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One of the most important factors to avoiding wedding disaster is accepting that something can go wrong without destroying your wedding day. Weddings depend on many different people and something is bound to happen differently than you expect- especially if there are children involved. Be prepared to accept accidents and mishaps with grace, and if possible, even try to laugh them off. Your attitude will make a huge difference in how people perceive the event, and if you don't act as if it was a disaster, then your guests may not even notice the things that don't go quite right.

Of course, although attitude is important, there are also a lot of practical things that can be done to avoid disaster. Again, there can be a lot of people involved in pulling off the wedding day. Make sure that you keep in touch with all of them on a regular basis as the day approaches. Check with the people you hire to make sure that they have a back-up plan in case something happens to prevent them from showing up at your wedding. If they don't have a back-up plan, then you might want to consider looking elsewhere. Make sure you know how much added security is worth to you money-wise. Extra back-up people might mean paying extra for the services that you need.

If you want back-up but don't mind a more personal touch to your wedding, look to your friends and family. Ask a friend if they'll control your playlist for the reception if the DJ doesn't show, or tell your maid of honor that she's in charge of fixing your nails if something happens to them the morning of the wedding (mine did a miracle on mine just hours before the ceremony!). Many people will be willing to help out to see that you are happy and worry-free on your wedding day, and you might be surprised at how well they can pull off the things that you've spent months planning!

Some things are a little harder to back up than others and require a different approach. It's unlikely that any of your guests will be able to whip up a wedding cake on the day of the wedding, so you will probably just have to stay in touch with your bakery and trust that they'll pull through. If one of your bridesmaids or groomsmen has something come up at the last minute, you might just have to be flexible with the number of people in your bridal party or hope that another guest fits into the dress or tux.

Try to remember that if someone important to you changes plans at the last minute, it may not be their fault. Holding a grudge against one of your best friends on the morning of your wedding is a sure way to make your special day feel like a disaster. And if you're asking a young child to walk down a long aisle in front of a lot of strangers, try to be understanding if they lose their courage at the last second. Their families have probably done you a big favor by getting their kids ready, and they are probably going to do all they can to encourage the child to walk down the aisle, but sometimes kids have minds of their own. You may have to be ready to have a ceremony without the kids- unless you would rather have a screaming flower girl than none at all. My grandfather carried my flower girl's basket down the aisle and my grandmother carried my flower girl, but in the end my guests ended up chuckling, I have great pictures of my cousin all dressed up for the wedding, and now we have a great story to tell my flower girl when she grows up!

Ultimately, it is important to remember that your wedding day is about a marriage and not about a wedding. If something goes wrong and disaster ensues, try to make the most of it. A disaster doesn't have to ruin your wedding.

Learn more about this author, Heather Horn.
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