The Disastrous Downside to Planning Ahead

I have now had three, potentially four, vendors leave me. Each had their own particular reason- moving back to their hometown for family reasons, changing jobs, the birth of a child- and there are no hard feelings. Life happens and my wedding is certainly not at the top of their list of priorities. But geez... you would think that a 21 month engagement would get me somewhere!

My make-up artist just emailed me to let me know that she is leaving the state. She will not be able to do the make-up for myself and my bridesmaids that morning. This is a little frustrating for me because she is independent and so she can't just assign me a back-up. She did provide a few names for replacements, but there is no guarantee that I will like them as much as I liked her or that they will be as affordable. Its not the end of the world, but it took me awhile to find her (more than a year ago) and now I need to start over, with less than three months to go.

My photographer's wife is due in September. Unless she is delivering on or very close to my wedding day, this shouldn't affect him. I did, however, hire her to take a few photos of the guys getting ready. My photographer has found a back-up for for his wife as she will either be about to burst or still recovering. I just have this weird feeling that I am going to get a phone call that morning, informing me that his little boy had just been born and he will not be able to make it. He was one of the very first vendors that I selected because I loved his work so much and I had to make it happen. It would break my heart if someone else took his place, even if they were an equally talented photographer.

I already whined about my caterer. The meeting went fine, although my contact owes me a few things and a week has gone by without a word. The final vendor to bail was my contact at my venue. Although she left before I had a chance to get too attached, her leaving marked a big change in the management of my venue. Rules changed, prices went up and the customer service fell off. The little extras that my contact had promised were no longer going to happen. It was my fault as I did not get it in writing.

I know everything will be fine. Aside from my make-up artist, I selected these companies based on their excellent reputation. It just seems kinda silly to me that I spent all this time booking vendors more than a year ago, and now I am doing it again.

I just need some good vibes- and recommendations for make-up artists in Chicago, if anyone has one!