$80 Bosch is the cheap end too, the nicer ones run $200-$300. My question is how do you handle a laser when the room is bright? I do a lot of work in sunlit additions and the beam sometimes fades out on me. Does yours stay visible or do you still keep the chalk line around for those jobs?

Learned the same lesson when my GPS kept saying I'd arrived at places I hadn't.

Did the same thing happen to you where the bride just instinctively knew to hold it up over her head? I had a bride do that exact move last summer and it blew my mind how much better the shape read from that angle. The compact mirror idea is smart too, since it's quick and doesn't mess with the stems while you're checking. Sorry you had to learn it the hard way with no mirror on hand that day, that sounds like a stressful moment during setup.