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Is my wedding date available:
The first question to ask is if the planner is available for your date. If they are not, then there is no need to further the conversation unless you can be flexible. What services do they offer: The second question (If not listed on their websites) is what services they offer. Most planners offer full planning, partial planning, day of coordination, and event planning. You want to make sure your planner has a package available for your needs. Services Continued: Do their packages include timelines and do they provide this to other vendors and the bridal party. This is essential for the day of your wedding as well as throughout the planning process. You want to make sure your planner is keeping everyone on track. This may include arrival times for the bridal party, guests, and vendors as well as delivery times for items and décor. Vendor services: Planners spend a great amount of time developing professional relationships with other vendors. If you are referred to another vendor, there is a good chance that your planner has a good working relationship with this company. Another question to ask concerning vendors is if the planner will handle the billing process for each and what package does this fall in. For full planning, planners often are asked to fully handle all vendor payment processing. This is usually included if you have chosen to hand over your budget and vendor contracts to your planner. Do they handle guest lists, RSVP’s, and seating charts: Most full planning packages include guests lists, RSVP’s, and seating charts. If you chose a smaller package make sure to fully understand the planner’s role when it comes to guest lists, RSVP’s, and seating charts as this may not be a part of these packages. Often, when you choose a lesser package, you can add these as an a la cart item for an additional fee. How do they process payments: You will want to know how often and in what form your payments are to be handled. Once you receive your contract, make sure to understand every item before signing. Be sure to ask if there is any additional charges such as credit card fees, travel, hourly wages for assistants, and addons such as food and parking. Along with this question, be sure to ask how many assistants they will have working with them. This will be dependent on the size of your wedding. Unavailable Planner: What happens if a planner is unable to be there on your wedding day. You want to be sure that if your planner becomes ill that they are able to fill their position with a seasoned planner or a knowledgeable assistant. Meetings: Understand your planner’s workflow. Some planners will ask numerous questions all at once while others will work with a specific timeline. Planners have various ways of planning. Some will have numerous phone meetings while others will collaborate through an online software program. Be sure to find a planner that has a workflow that you are able to work with. If you are a busy person, then on online software program may be best for you. If you are not tech savvy, then phone consults may be best. Experience: You want to ask how long they have been planning weddings as well as how many they have coordinated. If they are newer to the field, ask how many weddings they have assisted with. You want to find a planner that has experience with weddings and not just events or corporate events. You may want to also ask if they have previousley worked with your venue or vendors. If so, this is a plus. In most cases, if you haven’t chosen your venue or vendors, a planner will provide a referral list. This list usually consists of venues and vendors that they have previously worked with. Under Pressure: How do they handle pressure and stress for day of disasters. Are they capable of remaining calm if a disaster strikes. Can they perform a backup plan without major issues. How do they stay organized and on task. What do they do if a problem arises. You want to know that your planner can work under any circumstance and make a disaster invisible to guests. Announcements:
Before you go on a social media blitz telling everyone the news, be sure to tell your family first. After saying “Yes” it may be difficult to keep the news to yourself. Just remember to share the news with your closest family members first, then other family members and finally close friends. Once you have received all the best wishes be sure to thank everyone. Leave your Registry off of the Invitations: Your invitations are for the purpose of letting guests know that you want them to be apart of your special day. Guests already know that you have most likely registered somewhere. Place your registry on your wedding website and/or share it with family members and friends. The word will get around. Bridal shower, bachelorette, and bachelor parties: Be sure that only invited wedding guests and attendants are invited to these gatherings. You are the bride, therefore be sure to check the lists. You don’t want people not invited to the wedding being invited to these. It may come off as a “Oh I’m good enough to give a gift but not share your special day” scenario. Take care of your Wedding party: Your wedding party is spending time and money to be a part of your special day. Make sure to return the favor. Try and keep drama at a minimum and show your appreciation with a special gift showing your gratitude. Try and choose a gift that they will cherish long after the weddings over. Use a price point dependent on how much they’ve had to spend: travel, attire, hotel bookings, etc. Also, covering your bridal parties’ hair and makeup is also