10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR PLANNING A WEDDING LIKE AN EVENT PROFESSIONAL
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10 Essential Tips for Planning a Wedding Like an Event Professional
A wedding is one of the
most important days in any couple’s lives. From engagement photos, to selecting
vendors, to making checklists and choosing your wedding party, there are lots
of items that need to be planned out in an orderly fashion up until you say
those two magical words – “I Do.”
Planning your own wedding
can sometimes feel overwhelming and stressful, but if you follow these
stress-free tips below, you will find planning your wedding will be smooth
sailing, and more enjoyable from an expert event professional mindset.
1) Set a Budget, and Stick To It
Weddings can be very
expensive, and just like any other event, you may find yourself wanting to add
additional items to your master list closer to the event date, which may not
have been in your set budget.
Make a budget and stick
to it. If you think you may have “wish list” items that will pop up closer to the
time of the wedding, add those items in with your set budget from the very
beginning. Aim to never exceed the set amount you have budgeted for from day
one.
If you overspend on
flowers, then you must cut back from something else on your list. Be flexible
with yourself, and prioritize the big spend items and must-have items first on
your budget, knowing that those have to be paid for, as opposed to “wish list”
items that can get cut at anytime.
2) Create a Timeline
Besides the budget, a
timeline is the most important part of planning a wedding as an event
professional. Develop a reasonable timeline, fit to your schedule, and map out
due dates on a calendar. You will find well-known wedding websites provide
checklists with timelines for you, so be sure to follow these when planning out
your calendar. Depending on the timing of the wedding, you will want to ensure
you have ample time to plan and insert orders that can take more time than
others.
3) Find Event Tools Fit For You
Event tools are an event
planners best friend! Besides online wedding checklists, look for event apps
with budgets, checklists and reminders that are used for weddings, or if you
prefer to use your go-to event planning apps, those will work just fine.
Some planners prefer to
work in excel, while others prefer the old school method of writing out every
expense paid for an event – it’s up to you, but be sure to track all expenses
at the end of the day to help make your planning efforts run smoothly!
4) Choose the Important Details
Once you have planned out
the budget and timeline of the wedding, it’s time to figure out the most
important details of all. The size of the wedding will determine more from a
budget perspective, so first, create a guest list and stick to it as close as
possible.
Once you have completed
the list, move on to selecting a venue, wedding date and theme. The process for
selecting the venue is very similar to selecting event venues for other types
of events.
You will want to meet
with venue owners, get a list of what they provide and do not provide on the
day of the wedding, have them send you a formal quote, and find out what dates
they have available that work with the timing you are working towards. Couples
are constantly getting engaged, so finding the weekend that works best for you
is sometimes hard to do, but most importantly, the details and service you
receive at the venue are crucial.
Review the contract (and
all vendor contracts) before signing with the venue, and be sure to ask if you
can stop by when they may be having a party so you can see what the venue will
look like decorated and full of guests! As a planner it’s always important to
see your event space in action before you make any commitments.
5) Design with Quality
You may have several
design resources you use for events on a yearly basis, and if one comes to mind
for a wedding, be sure to reach out and ask for their help to design signs,
invitations, programs and save the dates!
There’s nothing more
special than a custom, creative wedding set with a unique twist showing off the
style and character of the happy couple!
6) Vendors are Your Golden Ticket
Be diligent when hiring
vendors. Find references for all of your vendors, and create a spreadsheet with
contact info, and a back-up contact for all vendors. As a rule of thumb, always
remember vendors are just the same as any tradeshow or corporate event vendor,
but in this case, they may be a DJ, food and beverage caterer, lighting and
décor or photo booth company, flower shop, or wedding dress boutique.
It’s important to set up
meetings with all vendors, have follow-up meetings, make sure your contacts feel
like an extension of you from the very get-go. Together, you are all creating
one master experience for the bride, groom, and wedding guests.
7) It’s all About Customer Service
No matter what event is
being planned, event professionals always go out of their way to guarantee
amazing service. One thing to keep in mind as you are planning a wedding is to
go the extra mile for anyone and everyone involved in the wedding. Use your
gift vendors and personalize party favors for all of the gifts, find special gifts
for the wedding family you can customize just for them that they will cherish
forever, and create welcome bags for the wedding guests to drop off at the
preferred wedding hotel of choice.
Inside the welcome bag,
be sure to include the schedule of weekend or day events, times to arrive, and
where to go, and goodies for your guests. You can customize your goodies to
cater to the location of the wedding – for example, if the wedding is taking
place at in a city known for a sports team, maybe include something with the
team name on it, or a local beer! Your guests will absolutely love the welcome
bags, and thoughtful ideas put behind them.
8) Take Time For You
Sometimes even wedding
event planners in the role of bride or groom need some R&R on the day of their
wedding! One great way to make sure you’re focused on you, is to hire a day-of
coordinator who can simply pick up right where you left off in your amazing
planning!
As an event professional,
they will be blown away by your checklists and vendor sheets, which will come
in handy on the day of your wedding. There are lots of smaller wedding event
companies who provide day-of planning services for an affordable cost. Their
services provided on your special day will ease your mind, and guarantee a
stress-free day, where you can ensure your vendors are greeted by another event
professional in A+ fashion.
It’s nice to know someone
on your playing field will be filling in your event professional shoes for you
while you get ready for the day you have been dreaming of your whole life!
9) Anticipate Challenges
No wedding, however well
planned by the best event planners, will ever come off perfectly. Expect
something to go not as planned, and when it does, if you are the bride or
groom, you can either be well-prepared to have your day-of coordinator jump in
and tackle the issue, or let it roll off your back! Day-of logistics can and do
sometimes get overlooked, so as the wedding event planner be sure to triple
check your checklist no matter what.
So many little items tend
to appear on the wedding day you may not expect, such as broken zippers on
dresses, missing centerpieces, not knowing where a vendor should be located at
the venue, etc. Keep your cool at all times, and have a back-up plan to your
back-up plan.
Weddings are not for the
faint of heart if taking on the role of wedding event planner, so be sure to be
quick on your feet when issues arise, and assertively step in to handle
juggling balls as they come flying your way
10) Soak It All In
Most couples forget to
take a few minutes and look around the room once everything is all planned and
in motion. Take a few minutes to relax, and enjoy the accomplishment of
planning an emotional and fun-filled memory in your lives.
Remember all events take
a huge amount of time, sweat and work to be pulled off, but weddings are events
of a different nature. They take months, sometimes years to pull together, and
being able to soak all of your hard work in will feel amazing.
In Conclusion
Weddings can be so much
fun to plan as an event professional. Having the right tools and tips ahead of
time, will help go a long way when taking the dive into the sometimes
overwhelming, but very rewarding process of wedding planning. Hopefully these
ten tips will come in handy for any event professional, or soon-to-be wedding
planner!
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Article Source: http://www.eventmanagerblog.com
Image Source: https://www.thebyronatbyron.com.au
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