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Curtis and Paul lucked up with gorgeous weather for their outdoor wedding, but it’s always safe to have a rain contingency. Photo: Brian Evans

The best wedding advice that you can receive is to expect (and prepare for) the unexpected at your wedding. If you think of your wedding day as the beginning of a long life together, then the little kinks of the day are simply stories that will be shared throughout your life. Of course, little problems make great stories but huge meltdowns can ruin a wedding or reception. Hope for the best but plan for the worst is a good motto for anyone getting married.

Time Out From Mother Nature

The tents are up and the tiki torches are lit. The guests have been complimenting you all day on the beauty of your beach-front venue. The guest that you did not expect was the first named hurricane of the season. Mother Nature may have a different idea about your perfect wedding. The best way to deal with unexpected weather is with a little preplanning and a lot of surrender. Make sure you have a back-up generator in case of a power outage and a contingency area for the reception. After that, embrace the weather and, hey, get married in the rain.

Angry Bowels

Food poisoning is one of the top 10 wedding disasters, according to WeTv. Medical emergencies can be compounded when you are having a destination wedding where you do not know the medical facilities of the area. If you are inviting guests from outside of their normal area then tell them to bring enough medication to last twice the length of the stay. Also make sure that several key people know where the local medical facilities are located and how to access them. Double the importance of this information if you are getting married outside the country.

The Infamous Drunk Cousin

The wedding reception of Anna Pastuszwska and Andy Somora had so much drinking that police had to get involved and the happy bride and groom ended up tasered and in (separate) drunk tanks, said a report in The Daily Beast. The drunken family member is a distinct possibility. It is a celebration, after all. If the wedding is very large and your family members are known to be rowdy, hire a bouncer to keep the peace or ask a few trusted guests to keep an eye out for potential alcohol induced problems.

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The Nothing-Will-Go-Right Moment

The cake is not right, the tables are the wrong size, and Granny is dressed like a streetwalker. When everything is going sideways, let it go. This is where the hilarious wedding story comes into play. These are the life lessons that you will hand down to your children and grandchildren. This is the time for you to kick off your shoes and dance; the wedding is just a day, but marriage is a lifetime and you have plenty of perfect days ahead.

The Bride, Broom or Groom Meltdown

Should one (or all) of these potential disasters happen, there could be an even bigger problem coming in hot. A bride, broom and/or groom has likely spent the last year planning the event and if something does go wrong, this could trigger a serious meltdown. To ease the tension, laugh it off. Remember that this is only the first of life stresses so start finding the joy.