a nice gesture, especially if your wanting it done professionally. Be sure to also feed your wedding party if their meeting you early. A nice brunch for the ladies and a lite lunch for the men. Be sure to greet your guests: During cocktail hour or after dinner has been served and you have eaten, be sure to greet all of your guests and thank them for attending your wedding. Either make your rounds table to table or circulate the dance floor. Seating charts: Instead of forcing everyone to sit with their formal family members and close friends try to seat guests together that have similar interests unless of course you know that’s the only spot they would like. Try and decide if you’ll think that guests will get along, if they have similar characteristics, work in the same field, have a comparable background, etc. and place them together. Weddings are a great place to make new friends and mingle. Make everything run close together: In order to keep everyone occupied and not forgotten be sure that there isn’t any large time gaps in between events. If you are going to be taking pictures after the ceremony, make sure cocktail hour starts soon after your ceremony exit. Leaving large gaps can lead to guests leaving. Also be sure there isn’t too much of a time gap between the cocktail hour and the reception. This can lead to guests leaving as well as guests getting a little tipsier than anticipated. If there has to be a large gap be sure to give your guests suggestions during the break such as sightseeing or a hospitality area. Pay for your guests’ drinks: If you are seeing alcohol as one of your biggest finances, there are ways to lower this cost. Signature drinks with a few beer options is a good way of personalizing cocktail hour and dinner drinks. Choose only wines and beer that mix well with your menu. Mixed drinks can add up quickly. If you must serve liquor try a limited bar. Only serve cocktails during cocktail hour and switch over to wine and beer during dinner. If a venue allows you to bring in your own alcohol, try and purchase it from a store that allows returns on unopened bottles. Be sure to feed the vendors: Most vendors include feeding within their contracts. They are working all day long to be sure your day is the best day possible. Make sure your caterer adds them to their count. Vendors you may not have to feed are those who are just dropping off items such as florist and bakers. However, if you are tipping on the day of be sure to catch them before they leave or leave this up to another vendor such as your planner. Also make sure there is an area for vendors to sit and eat, usually away from guests but close enough to maintain their rolls. Send “Thank You’s promptly” You’ll want to send thank you’s while everything is still fresh in your memory. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to remember what each guest got you. Make a list of everyone from your bridal shower to your wedding that gave you gifts. Only wait a few weeks to send thank you’s out. By sending these out, your showing guest that you appreciate their gifts and their attendance. The love and joy that comes with celebrating a wedding will remain resilient long after COVID, as people have learned not to take one second of life for granted. You have been kept astray from your friends and loved ones, and this is your moment to embrace the yearning of missing them so dearly. You’re about to encounter an experience most likely to have never been felt before. Take this moment, wrap it in your hands, and never let go. Show your guests the love they have been missing and together share a moment that will last an eternity. Let the new normal bring you peace and love as you begin the shared path with your forever soulmate.
The love and joy that comes with celebrating a wedding will remain resilient long after COVID, as people have learned not to take one second of life for granted. You have been kept astray from your friends and loved ones, and this is your moment to embrace the yearning of missing them so dearly. You’re about to encounter an experience most likely to have never been felt before. Take this moment, wrap it in your hands, and never let go. Show your guests the love they have been missing and together share a moment that will last an eternity. Let the new normal bring you peace and love as you begin the shared path with your forever soulmate. Health and Safety: Wedding Planners Suggesting’s Wedding Website FAQs Pages As you start planning your special day, begin to form a general FAQ page on your website that details each safety protocol and measure that you and your vendors will put into place. Doing this will help your guests feel reassured, cared for, and safe. Virtual Meetings As virtual life has become a thing, we suggest virtual venue tours. Also, phone or virtual vendor meetings, home-delivered tastings, online shopping, and bridal fittings at the convenience of your own home. Also, remain open with the possibility of date changes and even rescheduling your wedding. Be sure to have your planner check and recheck all contracts with venues and vendors and their rescheduling protocols. Be open to having your wedding on a date that fits everyone’s schedule, including venues and vendors. Protocols pertaining to venues and vendors Venues and vendors may begin to take extra measures such as installing sanitation stations and contactless faucets. You will see added cleaning procedures for set-up, tear-down, and throughout the entire day. Be sure to understand each vendor’s PPE measures. Ask as many questions as possible, so you are ready to embrace your day, and you ensure all concerns have been taken