Wedding Day Hazards You Can Avoid

• Direct Sunlight - Avoid seating your guests, and making your wedding party stand in the direct sunlight – if you can’t find shade then by all means consider a tent. Remember that an area with shade in the early afternoon may be drenched in sunlight and heat later in the day.
• Umbrellas, Hats and Folding Fans – Provide guests and wedding party with umbrellas and folding fans (portable shade) - or at least inform them to bring their own. If your wedding is to be held under the sun this is an essential courtesy. Once again, inform guests that your wedding ceremony is being held outdoors and recommend they bring protection from the sun (umbrellas or hats).
• Wind – If it is windy then you will have wind noise through any microphone used. Make sure microphones use wind-protectors to cut down on the “rumble” produced by wind blowing.
• Mid-day ceremonies – rather plan for late afternoon or early evening ceremonies when it is cooler and the sun is not directly overhead.
• “Cooled” bottled water – Provide cooled bottled water to the wedding party and guests – and vendors. This is an essential courtesy.
• Spike heels – Spike heels and grass or soft ground, gravel walkways, cobblestone, etc., don’t mix. Inform guests to bring flat heels - and don’t forget your wedding party.
• No alternate plans – Have an alternate plan for indoor facilities and implement it if the weather threatens at all to be bad. Make your decision to hold your wedding ceremony outdoors or moving it inside at least two or preferably three hours before it is to begin – and then stick to your decision.
• Keep your ceremony short – one-half hour is quite enough.
• Insects and Creepy Crawlies – Ask your venue if there is an abundance of insects and if that should be a concern - most venues take steps to spray or otherwise minimize insects. Time of year makes a big difference. We suggest you make sure you have a first aid kit available for anyone who needs it - and include a bug stick to stop the itch of bug bites.

• Wedding ceremony music (Deejays) - If your deejay is providing music for your wedding ceremony then make sure the deejay is well informed about the program sequence of your ceremony and what music to play and when. Don’t wait until the wedding day – meet with your deejay well ahead of your event.
• Wedding ceremony music (Live Music) - If your wedding is outside keep in mind that musicians and their instruments must be shaded from the sun for several reasons. One, you'll get a better performance from a physically cooled musician, and second, musical instruments - especially wooden instruments - change tunnings when heated by the sun. Remember heat and humidity can make for a very out of tune sounding rendition of your favorite chosen music.
• CD’s - If you are providing a CD of your wedding music to the deejay to play make sure the CD works in his playback equipment. If the CD won’t play in the deejays equipment the ceremony is not where you want to discover this. We’ve seen this happen on a few occasions with bad results.
• Master of Ceremonies - Is the deejay also acting as your Master of Ceremonies at your reception? If so make sure beforehand that he is capable of acting in this capacity in a “professional” way. Discuss with the deejay what you want him to do and say. You don’t want your Deejay using off-color or inapropriate remarks and language if your families or guests are uncomfortable with this type of talk.
• Sound levels – Discuss audio volume with your deejay and tell him the preferred audio levels for the ceremony and reception. Do this before the event and then make sure the audio levels are to your liking. If you want him to keep it soft during the cocktail/social hour and dinner then let him know. You can pump up the music later for dancing. This has always been something that has amazed us, about how insensitive to reception guests some deejays can be. There is nothing more distracting and annoying than trying to talk and socialize over obnoxiously loud music. We've seen situations where the sheer loud volume of the music drove away guests from a reception. We call it "volumecide!"
• Seating - Don’t seat guests directly in front of the deejays loudspeakers…especially senior citizens.

• Proximity – We’ve seen photographers who actually become part of the ceremony…so close it was like there was nobody else at the ceremony. If you want your photographer to stay back from the ceremony you have to tell him so. Most good photographers are quite considerate and shoot beautiful photos from a distance with the correct lenses to do this with. Others nudge and push their way into your ceremony – it’s really crazy.
• Compatibility – Avoid the clash! Video techs normally set-up and stay in their set-up spots, seldom roving around your ceremony, working instead from tri-pods. If your photographer is up-close to you during the ceremony and reception and moving about, then he’ll be in your video also – it’s unavoidable. To help out your videographer, ask your photographer to avoid as much as possible standing in front of your videographer’s camera field of view. This goes for the ceremony and reception. Nothing will ruin your wedding DVD than having your photographer stand in front of the videographers field of view...especially during critical shots like the vows, the groom-bride kiss, entrance of the bride, walk down the aisle, cutting the wedding cake, and so on.
• Allow adequate areas for Camera’s – Nothing more frustrating than no place to set up the video camera(s). Photographers don’t normally have this problem since they move about whereas video cameras stay put. Discuss this with wedding planners and church officials before your wedding day – then discuss this with your videographer. Work out a plan ahead of time.
• Adequate heads-up notice – Give your photographer and videographer a heads-up before cutting the cake, doing the first dance, introductions, bouquet toss, garter tradition, toasts and departure, etc. Cameras need time to start-up and techs need time to get into position, and a little notice beforehand helps greatly. This is especially helpful if the photographer or video tech is in the middle of his or hers dinner!
• Vendor meals – Meals are usually provided for the vendors (deejay, photographer/videographer). Feed them at the beginning of the dinner to allow them time to be done and ready to finish the reception event when everyone else is done eating.

• Children In The Ceremony – Children in the ceremony are adorable and cute - but they can be unpredictable, so keep in mind the temperament of the child. Very young children sometimes perform well at rehearsal, but add the wedding guests the next day and it’s a different story. Make sure the child is OK with the show aspects of the event and is not going to react badly during the ceremony event. Nothing is more “un-cute” than a screaming and crying child that adults are trying to persuade to behave and participate against their will.
• Children Of The Guests – Young children of the guests can be very disruptive to the ceremony and the reception. Weddings are of interest and enjoyed by adults, but seldom by children. Seriously consider a baby-sitting service for children both during the ceremony and reception. Children will enjoy playing with other children, playing with toys, eating treats and generally have a better time. A good baby-sitting service and play area for children is a good idea and parents can enjoy themselves too.