Wedding starts late?

[*Diane*]

So I had been asked to be a coordinator for a friend's wedding but couldn't take the time off work to do it. I wondered what others would have done with the situation below.

The wedding was Friday in a neat little town about an hour from here, Eureka Springs. There was huge drama, HUGE! The groom's mother was flying in from Rome on Thursday. Her flight out of NYC was cancelled. The groom spent the entire rehearsal on the phone trying to get something else scheduled for his mom. They finally got her to DFW with plans to fly to Springfield, Missouri on Friday. I don't know exactly what happened but his mom got lost getting to Eureka. The wedding was delayed, waiting on her and their family. I can understand starting 15 minutes late but it was a full hour. :faint:

What would you have done, as the bride, or the wedding coordinator in this instance?

[lalalola]

As a bride, I would have been pissed off. It seems odd that they were flying in at such a late date, looking for trouble if you ask me. But it is the groom's mother so I would bite my tongue (very hard) and wait.

I would feel horrible for the guests but I guess that would be the wedding coordinators problem. I'm not sure what I would have done, explained the situation to the guests and maybe ran out and bought some refreshments or something for them.

That is a tough one

[*Diane*]

See, Lacy, that is exactly what I was thinking! If I had been the coordinator, I would have sent my DH out for some drinks, cups and ice. Then I would set up a table at the back of the chapel and asked people to mingle for a little while. Maybe asking people to stand up and introduce themselves and state how they know the couple, share some sweet stories about them?

[carolinalady67]

As the bride I would wait. If it had just been a friend I would have gone on with the wedding on time. But it was the grooms mom. I would have asked to wedding coordinator (or the groom) to make an anouncement to the guests. What to do with the extra time would depend on the location of the wedding. At the very least have some music played and allow the guests to visit. If possible offer the guests something to drink even if it is just making sure water is available.

[Raychel]

Oh man I would have been pissed. DH's mom is the type notoriously late for everything, so if this would have been my situation, yeah that totally would have been her too :lol: But...I would have waited and just tried to deal with it b/c it is the groom's mom after all. I definitely would have had it explained to the guests.

[Poloke]

Bite my tongue and wait for the grooms mom.

I would hope someone would have made an announcement to the guests about this, and had some music going in the background to help pass time and allow the guests to chat w/ one another. Having drinks on hand would be a bonus...and that could be a make or break point depending on the location (ex: a hot august outdoor ceremony).