It’s every bride and groom’s worst nightmare – a last minute crisis when a supplier you’ve had your heart set on suddenly can’t be there for your wedding.

As a supplier myself, I totally get it. I also know those last few weeks before your wedding are busy, stressful and the LAST thing you need is to be let down by one of your suppliers.

All is not lost.

There are things you can do, and ways of handling the situation:

Prevention

I got married nearly nine years ago and I absolutely loved planning my wedding day. We carefully wove our love story into the details and special touches.  We had recently moved from London to Bath and wanted all our city slicker friends to kick back and relax at our country house wedding. We were married in the church my family have always attended and headed to a country house to host our reception.

Simple and elegant wedding ideas from the Langdale Chase Hotel, Lake District. Helen Jane Smiddy Photography (5)

It’s all over so fast…

It was idyllic but as we drove away to our Italian honeymoon I had one regret. It wasn’t the menu, my dress or the flowers. It was that it didn’t last long enough.

You are as beautiful as you’ll ever be.

When you’re a grandma or a crazy great auntie you’ll look back on old pictures and know, see and appreciate just how beautiful you look today. Fact.

But if today you can’t see that, it’s time to take a deep breath and refocus. Because you’ve lost something precious which really, you should own.

We all have our little hangups – tummies, thighs, noses – imperfections we’re super conscious of sometimes.

But when you’re young they shouldn’t matter. They’re a part of you – and you ARE beautiful.

Do you find wedding planning can be overwhelming sometimes? You’re not alone if you find you have a million questions to ask, about every aspect of your wedding. Organising a wedding isn’t something any of us do every day, it’s all new territory and a little crazy at times. I read so many questions from couples – do we need this? how does this work? and so often, why does this cost so much? It’s fine to ask! We have a lot of the answers here in our Advice archives.

bespoke wedding dress price discussion with Ailsa Munro (1)

Rain on your wedding day will always mean you have the best stories to tell, and a collection of very memorable moments of your day. I love today’s real wedding story, which tells the tale of one of our favourite wedding bands, booked to play two sets on an English summer’s day for an outdoor wedding. It’s about near-disaster, sheer professionalism, and that famous ‘the show must go on’ attitude… Grab a cuppa and enjoy the ride! Oh, and do spare a thought for your musicians (and their gear) if you’re having an outdoor ceremony!

Words: lovely Ben from Goosebumps. Images: Kristian Leven Photography