care for you. Will they have masks and gloves? How will they be distributed? Who is responsible for the guest’s PPE? Also remember, a bride wearing white gloves is a timeless fashion and elegant accessory choice. What to know about catering Proper etiquette is returning to our foreseeable future. You will see new rules and serving customs. The utmost safety is assured as precautions are a top priority concerning extra staff training, food temperatures double-checked, new sanitizing standards, the way dishes are made and served, and measures never thought of before. People may shift more to plated meals, and single plated hor’s d ‘oeuvres. Remember: plated meals will save you on finances compared to an open buffet and accessible hor’s d ‘oeuvres. New Layouts (a skill that planners and designers accustom to) Ceremony and reception layouts are one of our specialties. We love new creative designs such as circles and half-moon ceremony set-ups and receptions with fewer guests that give us more room for innovative décor. Outside weddings are a beauty in themselves. You have endless opportunities with the world around you. You have space that can quickly expand; you can easily change a layout to face away from the sun. And the fresh air you and your guests can breathe freely without the surrounding walls holding in. And, as your side-eye catches your uncle Robert (A fifth cousin removed twice) staring at you from the sidelines, all you got to do is move. As planners, we are continually changing layouts, seating arrangements, and shifting “difficult” guests away from their unlikely sitting mates, with six-foot distances and sitting people with whom they get along with best….no problem. Greetings have formed their own new Culture Let’s make the best of this and embrace your individuality. How about the bride curtseying at the groom’s side and the groom is bowing to the bride’s side. Or do you have a unique wave that you and your partner have constructed, now is the time to teach your guests. Let’s be gone with the traditional receiving line and embrace that individuality some more. Have each person in your party show a talent or throw a gesture as they singly walk down the aisle. Let’s talk about socially distanced dancing Guests will no longer have to worry about whose dancing with who and omg do you see what I see. Yes, this means close family members will have to dance together and avoid “Karen” from across the dance floor. Welcome to traditional and futurama, combining. Satellite dance floors and DJ’s with a broader music set and multiple DJ’s will emerge as guidelines have asked for that awkward slow dancing to disappear amongst guests and to keep a close family together. The Guest Experience As the guest list becomes smaller, the couple can use that extra finance to improve their guest’s experience. Menus can now elevate to a more fine dining level. All your guests can now taste that expensive wine you like, and entertainment can now become performances from artists that can be a once in a lifetime experience. Turn your Weddings into a story Now that you have had extra time to think let’s make your fairytale come true. Personalize your wedding favors, guests’ experiences, send-off, and everything in between. Take your talent and customize your wedding favors into something that guests will know that you and your partner enjoy and love. If you love baking, make cookies. If DIY is your thing, then make them all something that means the world to them. Everything from getting ready to the guests sending you off can be personalized into your own story for all to remember forever. Whats Minimony? As rescheduling has forced you to change your date, you have most likely come across the dreaded weekday wedding. Look at it this way. The venue and vendors are all cheaper; you are saving money and can now buy that little thing in the store window that has you distracted from life. Having a weekday wedding allows you to expand your wedding celebration to however long your heart desires. Now you don’t only have the COVID excuse; you also have the “Its my wedding excuse”. When’s your wedding date?…oh December 2021. Why are you having dinner with the girls? Cause it’s a wedding get together and because of social distancing and the number of friends I have, I need more than one dinner. Why are you having a bachelor party now?... Because I’m getting married next year. The dates and possibilities are endless. It’s your wedding, do what you want and expand for as long as you want. You can also take advantage of technology and stream your entire wedding. Have guests attend whichever part of your wedding that you want. If you don’t wish to have your cousin at your bridal shower, give her the live stream link and politely mention that you are trying your best to keep your guest count to a minimum. Registries and Receiving gifts Online registries are already standard, so why not have your gifts delivered to your home as well. You already love Amazon and hiding them packages from the hubby. Why not get deliveries that are bought by someone else…no hiding of boxes needed. Instead of gift cards with money, have that directly deposited into your account through Venmo, PayPal, or whatever service you use. Why do you have to do all the work on your wedding day and collect the cards and have to go to the bank and cash them or deposit them when a simple click can do it for you. This will also mean that your guests won’t have to fork out money on a card that you’re probably going to throw away eventually. They’ll love you for it. Wedding planners also known as coordinators and event planners will help you organize your big day.
