The Importance of a Wedding Day Timeline

The wedding day is getting closer and closer! There are three key elements that you should be focusing on at this point:

1) Finalizing the wedding weekend timeline + confirming vendor commitments
2) Finalizing all wedding day details
3) Relaxing and pampering yourself

Creating a timeline is the most important aspect to ensuring a seamless wedding day! You'll want to make sure it includes all your vendor arrival and departure times, the actual wedding day events {including ceremony, toasts, dances, extras!} and any other information that is pertinent to your vendors {special load in / load out instructions, meals requirements, contact person information etc}. You want to have your timeline finalized before the final week before the wedding, so that you can send it out to them that week. Check out our past post about Timelines that goes into much greater detail!

Once your timeline is set, begin to finalize all the day of details: having your escort cards / place cards finished, welcome bags made up, if you're having favors, guest book or any other fun elements, having them all completed and ready to go. You do not, I repeat, do not, want to be dealing with these at the last minute as it detracts from your relaxing and pampering. Being a relaxed bride and groom will make all the difference on the actual wedding day.

This post was originally published on July 1st, 2009

Hiring a Wedding Planner {Part 9}

Now you've had your consultation, received the proposal and ultimately you have to decide if you want to work with this person or not. Is this someone who are you are going to be beyond excited to meet with? Is this someone who you value and respect their opinion, advice, honesty and experience? Is this someone who you are confident will bring your wedding day to life in a manner that fits your vision?

In the best of all worlds, you'd meet, you'd love each other and you'd love the package. You'd work together, have a fabulous experience and the wedding day would be awesome. Not all relationships are fairy tales unfortunately, so spend a moment weighing the value of their services and your needs. If there's an ounce of doubt, perhaps this person isn't for you. If there isn't any doubt, move forward with them!

Keep in mind that this wedding planner or any wedding vendor for instance, may be receiving inquiries for your same wedding date, so it's only common courtesy to give them an answer {yay or nay} within one to two weeks of your meeting / receiving your proposal. Even if you do not want to work with them ~ let them know.

Next week: that's a wrap on this series + other morsels of info!

Hiring a Wedding Planner {Part 7}

You met, you talked, you thought and now ... the post wedding planner consultation de-brief must occur. Keep in mind that your consultation was a two-way interview. While you were sizing up this potential wedding coordinator, they were sizing up you, the potential client.

Unless the coordinator gave you a price during the consultation ~ you should expect a proposal from them within a reasonable time frame. The proposal should outline the services that you discussed during the meeting as well as what the wedding planner is going to offer you as a client. It should also include a clear price and any other terms that the wedding planner would like for you to be aware of {i.e. if the proposal has a deadline for committing etc}. Essentially, this proposal should be transparent in the services being offered for your wedding. If you need clarity, just ask.

You'll also need to process your overall feeling about this person. Did you like them? Do you think you clicked? Do you get the impression that you'll work well together? Did they get your vision? Do you get their vision? Is this someone you want to work with closely and intimately for the next x amount of months? Are you confident that this person is going to exceed your expectations?

While yes price is always a factor ~ you can't live with just price. You will be working closely with this person for the duration of your wedding planning process ~ are you 100% cool with them?

Up Next ~ proposal received, what to think?

Catch up on Parts I, II, III, IV, V and VI

Hiring a Wedding Planner {Part 5}

You've scheduled a consultation - now what? While you don't need to rip every wedding magazine apart to bring all of your ideas to this meeting - you do need to have some basics prepared:

1. Wedding Date - even if its not finalized yet, have your preferred dates ready
{Keep in mind that a wedding planner gets booked out 12+ months and can't hold 8 weekends for you on the off chance it's one of those dates - come prepared with a general date you'd like your wedding to occur on}

2. An approximate number of guests who will attend the wedding
{During your meeting, the wedding planner is getting a feel for what you want your wedding day to be like, including venue - having a guest count helps to figure out what venue's to check out}

3. Budget defined - even if loosely
{This is essential - basically, the wedding planner can't figure out how realistic your wedding vision is without knowing the budget. Its also nearly impossible to be objective without it. Come prepared}

4. Why you want / need a wedding planner
{Bring a list of reasons why, a wedding planner isn't necessarily needed by every couple getting married, so bring a list. We will ask for it}

During the consultation itself you'll flesh out your wedding day vision, hopes and dreams, so you don't need to drag your huge 300 page scrapbook unless you really want to!

Next week: What to expect during the consultation

Catch up on Parts I, II, III and IV

Hiring a Wedding Planner {Part 3}

After you've chosen some wedding coordinators based on their websites, its time to submit an inquiry to them. This is probably the simplest task out of hiring a wedding planner but I'd like you to spend a moment writing a thoughtful note instead of just "hi, here's our date, whats your price" ...while obviously you want to hire someone who works with your budget, hiring a wedding planner is much more than the price you pay them. You are hiring someone for their expertise, experience, the value they bring to your wedding and above all, the fit. If you don't have a good rapport with them, you won't enjoy their services even if the price is right. So please, don't price shop through submission forms.

