Insider Tips From A Professional Wedding Planner

Weddings can be overwhelming, hectic, and there are almost always some bumps along the way. Chances are you’re planning a wedding for the first time so whether you hire a coordinator to put out fires for you, convince a friend to be your stage manager, or you’re running the show yourself, here’s some of the best tips and tricks to make sure your wedding runs smoothly.

Hair and makeup always takes longer than expected.

Are you getting your hair and makeup done professionally? This applies! Are you DIYing your hair and makeup or getting help from a friend or family member? This still applies! There is just something about hair and makeup on a wedding day that practically never fails to take longer than we expect (especially if it’s more than just you getting ready). So instead of planning to be ready at exactly the time your photos will start, aim for 20-30 minutes before that.

Tell a little white lie... or a few.

I always recommend telling your family, wedding party, and maybe even your partner a few little lies during the wedding weekend. Just let them all now that they should be at the rehearsal at 4:45pm instead of 5:00pm, and at family photos at 3:20pm instead of 3:30pm. This is one of the best time-saving tricks to make sure that people are where they need to be when they need to be there.

Don't starve... anyone!

Wedding days can feel really hectic and crazy, and one of the things that almost always gets left to the bottom of the priority list is eating. That goes for the couple, the wedding party, the vendors…everyone but the guests. Have a plan in place ahead of time so that the whole wedding party gets fed while they’re getting ready - this will keep a lot of people from becoming hangry!

Also, your vendors need to eat. They love you, and they’re there for you. But without food, they tend to forget how much they love you (if you get my drift). And while at some smaller weddings it can be nice to sit with the guests, contrary to popular belief, vendors almost always prefer to sneak away to a quiet spot to shovel food into our mouths and recharge.

Walk through the day before the day.

A least once during the planning process you should walk through the actual venue in person (and in your mind). And I say once as a minimum. If you can do it more times, great! This is the time to think about the flow of the day, everything that will happen at any given moment, and how it will all come together.

Take a moment, and then a few more.

With the excitement and anxiety that can come with the day and the ceremony, taking a moment to breathe is essential for everyone. Try to do this together, but also, alone. Just stop, take a breath, remind yourself to appreciate your wedding day, and look out at all the people who are there because they love you and your partner. You won’t regret it.

Confirm. Everything. Twice.

This is a task that will be completely off your plate if you work with most coordinators and planners, but about a week or two before the wedding, you should confirm with all of your vendors and key players. Send out an email, your timeline, and your wedding day contact list to everyone involved. A lot of your vendors will ask for this, so it’s best to beat them to the punch.

Something will go wrong.

No matter the amount of planning and effort you put into scheduling, assigning, and delegating—something will be forgotten, lost, or messed up on wedding day. It’s best to know that in advance and just roll with it. The day goes by in a blink of an eye so don’t let small things ruin your big day.

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