The Undertakings of Wedding Planners The Starting process
Organizational Queens Your planner will:
Style Mavens A wedding planner can:
Peace Makers If you regularly argue with your parents or each other, wedding planners can use their negotiating skills to establish peace. Whether it's talking to the mother-of-the-groom about the revolting dress she requests to wear, helping to arbitrate budget disagreements, or saving you from etiquette hindrances, wedding planners can be very useful. Vendor Resources Experienced wedding planners have contacts in the business, so they may be able to find you that reception venue with the perfect view, or the one caterer who will work with trifling budgets. They may also be able to pull in favors to get discounts or perks. Proposal and engagement trends
With 2020 being a leap year you can expect to see more women proposing. YouTube and other social media will be booming with proposal videos. Keep an eye out for people recording the entire emotional moment they propose and then documenting every stage of wedding planning. Wedding dress trends Their will be a rise in ‘princess’ dresses that include drama, big skirts, personal touches, edgy accessories, personalized embroidery, long sleeves, ruffled collars, tulle, trains, and veils. Expect to see cathedral length veils and high-necklines. There will also be a rise in simple, clean designs that feel timeless. More brides are also opting for a second wedding dress for the evening or gowns that can totally transform for a radically different look. Wedding flower trends You’ll notice more informal, relaxed bouquets that are bespoke and left a little rough around the edges. You’ll also see leafy greens and botanicals as well as more unusual foliage. Sustainability will play a big factor, as more brides are putting this first when planning their big day. Also expect bold colors. Wedding food trends Get ready for more vegan and free-from menus in 2020. The ‘chicken or fish’ dinner is dying a death. ‘Even couples who aren’t themselves vegans are more empathetic than ever before, and they are keen to cater for guests with all dietary requests.’ Couples are also going to choose more informal eating arrangements, such as snacks, buffets, and food stations. Gin will continue to be the cocktail of choice. You’ll find more couples creating their own signature drinks, alongside personalized canapés and desserts. Wedding décor trends Expect 2020 to feature balloon walls and wedding wall art murals – all carefully chosen to provide great backdrops for guests’ wedding snaps. There’s going to be a real move to escapism and fairytale touches with chandeliers under trees and arches with hanging fairy lights. You’ll spot lots of indoor furniture being moved and set up outside, so don’t be alarmed if you see a full sofa hanging out in a field. And, of course, you’ll see loads of fruit as decoration. Lemons are a big deal. General wedding day trends Expect crowdfunded weddings and requests for financial contributions from guest. Aisle procession dances captured on video. Guests will be involved in group activities, such as laser quest, zorbing, and cocktail making. Couples will focus less on religion. More personalization and unique touches will be incorporated. You will see more mixed-gender bridal parties, more environmentally-conscious weddings, city weddings, weddings at stately homes and castles, surprise touches for brides and grooms, buddymoons. 1) Break in them dress shoes. Do not forget to break in all the shoes you will be wearing on your wedding day.
2) If you insist on being tan before walking down the isle. Make sure you start weeks early in order to avoid burns, orange streaks, and unnatural looks. 3) I know you all want perfect looking nails on the day of your wedding. However, be sure to get your nail fix on only a few days beforehand in order to avoid smudges, cracks, and broken nails. Make sure you also try on multiple colors in order to find the perfect match for your perfect day. 4) Avoid any facial or skin treatments or new makeup products. Often new products can irritate your skin and cause redness or even blemishes. 5) If you insist on getting a new hair style or color be sure to do this weeks beforehand. It takes time to get use to a new style and it takes times for mistakes to grow out. 6) Be sure to cut back on the alcohol a few weeks before your big day. Alcohol can cause blemishes, bloating, and worse of all cold feet and bad decisions. Day of Coordination is much more than just one day of actual work. It actually involves approximately 50 hours of work. The following is a basic example of hours related to day of coordination:
If you take an average of $500 for day of coordination and divide it by 50 hours of work that equals to $10.00 an hour. Once you take out taxes, expenses, and assistant pay, the planner is in all actuality working for free. |
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