Our industry peers share how their expertise has meant the difference between success and failure for their clients. “It’s two hours before the ceremony and no safety pen or sewing kit could fix a dress too small to zip up. As one planner is driving the bridesmaid, the other is calling the bridal salon, having them pull every burgundy colored dress in her ‘actual’ size—victory! Slight problem, the dress needs a two-inch hem, so I gave her my shoes, did a Cinderella on her feet, and voilà, crisis averted.”- Ellen Fox, PWP™, CMP, ShaFox Weddings & Event, LLC, Louisville, Ky.“A wedding venue was shut down due to zoning violations, and our clients had already sent out their invitations. Finding a new venue with such short notice was difficult, but we were able to pull it off because of the great relationships we have with other vendors.”- Kaitlin Baker-Hewes & Jennifer Connelly, Blue Lane Events, Mystic, Conn.“One time, a groom forgot his tux pants, so he wore mine.”- Frank Andonoplas, MWP™, Frank Event Design, Chicago“At a recent wedding, the zipper completely popped on the back of a bridesmaid’s red dress. The sewing kit in my emergency kit had the exact color red thread we needed to fix her dress, so we [sewed it] and everything stayed together the rest of the evening!”- Lexi Schafer, CWP™, Events by Lexi, Westminster, Md.“A few years ago, I was visiting China with my husband when I received an email at the hotel. A couple who had interviewed me a month before to officiate at their wedding contacted me to say that the friend who had agreed to perform the ceremony had backed out at the last minute. They asked if I was still available and, fortunately, I was. The ceremony was beautiful and, two years later, I was delighted to officiate a baby-naming for them!”- Deborah Davis, Deborah Davis Custom Wedding Ceremonies, Poway, Calif.“People think being a wedding planner is really glamorous, and there are times when it is. But there are also times when you have to get down and dirty—in your fresh, just out of the cleaners, pressed black suit. Recently, I planned a wedding where 400 pounds of ice had been delivered to the reception site while I was at the ceremony site; no one bothered to put the ice in the freezer or in the kitchen. Naturally, it began to melt. There was a huge puddle on the dance floor and the guest and bridal party were set to arrive soon. Thank goodness there was a store nearby. I sent my trusty assistant (my ever-so-patient and helpful husband) to purchase six large coolers, a bucket, a mop, and three beach towels. I mopped and towel dried the dance floor minutes before everyone arrived.”- Monique Hogan, CWP™, Monique Hogan Weddings and Special Events, Manhattan Beach, Calif.“[After the cake was delivered, we] noticed it was leaning. The cake delivery person had left, and there was no time to call the cake designer. [Thankfully,] I had taken a cake design class on cake emergencies, so I went to a couple of tables with floral arrangements, cut off a couple of the flowers, and placed them around the bottom of the cake, which hid the lean. No one knew or noticed except me and the assistant…Everyone raved about the appearance not realizing it was a ‘leaning tower.’”- Stephanie K. Davis, Creative Weddings and Events, Randallstown, MD.“In our early days, a client had ordered a box-lot of flowers for her DIY wedding centerpieces (despite our recommendations). When we got them, they were brown and moldy, but thanks to our experience and amazing vendor connections, we were able to save the reception decor and still have centerpieces! The bride didn’t know anything had happened.”- Jenny Garringer, PWP™, Pink with Envy Event Planning Services, Beavercreek, Ohio“A family hired me to plan the couple’s wedding quickly due to the father-of-the-bride’s health deteriorating due to cancer. Just four days from the wedding date, [he] lapsed into a coma. The bride and mother-of-the-bride were not focused on the wedding, and I saw no joy from anyone. The mother explained she would not be able to attend her daughter’s wedding as she wouldn’t leave her dying husband’s side. I reached out to all vendors, then had a conversation with the mother and the couple, giving them permission to 'postpone' the wedding. The mother and the bride thanked me for assisting them with this difficult decision, and they postponed the wedding saying they hadn’t even thought it was an option. Sadly, the father passed away, and they were able to mourn. Now, I’m planning their wedding for this fall.”- JoAnn Moore, CWC, MWP™, CWP, CSS, JoAnn Moore Weddings, Vail, Colo., and Lake Tahoe, Calif.“When half of the men in the party had not arrived at the scheduled ceremony start, I told the 200+ guests to stay in the shade, drink water, and we would start in half an hour. The bridesmaids had a champagne toast while the guests waited. When the late members of the wedding party arrived, I sent them down the aisle. The heat, excitement, and champagne were too much for the bride, and when it was her turn, she said she could not go down the aisle as she thought she would faint! The father of the bride looked at me in shock. I handed him his daughter’s bouquet and told the maid of honor to walk-as-slowly-as-she-ever-had-in-her-life down the aisle. I told my bride to show me her palms, took a bottle of water, and poured a small amount onto her fingertips. I told her to take three deep breaths and tap her cheeks, temples, and forehead with the cold water with each breath. After, I took the bouquet from her dad, handed it to my bride, and said, ‘You can do this!’ Off she went, without anyone noticing a thing.”- Carolyn O’Brien, Creative Celebrations, Portland, Ore.“We always ask for a timeline and key moment information, so we know exactly what is happening at any event. We’ve had live musicians show up late (and not at all) and have easily taken over and played the exact music that the musicians were supposed to play, because we had this info.”- Jason Rubio, Austin’s Best DJs & Photo Booths, Austin, Texas“I had recently returned from a Sandals FAM trip and luckily still had my two GoPro cameras, because our videographer was stuck in traffic for more than five hours for an out-of-state destination wedding. We took videos of the bride getting ready, the groom’s arrival, and the entire ceremony from two angles and recorded audio on our phones. The videographer took all of our digital footage and edited into a smooth video. Talk about teamwork!”- Jennifer Ball, PWP™, Knot Your Average Events, Whitsett, N.C.“Most people who follow me on social media know about my #TrunkOfWonder. It has saved the day numerous times. . .One of my famous saves was the day we were about to start the ceremony and realized that the florist didn’t deliver the leis. The couple ordered eight leis to exchange with each other and their six kids. . . I went to my Trunk of Wonder and moments later came back with eight sets of kakui nuts and silk leis. The planner and bride were blown away. I did an awesome ceremony and no one knew that there was an issue.”- Alan Katz, Great Officiants, San Diego“[Early in my career, via Facebook, a] maid of honor reached out to me by a recommendation of a current client. It seemed that the coordinator hired for the wedding [scheduled for] next weekend just quit (via text message!), citing a family emergency. . . As it happened, I was free the following weekend (my only free weekend that month). I [Skyped] with the couple that evening. They hired me on the spot, and I spent the next six days furiously getting up to speed. We went from strangers to deeply connected. . . The wedding went off without a hitch, despite some major venue and contract challenges. It’s one of my favorite weddings to date! This review from the groom sums it up: ‘Renee Dalo saved our wedding… a few times, actually.’”- Renée Dalo, Moxie Bright Events, Los Angeles“There have been many times in our 24 years as event planners that we have saved the day without thinking about that fact that we actually may have really saved the day. Consider the snowstorm that shut down the D.C. metro area. We made the event carry on by spending Friday calling in favors from transportation companies to get our guests where they needed to be…Consider the Kosher caterer whose dishes can’t touch rented tables without linens...we created a last-minute solution to make everyone happy. Consider the vendors who were not licensed, bonded, and insured but hired by the bride pre-planner. The venue would have never let them show up without the knowledge of an event rider policy.”- Cara Weiss, AWP™, SAVE The DATE, LLC, Rockville, Md.