For the record I am a Disc Jockey 90% of the time and a Wedding Planner 10% of the time. I do over 20 Weddings myself each year so you can only imagine I have a “BUNCH” of stories but one in particular takes the cake or in this case the Wedding Dresses it should be entitled “ Where’s The Wedding Dress?” The story starts off with the chance meeting of a newly engaged lady meeting me at a Bridal Show. After discussing my services as a Wedding Planner she hired me to consult with her and her mother and plan and coordinate the Wedding. It all seemed very routine and very normal yet things were about to turn interesting. I started the typical round of appointments with the Wedding Vendors and at every appointment from the invitations to the flowers you name it the Mother and the Bride where fighting and arguing over every detail. I realized I had gotten more than I bargained for with this wedding but figured I just would make the best of it. Finally after 6 months of decisions being made by the Bride and unmade by the mother however it was crunch time to make the final decisions and they were made, often with much dramatic fanfare. Many of my vendors were dealing with all this drama and all of them made the best of it. I should have known something major was going to happen. The engagement photos came back, less than a month before the wedding, yeah I know that was how this was going. The Mother hated the photos. In essence the issue was neither Bride nor Groom was very photogenic so it was tough. The Mother fired the photographer ( whom by the way is excellent was relieved to be released by the client in the end) and she went out with out my knowledge or the Brides and hired another. Okay one can see maybe where this is headed. It was 2 weeks before the Wedding, time for the final dress fitting, nope the dress was not done. It was being made by a friend of the Mother of the Bride, not only was the Wedding Dress not completed but also all the Attendants dresses as well. NONE were done. I made the Mother sign a waiver saying I had nothing to do with a responsibility of the dresses and I let it go. I ask the Bride nearly every day if they were done and they were not. The Rehearsal night came and I conducted the rehearsal and went over the check list with the Bride and her Mother. Everything was in place and I was assured the dresses would arrive no problem. I attended the rehearsal dinner and was pulled aside by both the sisters of the bride crying on my shoulder that they did not approve of this marriage etc. and that they understood the dresses were not finished. I told them that it was up to the Mother of the Bride to make sure these dresses got finished per our agreement and there was nothing I could do to control this. The Wedding Day comes all is set and ready the Bridal Party Arrives with no dresses!!!! I am very worried but we had 2.5 hours left. At 1 hour before I sent my assistant to get a Vail and Garter from one of my Attire Vendors as that was not finished but the dresses were to be on the way. The guest begin arriving, I went and told the catering people that we where going to serve cocktails NOW!!! So it was that in order to buy more time I had the cocktail hour moved to before the Ceremony, thank goodness the ceremony and reception where happening in the same location. The Guest’s thought this was a great idea. As the clocked ticked away so did my hopes that we would have a dress or any dresses. The brother in law arrived with poorly hemmed but at least dresses for the attendants about 30 minutes after the ceremony should have started. He had hemmed them himself!!! The Father of the Bride had gone back to the house of the person making the Wedding Dress and gotten the dress and was arriving with it over an hour and half after the ceremony was to begin. I had consulted the Bride and Groom at 1 hour past and ask what they wanted to do…they both said go down the Aisle even if it was in their Blue Jeans. At that moment the dress arrived. I hurried got the Bride in her dress and had to duct tape the bottom hem as it was not done! Quickly got a few photos and attempted to get the guests seated who where having a great time with the cocktails and they really did seem to want to go be seated. Many went with wine glasses in hand! The real kicker was I had less than 15 minutes to have the entire Wedding Finished and everyone back inside for the Reception due to the contract agreement with the facility. Needless to say it was a quick ceremony! In the end everyone had a great time and the couple got married despite the fact that it is rumored the mother paid the dressmaker off not to have the dresses ready! In all the years I have been doing Weddings I have never had such a story to tell. The good news is the couple is still married 2 years later and just had their first child a few days ago. Love can SURVIVE! Thanks for letting me share this story.