No matter how much time and trouble you take to ensure that your wedding is planned down to the very last detail, there is bound to be a problem or two once your big day finally arrives. That’s just the way it goes with weddings. Even if you are planning a simple San Francisco City Hall wedding, it’s pretty much a given that you’ll have a few things that don’t work out quite the way they were planned. However, those little hassles don’t have to ruin your wedding day if you are prepared to handle them quickly and efficiently.

Planning an event as important and complicated as a your wedding isn’t easy. There are simply too many people involved to expect that everything will go off without a hitch. You’ll have wedding photographers, videographers, florists, caterers, wedding officiants and DJs to coordinate, not to mention the members of the wedding party and all those guests. Managing the endless details of your wedding just isn’t going to happen without a glitch or two.

Some of those many people involved in your event are bound to run late for one reason or another. Perhaps the hair stylist will take longer than planned to get those bridal party hair-dos done or the groomsmen will get stuck in traffic on the way to the ceremony. But, you can avoid letting those small issues ruin your wedding schedule if you plan with the knowledge that these things are likely. If the hair stylist says she needs an hour to get her job done, schedule an extra 30 minutes or so just in case. Tack a few minutes extra onto those travel time estimates as well to be sure that your schedule isn’t thrown off track if traffic is heavier than normal. Adding a little more time than you think you need for each task can save you a lot of stress over the coarse of your event.

Among the most common wedding day hassles are wardrobe disasters. Wedding dress bustles are notorious for popping loose just before you are due to begin that ceremonial first dance. Straps are another trouble prone area, as are buttons that fall off or hems that are damaged as they are caught underfoot. And if you’re wearing a white or ivory, spots and spills can really make a mess of your wedding gown, showing starkly against that light background in those wedding photos. However, many common wardrobe hassles can be handled quite quickly by the bride who has armed herself with a wedding emergency kit that contains safety pins, tape, pre-moistened wipes and a few sewing supplies.

Knowing that little problems will happen in even the best-planned event will save you a lot of stress on your wedding day. Of course, you can’t plan for every possible problem, but being ready for the most likely ones will give you some peace of mind. And don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends and family in attending to those many details. After all, handling all those problems yourself can lead to another one; looking tense and anxious in your wedding photos. Let someone else watch for those little wedding day disasters for a while, giving you time to relax and enjoy your day.

The term bridal session means different things to different people. In Southern families, bridal sessions are a rather formal portrait session that is done well before the wedding, a tradition that has endured for generations. In other parts of the country, a bridal session might be an after the wedding photo shoot of the bride alone, or a more casual session with both bride and groom that can take place either before or after the wedding.

Bridal sessions are a tradition in many Southern families. These sessions are done at least six weeks before the wedding date, and the bride goes all out, wearing all her wedding finery, the dress, shoes, veil, jewelry and accessories, just as if she were getting ready for her wedding day. She will have her hair and makeup professionally done as well, completing her wedding day look.

The reason the bridal session is done so far in advance of the wedding is that it is traditional to have a large, framed photo from the bridal session displayed at the reception, usually near the wedding cake. After the wedding, tradition dictates that the portrait is presented as a gift to the mother of the bride, while the father of the bride and the groom’s family are presented with smaller pictures shot at the bridal session.

Aside from those traditional bridal portrait gifts, the bridal session also serves a very practical purpose, a trial run of the bride’s entire wedding ensemble. Having pictures done in her full wedding finery offers her the chance to see how she’ll look in her wedding pictures, and if she isn’t satisfied, make some changes before her wedding day.

In other areas of the country, bridal sessions are a chance for brides or wedding couples to be photographed in their wedding attire, away from the hectic atmosphere of the wedding. If done before the the big day, it can give them a chance to get comfortable with their photographer and test out that wedding look. Done after the wedding, these sessions can offer them the opportunity to put those wedding clothes on one more time to get any shots they might have missed out on their wedding day.

Whether the photos from your bridal session are destined to be gifted to family members or tucked into your own wedding album, they are sure to be treasured. There’s no such thing as too much wedding photography. After all, your wedding day only happens once, so preserving those precious moments and memories is an important part of the experience.