Wedding Planning Is Not for the Weak!

I told myself I would start blogging more. So here I am! Blogging! And truly one of the biggest take-aways I have from my last two weddings is wedding planning is not for the weak!!

At the start of my wedding planning career, I knew that my organizational and design skills would take me far. Little did I know, my skills in quick problem solving and trait of being persistent could take me much further.

Vendor Communication

Most of my couples come to me asking for coordination. That means that the couples have all responsibility of finding their own vendors. Which usually leads to wonderful connections with tons of amazing vendors! BUT there are sometimes those bad apples who are TERRIBLE at communication. When you run into vendors with bad communication, BE PERSISTENT! Now, everyone gets busy and times are ~weird~ right now, but not responding within 24-48 hours deserves a follow up message. If you have sent a few messages with no reply, try calling them and leaving a message. Once you have exhausted all forms of communication and still terrible communication, don't be afraid to give an ultimatum (make sure to review your contract to see your options).

Wedding Planner Tip:

• Ask for vendor recommendations from your planner, friends, and family. Odds are they know some quality vendors!

• Read reviews! Customers leave reviews when they are highly satisfied but also highly unsatisfied. Read the bad reviews too to get a rounded view of their service.

• Don't hire someone you know as a vendor just because you know them! Make sure they provide great service.

Things WILL Go Wrong

Any planner will tell you, if something didn't go wrong at a wedding, its a lie. The planner/coordinator fixed the problem before anyone could even find out. Quick problem solving skills are a MUST! The first few times a problem occurred I would be calm and cool on the outside and !PANICKED! on the inside. After a few times, problems become normal.

Wedding Planner Tip:

• Stay Calm! Your planner should know what to do.

• If you are providing your own beverages, OVER PLAN the amount of water you will need.

Wedding Day Set-Up

You spend hours upon hours planning your wedding decor, make sure you plan enough time the morning of to set-up. If at all possible, see if some set-up is possible the day before. Coordinators are amazing to have because you will get sweaty and you will get messy setting up, so might as well have someone else do it for you!

Wedding Planner Tip:

• Allow a minimum of 4 hours for set-up if possible.

• Organize all decor for easy access the day-of.

• Wear sneakers! Your feet will thank you later.

That is all I have for now. This blog post turned into more of an advice column than I expected it to. Oopsies!

Happy Pumpkin Spice Season!

Your Planner,

Brianna