Submit an inquiry looking to see if firstly, they are available on your wedding date and secondly, to get a list of the services / packages that they offer. Before you even meet, you want to make sure that what they offer is what you need. If the stars align and the planner is available on your date and what they offer suits your wedding, set up a consultation.

Next week: how to prepare for your consultation and what to expect. You can check out Parts I and II here.

Hiring a Wedding Planner {Part 2}

You've decided that you can't possibly live without a wedding planner for your wedding {wonderful decision says me!}. If you're like me, once you've decided you want / need something, you go right to the internet to do some research / due diligence. While I applaud your enthusiasm, slow down for one teeny tiny second. Have you attended a friend or family members wedding that you loved? If so, reach out and ask if they used a planner. Trust me, its worth checking them out - they come with a gigantic gold stamp of approval! If you've already hired vendors for your wedding day or have a pre-existing relationship with any vendors, ask for their recommendations as well. A referral you receive from a trusted source will have more weight in your {sub}conscious than what you find in a magazine or on the internet.

If you chose to do your own research to find a planner, be prepared to spend some time checking out things online. Go through several sources to find a planner: wedding wire, my kate parker wedding, brooklyn bride, new york magazine weddings, style me pretty's little black book, etc. Once you've compiled a list of planners that you want to check out: take to their websites. See what resonates with you - is it their graphic design, the words they use, their portfolio images, the advice they post in their blog? If nothing appeals to you: MOVE ON. Don't waste your time or the wedding planners time to meet if you don't like their website or their blog. Chances are, since their website and blog are branding tools for their business and them, you won't like them in real life either. Thats fine! Not everyone is a fit for your wedding planning process.

Once you've narrowed down your choices, look for reviews / testimonials about each firm. Read what their former clients have to say - does this person sound like someone you want to meet and potentially work with? Is there something that resonates with you in these testimonials? If not, MOVE ON. After you've picked the suitable options, sit down with your fiance and get his opinion on each wedding planner's website - his input is invaluable here. Since you'll all be working together, you want to make sure that he's onboard with this person as well.

Up next: submitting an inquiry and making an appointment.

{Check out Part I here}

Weekly Round Up: Wedding Goodness

Happy Friday y'all! I hope that everyone has a fabulous December weekend!

Through my internet travels this week, here are some awesome things that I have found and rounded up for you:

The fabulous Laura Hooper of LHCalligraphy, has created several wedding related stamps that are sure to spice up your invitations, I wish these had been around when I got married!

Julianne Smith aka GarterGirl has a fantastic discount going on for the newly engaged. Comment on her blog {in 3 words!} to earn a discounted one of a kind garter!

Found these articles some time ago, but wanted to share them with you!

Take this quiz to find out if you need a wedding coordinator!

Here's a fabulous article on the value of hiring a wedding coordinator - really gets to the heart of it!

Enjoy!

2009 Wedding Lessons Learned: An Effective Day Of Coordinator

2009 Wedding Lessons Learned

I will start this post off with a bit of clarity - a Day Of Coordinator isn't just for the Day Of. It is the worst description ever. If I was truly just a Day Of Coordinator - I would literally know nothing and show up on the wedding day and try to figure out what was going on. So, since that isn't the case, I refer to "DOC" as Month Of Coordination, as we would together for the month before the wedding to educate the planner on what you've planned, create a timeline, do a site visit to ensure that your "Day Of" Coordinator is clued into everything that you envisioned happening.

I find that most brides that hire a Month Of Coordinator do so because they want a smooth, flawless day. They realize that they want an insurance policy that has their best interest at heart {trust me, the in-house coordinator at your venue does not have your best interest at heart - they are on the side of the venue} and who will go above and beyond to make sure that your wedding day goes off without a hitch {or at least hide the hitches}. Therefore, in order to make your Month Of Coordinator work effectively - please give them all the information they need for your wedding day. Every contract, every bit of expectations, every vendor {no matter how insignificant} should be handed over for your coordinator to run through and get educated. To be honest, I am not reading your contracts trying to figure out how much money you spent, I am reading them to make sure that I know what has been promised to you by the vendor.

The lesson learned here is that you, the bride, need to tell your coordinator everything! I had a near unfortunate incident this year when a bride failed to mention that she was having an ice luge delivered for the wedding. Well, not that an ice luge was a big deal, but she never told me, the venue, the catering firm and the irony of all ironies, she had chosen a beverage package that didn't include vodka {apparently the ice luge drink of choice} ... which meant that the waitstaff had to scramble to rustle up some vodka and we had to re-arrange the room layout to accommodate the ice luge. Obviously everything got sorted out, but it set the vendors back in their timeline. Had I known about this element, I would have prepared everyone for it. Clearly, the bride didn't appreciate what else went into having an ice luge. So please, inform and educate your Month Of Coordinator.