heat for hours during your wedding, it may spoil and sicken your guests.

You can also skip foods that are more likely to sicken your guests, such as fish and meat. If you decide to only have dessert at your reception, your guests will likely only leave with a minor stomachache.

Showing up late to your reception and leaving early won't likely make your guests too happy. Tradition holds that wedding reception guests do not begin to eat until the bride and groom begin the food line. Don't keep your wedding guests starving; take care of other business, including taking more photos, before the wedding or during the reception. Finally, don't leave your party too early, especially if you haven't even personally visited with all of your guests. You can still have a dramatic departure even after some of your guests have left.

Your wedding is meant to be a day to celebrate your new relationship with your spouse. Don't let yourself get so caught up in the details of the day that you forget to enjoy the actual wedding and reception. Once the planning is over, it's time to just enjoy the day. Don't forget: Your wedding may be one of the few days in your life where you are completely surrounded by every important family member and friend. In addition to paying your new spouse plenty of attention, don't neglect your guests either. You won't likely get a second chance to spend such a glorious day with your loved ones.