Saying I do you can be one of the most exciting yet stressful times of your life. Today we are going to run through the top for things to remember to help put your mind at ease while planning your event.
1.) Say yes to team meetings! Ensuring that all parties involved are all on the same page is probably one of the biggest tips I could give. It is so hard these days with in-laws, extended family, lots of personalities, drama, etc. etc. And now on top of it all we are dealing with people who lost their jobs, lost over the last year and lots of raw emotion. Put it together and it could be quite disastrous.That is why I am a huge believer in pre-planning meetings with your venue team or your event coordinator if you have one.
2.) Event binder. Creating an event binder for yourself. This will be your Bible for the entire event! This binder should consist of:
– contracts For every vendor that you have hired.
– menus For every aspect of the event. Cocktail hour, what drink should be served how and when? This will also be crucial due to your packages and any timelines.
-timelines for payments and when final deposits are due
-day – of event timeline (This is basically what should happen, where, when, and how) This is the document you will want to take the most time on. You can absolutely delegate this to your event coordinator if you have one. If not, this will be extremely important to go over with your event venue, your vendors such as catering, music, decorators, floral, etc.! The timing needs to be perfection for every single one of these details for set up and break down. This is huge so you do not incur any overtime charges outside of your venue rental.
This document is also where you will insert your hair and make up schedule! If you have one. But you should add in your timing of when you are getting ready and where. This will also be crucial for photography for any pre-ceremony photos.
3.) Let’s talk about delegation for a second. You cannot do this on your own! As much as you think you can trust me, I did it and I’m in event planner and I completely regret it. As planners we tend to be OCD and crazy as it is can you imagine planning your own event? I regret it to this day. For example, scheduling Your bridal party for their entire glam sessions. Please do not be the one to do this! You will end up in an endless battle of rescheduling appointments for your spouses cousin’s friend who can’t make their appointment. If you can either get your stylist to handle or someone close to the wedding it would be a huge.
4.) Nothing will be perfect
Trust me, there is always something that will go wrong. Either a bridesmaid is throwing up from the night before or you have a mother in law that is mad for who knows why….And on top of it all, the flowers may not be exactly as you planned, the DJ or Band May forget to play one of your favorite songs. Just remember, you are there to celebrate and begin your new life! Trust me, crying over your bouquet not being as big as you wanted it it’s not what you should be spending your tears on. There will be many other things to cry about.
5.) Take a second for you! Planning can be stressful and tiring. Remember to go for coffee, take a walk, go to yoga, go shopping, something that is just for YOU. Remember why you choose to marry that person and let that be the feeling that gets you through steps 1-4.
Wishing you love, laughter and happily ever after.