You want the wedding of your dreams not of your nightmares, right? You don't want something from your wedding winding up as a wedding blooper on YouTube! Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid to keep that from happening.

Pitfall #1: INSISTING ON A PERFECT WEDDING

There’s no such thing as a perfect wedding. . . and if there were, would you really want it? Perfection is probably not your goal. No doubt this is a red-letter day in your life. You want it to be special. You want your family & friends to celebrate with you & have a good time.

However, little unexpected things happen. When you keep things in perspective, these don’t have to ruin your day. Of course, you don’t want major disruptions or distractions because of poor planning & preparation. That’s why you want to avoid pitfalls #’s 2-5.

Do this: On your wedding day, give yourself a good talking to & remind yourself what your wedding day is really all about.

Pitfall #2: POOR WEDDING REHEARSAL EXECUTION

If your wedding rehearsal is an exercise in frustration, you don’t have much time to get over it! Likely your wedding is the next day.

Do this: You can reduce the chances of problems at the wedding rehearsal in a couple of ways:

One, have a professional director if possible. At the least, you need a friend or family member with strong enough personality (without taking over your wedding wishes) to get people moving & to be there for the wedding to remind everyone what to do/when.

Two, know before going to your rehearsal exactly how you want your wedding to go. Rehearsals are not a time for working this out, but for practicing what you’ve already decided. This doesn’t mean that you won’t see something at your rehearsal that you want to change. But, if you go in with no plan, well-meaning friends & family may take over your wedding.

Pitfall #3:NO BACK-UP PLAN IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN IN YOUR WEDDING:

Children are precious in weddings & if you want them in yours, then certainly include them. However, for the sake of the children, have a back-up plan. Even children who are outgoing have trouble sometimes when they see “all those people.” You don’t want the children to be embarrassed, frightened, and upset.

Do this: Increasing, couples have children (ring bearers, flower girls) come down the aisle and then immediately go sit with family on the front rows.

This way, they feel included in the wedding & “get seen” but then are relieved from the pressure of the spotlight.

What if children are hesitant to come down the aisle by themselves? A possibility is to have them walk down with one of the attendants. What if a child won’t stand still & becomes a distraction? Have a family member who will come get the child & take them to a seat.

Children’s little mess-ups are cute, but quickly become a distraction to your ceremony.

Pitfall #4:USING RECORDED WEDDING MUSIC

This may be the most frequent goof-up I see at weddings. Invariably, the person doing the music can’t find the on/off button, plays the wrong song at the wrong time, or abruptly ends the bride’s processional music with a loud click of the off switch.

Do this: Have live wedding music if possible. It sounds better & you don’t have the problems mentioned above.

Recorded wedding songs can work nicely, but if you rehearse anything, make sure you rehearse the music; what songs when, how long they run, and when to fade them out.

Pitfall #5: AN INEXPERIENCED WEDDING CEREMONY OFFICIANT

Perhaps I’m biased here, but I have seen & have heard many horror stories about ministers & other officiants who do a poor job. Calling the couple by the wrong names, leaving out the bridal kiss, speaking too low or too long, are just some of the problems. Weddings are not the easiest things to do. Experience can make a difference.

Do this: Use an experienced wedding minister or officiant. An experienced wedding officiant will know what do when unexpected things happen. Did the best man lose the ring; what to do now?

Perhaps there is someone very special to you as a couple that you want to perform your ceremony even though they don’t have much wedding experience. In this case, spend a lot of time with them going over exactly what you want in the ceremony. Make sure any inexperienced officiant is at the rehearsal & go through the ceremony a couple of times.

Avoid these 5 pitfalls in planning your wedding and you will decrease your odds of wedding bloopers ruining your wedding and your memories.