Although my daughter's day turned out practically perfect, and we thought we had planned for just about every contingency.....in hindsight, there was one thing photography related that we were unprepared for, and I thought I would pass it along.
When the photographer arrived at the house, many of the girls and the bride herself were not back from the hair salon. He busied himself taking pictures of the flowers, and some of the other "standard" shots. The second cameraman was with the girls, taking the "getting ready" pictures. To avoid "downtime", and in an attempt to capture as many pictures as possible, cameraman #1 shouted, "Give me anything wedding related....rings, garters, veil..." The poor man was desperate.
Unfortunately, many of those items were with the bride and BM's at the salon. (My daughter slept in her own home the night before, so those items were with her and "in route" to our house.) Even though I had a box of them upstairs, it never dawned on me to bring down leftover invitations, or some of the reception paraphernalia, or even some items left over from the rehearsal dinner.
So, if some of these pictures are important to you, I would suggest making a little list of "box" to keep these things in. I know traditionally, the invitation is often used as a backdrop to other superimposed photos, or the garter is juxtaposed with flowers, etc.
It also did not dawn on me that once in the house, the photographer would follow my daugther everywhere, including my bedroom and bath.....which looked like a warzone because so many people were getting dressed up there! The morning was so hectic, I didn't even realize that this happened until we saw the proofs a week later! He also did some major rearranging of furniture, which would have been so much easier had I thought to do it the day before. Be prepared to find a sturdy, but pretty place from which to hang the bridal gown for pictures. I was so focused on the bride and her pictures, and the "main" area of the house, that I never once took into consideration how the rest of the house might be involved! We laugh now, but then........I was dying!