The One Where Things Went Wrong!

Yes, it happens, things don’t always go as planned.

One of our quiet goals as wedding coordinators is that if something goes wrong, we try to solve it without adding stress to the couple’s day! When an event runs smoothly it’s often a sign of the work happening behind the scenes.

We have many real-life examples of major (and minor) things that almost went wrong but were resolved quietly, calmly, and without the couple knowing about any of them!

Here are a few!

(some details have been changed to protect the newly married!)

1. Centerpieces in storage.

One couple got married at a beautiful winery with stunning views of hills and fields. They chose very minimal decor in order to highlight the venue’s natural beauty and to keep things within their budget. They had ordered potted plants from a non-profit organization to be placed on the tables as centerpieces with the intent that their guests would take them home as gifts at the end of the wedding.

The delivery was scheduled and confirmed in advance and the driver called on the morning of the wedding to let us know that he dropped off the plants off nice and early. We arrived at the venue for set-up, and the plants were no where to be found! We checked with the driver; he had delivered them to the right place. The event manager arrived after the delivery and had no idea where they were.

After a few calls, she managed to track down the staff member that had accepted the delivery. He assumed that they were for a workshop the next day and locked them in a storage room.

Luckily, we were able to retrieve them and finish setting them up while the bride was still taking photos! The tables were set and looked beautiful before the couple had a chance to see that anything was missing!

2. Missing tables!

This is a story about a couple who are super cute! Super fun! And super last minute! I loved their energy and their wedding was amazing, but they did wait until the last possible minute to finalize their table plan (despite my reminders/pleas/threats/offers to help).

In addition to this, they misunderstood the instructions from the venue and created a table plan that didn’t match the venue layout. Two days before the wedding after a lot of back and forth we got it done! Or so we thought!

I arrived at the venue on the morning of the wedding and the first thing I did was check the table layout. It was wrong and we were missing tables! Approximately 25 of the guests did not have seats and the venue’s table numbers didn’t match the couples’ seating chart!

Thankfully all was well in the end! Using the couple’s seating plan we were able to work with the venue’s event manager to add the missing tables and adjust the table numbers as needed! The couple (and all their guests!) enjoyed an awesome wedding and delicious seated meal, blissfully unaware of the mess that their table plan created.

3. Confetti Catastrophe! Or nearly!

Ok catastrophe may be a bit of an exaggeration; this was a minor faux pax that could have cost the couple thousands of shekels.

Many venues have added a clause in their contract forbidding confetti from being used in the hall. This venue in particular had a high cleaning fee of 5,000 shekels that would be added on to the costs of the wedding if confetti was used. (I always tell my clients to let their guests know when confetti isn’t allowed – not all guests listen!)

The wedding was going really well, and we were getting to the last hour or two of the event. The band had finished their set, and the DJ was playing the after party. Suddenly I spot a guest walking with confetti cannons towards the hall! I took off after them and managed to wrestle them away... ok it wasn’t that dramatic – I ran after them and managed to politely intercept them and explain that this wasn’t allowed in the property. Confetti canons were safely stowed away, and the couple wasn’t charged an extra cleaning fee.

4. Car Crash!

Ok confession time. This happened on the day of my daughter’s wedding. And in this case, I was also in the dark. It was the morning of my daughter’s wedding and of course everything was going very well. We were getting ready with hair and make-up and lots of fun music and treats. My husband, the father of the bride (FOB) headed out to pick-up the bouquet from the florist at the venue and bring it back home before the photographer arrived.

At the venue there are large planters with trees located randomly in the parking lot. FOB picks up the bouquet gets in the car to head home. In his excitement, he hit one of the planters and water starts pouring out of the car. (There were several other guests that did this as well, so he wasn’t the only one).

He immediately stepped into the planner role and decided not to alert me or my daughter, but to handle this behind the scenes. He called our mechanic and explained the situation. The mechanic inspected the damage by video call and after a few tests determined that the engine was fine and the water was coming from the washer fluid tank only. Thankfully, the car was perfectly safe to drive. He called our close friends and neighbors to have them on standby just in case we needed to borrow their car, as a backup.

Thankfully all was well and the bouquet and my husband got home in plenty of time and in perfect shape! The wedding was absolutely beautiful! and I only found out about the car situation a few days later.

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Really? But everything ran perfectly!

Yes! of course it did! We made sure of it!

An event coordinator’s role isn’t just to plan—it’s to absorb stress, make decisions, and make sure that things feel seamless. Most problems don’t need to be shared; they need to be solved.

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If you have a wedding or other event coming up be in touch! It would be our pleasure to work with you to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that you are able to enjoy!

Phone/WhatsApp 054-6787992 email: shoshana@shoshevents.com