With a weddings comes the territory of dealing with many different personalities, ideas about traditions, and opinions about how couples should and shouldn't plan an event. The enormous task of putting together one of the single most important events of your life is stressful enough — you shouldn't have to worry about dealing with sticky situations. Here's our list of five challenging scenarios and how to handle them.

Dilemma #1

You're in the process of trying to select the bridesmaids or groomsmen for your wedding party, but you realize you're going to have to leave out someone who's probably expecting to be one of your attendants.

Solution: How you handle the situation might depend on the person who is getting left out. If you're choosing a family member over a dear friend, no explanation may be necessary at all. However, if it's between two friends, you might try sitting down with the person who won't be part of your wedding line-up and explaining how you have a limited number of spots. Be honest and gentle in your explanation while keeping the emphasis on your friendship as opposed to your decision to choose someone else. Also keep in mind that the idea of having the same number of attendants for the bride and groom isn't an absolute. In the meantime, you can incorporate the help of the odd person out in other ways, including wedding coordination help and welcoming reception guests at the sign-in table.

Dilemma #2

Several of the guests you've invited have written names of additional guests on their reply cards who weren't invited to the wedding.

Solution: Unfortunately, guests are sometimes oblivious (or pretend to be) to the dilemma they cause when they make their own additions to a guest list. Additional bodies aren't easy to accommodate when you have a catered reception and a head count to give to the caterer. Assuming the uninvited guest isn't a spouse, fiancé, or live-in partner, the correct thing to do is for the host of the party to contact the guest and explain that the guest list has been established and that you are unable to accommodate a larger number of attendees.

Dilemma #3

You're not sure who will walk you down the aisle — your natural father whom you adore or your stepfather who helped raise you.

Solution: Deciding which person should walk you down the aisle is difficult, especially if you have a good relationship with both. If you have a close bond with your natural father, the politically correct decision to make could very well be choosing that parent. From an etiquette standpoint however, it is perfectly acceptable to choose your stepfather if you feel much stronger ties to him. Although it's not common, you could ask both your natural father and your stepfather to walk you down the aisle if the two men have a good relationship with each other.

Dilemma #4

You're dealing with a battle of the guest list. Your parents, your fiancé's parents, and your grand-aunt on your father's side want to lend a hand at deciding who gets to come to your wedding.

Solution: This is a situation which requires you to take in the reins as soon as possible. To be fair to all parties, ask for a guest list from everyone who should have a say (your particular family situation will dictate just who that is). Make sure the guest lists you receive are made out in the order of importance. Then start managing the lists based on what your budget is.

Dilemma #5

During the wedding planning process, your in-laws want to incorporate their ideas of a perfect wedding: a marriage at the cathedral, a reception for 300, and music from your future fiancé's nephew's band. Your take? You want none of it.

Solution: If you don't already know your in-laws well enough, get to know them. A pleasant get-together like a dinner out during the wedding planning process or an afternoon barbeque might be just the thing you need to ease some tensions. Then practice three things: honesty, compromise, and patience. First, if there is something you strongly disagree with, don't just do a polite nod and smile. Be pleasant, but let the other side know what your preferences are. If the situation is especially sticky, it's best to let your fiancé handle the news, but make sure you're on the same page first. At the same time, keep in mind that some traditions may be meaningful and important to your in-laws, so where you can, accommodate them. Lastly, remember to take a deep breath and remind yourself that a wedding is something of a collaboration. The planning process and the wedding may not go 100 percent smoothly, but planning your life with the person you love and maintaining good relations with the ones your significant other loves is what's important.

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