One of the best and wisest pieces of advice I got throughout the entire wedding planning process was that something would go wrong. It just would. I should count on it, expect it, and then not freak out when it happened. I got married earlier this month and my wrong thing definitely happened. Due to some confusion with my photographer, he missed our entire ceremony, showing up right after we'd left the tiny white chapel and all of our guests were streaming out.
I found out he wasn't there while standing outside the chapel with my bridesmaids and my now-husband's groomsmen. My sister (who was my maid-of-honor) told me, "Um, we have a problem..." For a second my mind flashed with a sort of panic and disbelief, and I think I considered, for a super split second, whether we should wait until he could get there. Then, just as quickly, I decided that was ridiculous and this was fine. I was still here, in a gorgeous dress, marrying this amazing man, and, frankly, in the grand scheme of things this wasn't so bad. It was my thing, just like I'd been expecting.
Big props to my sister, who remembered that one of our aunts had a nice camera and loved taking pictures. Someone called her out of the chapel, we explained what had happened, and she agreed to do her best to capture some photos. When my photographer did arrive, he was so apologetic—I actually felt bad for him. After the third of fourth time of his saying he was sorry, me telling him it was OK, and his saying he was sorry, again, I put a stop to it. "Listen, I'm really a relaxed person," I said (I think). "I promise I'm not upset with you. It's OK. Let's just focus on taking great pictures now."
And then we moved on. We took some beautiful pictures with family outside and then went back in to sort of re-create things (um, explaining why the pew benches are all glaringly empty in this photo). He took pictures of us at the altar and emerging from the chapel, smiling widely as if we'd just been officially pronounced husband and wife. He also insisted I have my photographer aunt send him her pictures and he'd try to work some Photoshop magic on them.
I haven't gotten my photos back yet, but I'm confident they'll be beautiful. And, in a kind of weird way, I'm happy that I did have my moment. In our now married life together, I know we'll encounter way bigger problems than that, and it feels nice to start things with a good perspective.
Did you have a mistake or problem at your wedding? What was it, and how did you handle it?