There are two types of problems you might come across on your wedding day:

• Emotional problems having to do with family and friends.
• Problems arising from the environment, such as the hotel, the weather etc.

Here are some problems that real brides have encountered at their wedding. These are fact, not fiction.

Examples of Emotional Problems Having to Do With Family and Friends

• Your sister is jealous of you because you have everything and she doesn’t. She decides to air her feelings about this on your wedding day and has decided this is the appropriate moment to let you know how she feels about you, the princess who got everything while she has always been second.
  
   
• Your mother decides she doesn’t like the person walking you down the aisle because no one can ever take Dad’s place, even though he has been deceased for 10 years. She decides to let you know her feelings about this while you are having your makeup done.
  
   
• Your mother-in-law-to-be is the biggest pain you’ve ever met, but you love her son dearly, so you try to put up with her. On your wedding day you have arranged for her not to be anywhere near you while you are getting ready, but she decides to come to your room anyway to give you advice about your hair, makeup, etc.

Examples of Environmental Problems

• You are having your wedding at a beautiful hotel and when you booked your wedding date, you haven’t realized that this day is a local holiday with the biggest parade of the year. While you are having your makeup and hair done on your wedding day, every person in town descends upon that neighborhood to watch the parade and hang out. You look outside and see thousands of happy people along the parade route. You wonder how your wedding guests will get to the hotel, and the noise is driving you crazy. You prefer Mozart to marching band music.
  
   
• You’re getting married the first week in April and mother nature decides to blanket the city with a last snowfall. Everything is at a standstill since the streets have not been plowed. How will you get to the church or reception?
  
   
• You have your heart set on an outdoor ceremony. You pick a perfect location overlooking the river. You’ve spent a fortune on flowers and the florist has set up a magnificent floral arrangement for you to get married under. Your guests are seated, the musicians begin to play the processional. Just as you come out of the building, dark clouds head across the river towards you and your guests. It starts to rain. The ceremony must be moved inside. The guests, the flowers, the tables laden with champagne on ice all come in. How will you handle this graciously?

Your ceremony is to take place inside, but you plan to take the photos outside in the lovely conservatory garden. It’s August and 100 degrees with 100% humidity. What are your plans for keeping your makeup from dripping off your face?

• You’ve booked the most exclusive hotel for your ceremony and reception. You’ve had your heart set on being photographed in front of the hotel with its name in the photo. One week before the wedding they start construction on the front entrance. Hotel management had assured you that this would not happen, but it has.
  
   
• The bridegroom has a phobia about bright lights. As you’re walking down the aisle the videographer turns on his bright lights and starts videotaping the procession. The groom faints and has to be carried off to the bridal room to recover.
  
   
• You’re getting ready for the formal photos before the ceremony and there’s a loud screech coming from the closet in the bridal room. The groom’s mother comes out pale and terrified; she has discovered she has left the skirt to her ensemble at home on her bed in another town. The photographer is pacing outside your door waiting to start photos.
  
   
• You and your groom come from different ethnic backgrounds. You haven’t realized how many different marriage customs his family has. They have given you lots of gold jewelry as a wedding gift. You don’t want to wear it during the reception because you think the pearls you’ve planned to wear with your dress are more simple and elegant. In keeping with their tradition the groom’s family can’t wait for you to put on their jewelry so their guests can see how they have lavished wonderful gifts on their new daughter-in-law.

Situations like these occasionally do happen during weddings. The only way to prepare for such things is to get your head out of the clouds before the wedding and review what could happen. Try to anticipate and handle family situations. Take stock of the personalities of the members of your wedding party. Know the traditions and culture of the family you are marrying into and understand what they expect from you. Discuss delicate issues in advance and try to settle them beforehand. You might have to compromise on some things to keep the peace.

Make alternative plans for bad weather if any part of the day’s events is scheduled out of doors. Leave extra travel time to compensate for delays. If it is very hot, tell the driver of your transportation vehicle to put on the air conditioner before you get into the car so you won’t melt en route waiting for the hot car to cool off. The same is true for heating the car if it is very cold out. If it’s snowing, wear boots to the location instead of your beautiful silk wedding shoes. Remember, Mother Nature has a mind of her own. We can always supplicate her to be kind, but we should always have a "Plan B" just in case