Appendix E: FAQ and Troubleshooting

Indexed by symptom, because that is how problems arrive.

Each entry gives the immediate move, the underlying cause, and where in the book it lives. Most of them are not emergencies — Chapter 27's first triage question kills the majority of what reaches a planner, and this appendix is arranged so you can find that out quickly.

E.1 On the Day — In the Next Ten Minutes

Start here if something is happening now.

Symptom First move Ch.
Somebody is unwell or injured Call emergency services immediately — before checking, before finding family, before asking. Send a named person to the gate. Clear the space 28 §28.5
Fire, structural, electrical, or a person who should not be there Evacuate or stop first, investigate second. For a structure, the contractor's call overrides everybody 28 §28.5a
A vendor has not arrived Call · second number · office. Establish late versus absent — they are different problems. Then the venue. Then two others 28 §28.4
A vendor is not answering at T−90 Treat as absent and start the response. Starting is reversible; waiting is not 28 §28.4a
The forecast has changed Is it before or after your decision deadline? If before, decide at the deadline on the evidence then 28 §28.2
Something is running late Ask what is waiting. Delay is directional and half the time the float absorbs it 25
Two people who should not be near each other are near each other Physical. Move one by giving them a task, a drink, or a reason. Do not mediate 28 §28.6
Something irrecoverable has happened to somebody Attend to the person · remove the audience · take the logistics off everybody · let the couple decide what the day does · then run the wedding 28 §28.8

And before acting on anything else: will a guest notice? Most of what reaches you dies at that question. (Ch.27 §27.2)

E.2 Venue and Site

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
The rain plan's room does not hold everyone Check what the capacity figure was computed for. 89 for a dinner is 211 for a standing ceremony. Write the unit next to the number 28 CS2
A truck cannot get out of the yard Asked "will it fit?" instead of "how does it get out?" Immediate: slacken and re-set what is blocking. Next time: the venue file 34 §34.4
Two suppliers were both promised the same access at the same time Nobody walked the schedule forward by hour. Immediate: sequence by dependency, not seniority 34 §34.7
The generator is undersized Loads not enumerated, or no diversity factor. AV should be on its own leg 18, 34 §34.5
The venue's back gate is locked and the caretaker has gone Venue file, and a Saturday contact distinct from the office 39 §39.6
A curfew is being enforced and nobody can negotiate Check who enforces it — the venue, or an authority. If an authority, there is no negotiation on the night 40
The load-out will not finish before handback Strike is 40–60% of build and you planned 25%. Immediate: start non-critical strike during the event's last hour 34 §34.3

E.3 Guests

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
A guest cannot manage the walk to the ceremony Hold if you must — and then ask whether anybody else is struggling. Fourteen walked it and one was helped 27, 29
Nobody disclosed an access need and now there is one You asked a question that could not be answered. "Any special requirements?" asks people to classify themselves. State the facts and offer a specific solution instead 29 §29.5
A guest did not get the meal they asked for The fourth handoff — kitchen to guest. Marked plates, hand-delivered by name, at every service point 29 §29.4
Somebody has been outside alone for twenty minutes Usually a guest attending alone. The fix is a name, assigned at the rehearsal 29 §29.7
The seating chart has a queue at it 14-point type, one copy, grouped by table. 24-point, two copies, alphabetical, and a person standing next to it 29 §29.6
A guest cannot hear the ceremony The commonest unmet access need at any wedding. A microphone used properly · seating near the front · printed vows, which cost about eleven dollars 29 §29.4
Guests are leaving early and nobody knows why Check the temperature and whether there is anywhere to sit. Neither will ever be reported 29
A taxi will not come down the lane at 11 p.m. One call at −2 weeks, a printed departure plan, and a named person at the gate with a torch 29 §29.6

E.4 Vendors

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
A vendor's quote is wildly different from the others The specifications are not comparable. Send one written brief to all three A.6, 12
A vendor keeps adding costs The exclusions were never written down. Get what is not included, in writing, before signing 12, D.1
A supplier says something is "not allowed" Ask what specifically, and check. "We're not allowed to donate food" is usually a reflex, not a rule 35 §35.5
A vendor cannot come Which substitutability category? A and B are money and downgrade problems. C and D need what was prepared in advance 28 §28.4
The officiant cannot come A permission runs to a named person. A substitute is not automatically covered — which is why you asked granted to whom, and extendable? at −9 months 28, 33
A local partner has gone silent Ring the biggest vendor directly and ask two things: are you still coming, and who would you trust to coordinate 33 CS1
A vendor is being difficult with the venue Do not join in. Everything you say about anybody is said in front of somebody who will repeat it 38 CS1

