Fires we extinguished on wedding day and how to avoid the same issues
It’s story time!
Wedding planners are so much more than the people you hired to execute the happenings of your wedding day. We do more than create timelines, tell people when to go, and hold the bride’s dress when she walks. Believe it or not, we put out unseen fires. Yes, along with our capes we carry fire extinguishers. Things happen at weddings that are not expected, and we do everything in our power to handle things and make sure the couple know nothing about any of it happening. We have what we like to call secrets from every wedding. Now gather around and allow us to share a story with you that we can now laugh about.
Oh shoot! Trouble just walked in…
Our goal is to have no less than 3 planning team members at a wedding when hired to provide planning services. For this particular wedding, there were two of us outside of the ceremony doors. We had just gotten the bride down the aisle, so we were eager to take a bit of a rest until the next ramp up of wedding planner duties. In walks a man who appeared to us to already be irate, with his girlfriend, and what we assume to be their daughter. He wants inside the ceremony. We explain to him that the ceremony has started and he along with the other guests (who were aware and fine with this ruling) weren’t able to get in at this point. He makes us aware of the fact that he is a “close” family member and he is getting in! (He said specifically who he was, but we think it is best for his title to remain anonymous.)
Now, we know what you are thinking, but…
We did our homework. Every couple is asked if there is someone we need to be aware of on wedding day, and because we are such a family orientated company (Simone and Elise are our daughters…not my name), we make it a point to learn about our clients and their family members. We had never heard of this man. But that didn’t matter because he was indeed adamant about getting into this ceremony. So the wedding planner part of me had to push the other versions (yes, plural) of me aside and think of how to best manage this situation.
Now
In that moment, there was a surprise the groom had planned for the bride mid-ceremony about to take place. It was a performance from the audience of the bride’s favorite song that she nor the guests were expecting, and we knew the one chance we had to avoid involving the authorities being called would be when applause happened. The aggravated man was still in front of us giving us what he thought was “what for,” myself and our team member locked eyes and instantly knew our next move. The wedding guests began inside the ceremony to clap, and boom…we opened the doors and sent him right in. Bye!
Afterwards, we realized the other remaining guests who were not allowed inside before the man’s arrival were standing, not in an attempt to get in, but to have our backs if needed. That’s how bad it was. The bride and groom never found out and we didn’t have any more trouble from him that day.
We don’t know how the bride managed to leave out this particular person given his perception of entitlement. We don’t know what would have happened if the team member at the door with me had been Darius (my husband and the other half of our husband and wife duo). We do know that if we had been the ones to have to call the authorities on this guest, that the stain on that day would have been something we contributed to. We are and will always be professional and we know how to mitigate various situations well. That situation wasn’t worth her happiness and we are so glad it didn’t have to get that far. They are still a part of our lives today and we will never tell them about this incident.
Here is the lesson to you the reader from this story:
First, hire a professional wedding planner so you don’t have to try and manage all of the unexpected things that could obviously occur on your wedding day. Next, inform your wedding planner of all of the possible things that could happen. Leave no stone left un-turned, as you can see it could help. We all have families, and families have situation…enough said. It is better to be prepared for what could happen and happy that it didn’t occur, than to be surprised and caught off guard by something that comes out of left field. This situation could have gone terribly wrong.
Well, that’s story time for today. We have wedding day secrets from every wedding we have ever done. We hope we didn’t scare you too bad in our attempt to share a bit of transparency with you. Things happen at weddings and we are thankful for the trust our clients have in us to fully handle whatever comes their way. That’s what hiring a professional wedding planner is all about.
Until next time…
be sweet & happy planning!
~Tish
(photo credit: Simone Elise Events and Incredibly Wee Photography)
Premier Wedding Planning and Event Studio Owned by Husband and Wife Planner and Event Designer Team Darius and Tish Clay. Simone Elise Events offers Wedding Day Event Management Services, Full Service Wedding Planning Services, and Wedding and Event Design Services for all your Wedding, Social, and Corporate Events. Simone Elise Events caters to Weddings and Events in Memphis Tennessee and surrounding Tennessee areas.
For more about us, visit: simoneeliseevents.com/about-us
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