A series all about wedding mishaps and how they were dealt with by either myself or fellow event professionals offering coordination services.
Smooth event coordination requires (amongst other things) quick-thinking, experience and knowledge. It is a short-term role which supports Clients in the final few weeks of their event planning and on-the-day itself; whereby the responsibility to manage and oversee all the moving parts – often associated with any wedding or event – falls on you.
In this role, I have learned that it is essential to react effectively to the problem in front of you, with as little flap as possible. The next scenario detailing the importance of this skillset is:
When the Mother of the Groom’s zip breaks on her dress moments before the ceremony:
I still remember wondering where the Groom had gone as we’d just confirmed he and his parents were ready to do their entrance which cued the rest of the bridal party. Alas, I found them in the utility room (this Client was getting married at home) and the poor Mother of the Groom was panicking as her husband tried to see what had happened to the broken zip.
I’m never too far away from a set of safety pins and so I took over and safety-pinned the dress to a close so she could confidently walk down the aisle with her son without worrying about her dress being undone. Fortunately, she was also wearing her hair down too, so the temporary fix could not be seen as it hid beneath her curls.
As much as we can plan a timeline for how the day is going to run, sometimes things happen that fall outside of our control.
TOP TIP: By having a designated person to oversee and cue the ceremony it means that any hiccup that arises can go unnoticed because it’s all under control. It’s also worth having safety pins to hand because they’re an invaluable asset to any event kit.