E.5 Clients and Families

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
The budget cannot deliver what they want Say so early, with numbers, and offer the version that fits. "It can't be that, for twenty-two" 6, 37 §37.9
They will not decide Give two options and a deadline, not an open question 3, 27 §27.3
Somebody is over-assigned Lay one person's tasks on one page with times. Elena had eight 24
Two families disagree about a tradition Establish what is required versus what is custom, from the authority — and then propose nothing 21
A parent is anxious and asking repeatedly Usually a request for reassurance rather than for the change. Say yes warmly and change nothing 40 CS2
Something has gone wrong and you must tell them Reassurance (if true) · the fact in one sentence · what has been done · what you need from them. Never in reverse 28 §28.7
Something has gone wrong and it is resolved Problems: tell them afterwards. People: tell them. Anything involving a named family member goes at the next scheduled conversation 27, 30
They ask why you did something eight months ago The decision record. Six per wedding, capturing why 39 §39.5a

E.6 Documents and Systems

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
Three versions of the run sheet exist One place · date first, version last · an archive folder · the same tree every event 39 §39.5
A number turned out to mean something else Write the unit and the assumption next to it. Four errors in this book were this error 39 §39.5
The audit found it and it never got fixed Found and fixed were the same column. Artefact · owner · due · closed 39 §39.8
A substitute cannot run your event from your book The absence test. Give it to somebody, answer nothing, write down every question 40 §40.5
You have a finding log and nothing has changed A log with one column is a diary. Ninety-one entries, four changes 39 CS1
You have twenty-two improvements and no time A planner implements three or four a season. Rank, choose four, defer the rest with dates 39 §39.11
A review found nothing and you are uneasy Reviews find what is wrong; injections find what is fragile. Remove something and trace 40 §40.3

E.7 Money and Business

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
Busy all year and no money Compute the cost of an hour. Most find a number 40–60% below what they believed 36 §36.1, 37 §37.7
Profitable on paper, no money in the account Deferred revenue and seasonal cash flow. Two accounts, and a twelve-month forecast 36 §36.3, §36.5
A client is late paying Automatic reminders do most of it. Day 14 is a phone call with an offer to restructure 36 §36.5a
An event took twice as long as quoted Scope, unstated. An exclusions list and an out-of-scope rate — which converts a refusal into a price 37 §37.3
The fee looks fine and the hourly rate is terrible You are pricing the event, not the capacity. Required revenue ÷ sellable Saturdays 37 §37.5
Enquiries are down after a price rise Compute the loss tolerance. A 30% rise survives losing 23% 37 §37.8
Marketing spend produces nothing Compute CPA with your own hours costed. Relationships ≈ $278; Instagram ≈ $4,080 38 §38.6
You cannot tell where bookings came from One column, two questions, from client one 38 §38.6
A corporate client wants emissions data Send activity data, not your own emissions spreadsheet 35 §35.8a

E.8 You

Symptom Cause and fix Ch.
Flat and directionless in October The drop, and it is not exhaustion. Book something for the second week of October, before the season starts 41 §41.4
Working every Saturday and unsure how many Count all three kinds: events, setup and rehearsals, and recovery. Halina assumed fourteen and it was thirty-four 41 CS1
Taking every enquiry A stated ceiling, as a number. "Fourteen weddings" is a limit; "not too many" is not 41 §41.6
Nobody could cover you A reciprocal arrangement, both directions, agreed in advance, costing nothing until needed 40, 41 §41.6
Considering leaving Read your stopping condition. If you do not have one, that is the finding. And note that the move, the stop, and the drift are different — only the third is a failure 41 §41.7, §41.8
Feeling you are not good enough Check the numbers first. Year four is the volume peak and year eleven earns twice as much from nine events — and the market structurally cannot see the difference between competent and excellent 37, 41 §41.6a, §41.8a
Isolated Named in §41.8a as one of the six silences. The only reliable answer is other planners 41 §41.8a

E.9 The Twelve Questions Worth Memorising

When something is wrong and you cannot place it, one of these usually finds it.

  1. Will a guest notice? (Ch.27)
  2. What is waiting on this? (Ch.25)
  3. What was this number computed for? (Ch.28, 39)
  4. Who owns this, by name? (Ch.24, 26)
  5. Late, or absent? (Ch.28)
  6. Is this a problem or a person? (Ch.27, 30)
  7. What would have to happen for that to work? (Ch.33)
  8. What catches planners out here? (Ch.38)
  9. What did I make harder than it needed to be? (Ch.30)
  10. What is not in this document that ought to be? (Ch.40)
  11. Did the book answer that, or did I? (Ch.40)
  12. And: what am I dropping to deal with this? (Ch.28)

E.10 Three Things That Are Not Problems

Because a meaningful share of what feels urgent is not.

"The flowers are the wrong colour." A disappointment, and a real one, and not a day-of problem. Note it. Tell nobody. It is a Chapter 30 conversation. (Ch.28 §28.5b)

"We're running forty minutes late." Triage question 2. Usually nothing is waiting and the answer is to do nothing. (Ch.25)

"Aunt Sandra is furious." A person, not a problem. Somebody who loves her, somewhere quieter, and back to work. (Ch.28 §28.6)

And one thing that always is: if it might be serious, call emergency services. Immediately. Before anything else.