100 Things Your Wedding Planner Thinks of, so You Don’t Have to…
Picture this – you’ve just gotten engaged to the love of your life (Congratulations!). But now it’s time to start planning. Where do you even begin? That’s where we come in. Of course there the obvious reasons to get yourself a planner. Someone to take things off your hands on the day, to keep things organised and on budget. But there are LOADS of reasons that we don’t most couples even think of. So we’ve put together a little list of 100 things we think of so you don’t have to…
Below is a list of 100 things (some big some small) that we’ve noticed get missed or simply not thought of in the planning of your wedding. We’ve sorted them into some loose categories to keep things a bit more organised but they are not in any particular order because they are all equally important we think!
Suppliers
1. That there are a couple of suppliers you wouldn’t believe how far in advance you need to book (venue and photographer are obvious, there are surprising other ones!)
2. How to match you with the best suppliers
3. Which are the suppliers to spend money on
4. What to look for in a supplier aside from the work they produce
5. When to push for local produce and when to accept you’ll need things sourced long-distance
6. Which of the million questionnaires your suppliers send you need to be filled out, and which can be answered by sharing your timeline
7. What supplier requirements are excessive
8. Which suppliers should get meals on the day
9. The best time for your suppliers to eat
10. When tips are expected or appropriate
11. How to best translate British wedding jargon that suppliers with expect you to know
12. How much direction to give your suppliers to get their best work, and for you to have the best wedding
13. The surprise things about your suppliers that will make or break your planning experience, and your wedding day
Money
14. What you should plan right away, and what can wait until closer to your wedding
15. Where the hidden fees are, and how best to avoid them (or which ones you should pay)
16. Which contracts and invoices have room for negotiation, and which are the ones you should agree to and pay
17. Where to save and where to spend on your design
18. That DIY decor will take more time, money and effort that you think.
Venue
19. What are the most important questions to ask your wedding venue (our recent blog post has some tips for this!)
20. That “back yard weddings” will end up costing you far more than in a traditional wedding venue
21. If you have a marquee, what you need to make sure happens before it is removed
Weather
22. Weather, everyone has a rainy-day plan, but what about high winds? Or even a lot of sun! There are a lot of things you have to make allowances for
23. In a lightning storm did you know you are not allowed to be in a marquee?
24. When the sun sets, so you can get those coveted golden hour photos, and how this fits into your timeline
25. How to make sure the important parts of the day happen in natural daylight
Stationary
26. What key information to include on your website
27. Assembling invitations take much longer than you think (it’s days, not hours)
28. Which extra stationery items are best to spend on, and which are a bit of a waste.
29. To order a sample of your stationery so your photographer can include them in your photos on the day
30. How best to source cute stamps for your invitations
31. What details to include on your menus
Guests
32. When to ask your guests to RSVP by
33. How to politely ask your guests not to bring their children
34. When best to involve your best furry friend, and when to send them home…
35. How to include loved ones who are no longer with you in your wedding
36. When to hold your guests hands, and when to let them figure it out (because they’re grown ups and they know how to use google)
37. How late you can be for your ceremony that means your actually still on time
38. How to ask your guests for cash gifts
39. Who are the most important people to identify or assign roles, who aren’t your key wedding party members
40. The above-and-beyond requests to make to your wedding party or family on your wedding day that will actually make a massive impact
41. What day-of timings to share with your guests and which to hold back
Florals
42. When to repurpose flowers and when to let them live a short life in the spotlight
43. When a flower arch can be moved (and how many people it will require) and when it will have to stay in place
Timeline
44. How to build opportunities in your timeline to take a breath and absorb everything that’s happening
45. How to create easy flow on your wedding day
46. How to execute a last-minute ceremony rehearsal
47. The best places to build in buffer times
48. That transport in a shuttle or coach takes longer than a car. We’ll build that into your timeline
49. When you need to be aware of legally imposed noise restrictions
Beauty
50. That you should NEVER spray tan within 3 days of your wedding. Even if you’ve tried and tested it before
51. When to get your teeth whitened ahead of your wedding
52. The closest day to the wedding you should risk getting a facial
53. When to get your hair cut prior to your wedding
54. If you don’t want to wear false eyelashes, what your other options are and when you need to think about them.
55. How to make a hair and makeup schedule
56. That your wedding dress should be hung outside of the bag in a dedicated room for at least a day before you put it on
57. How to pick the best space to get your hair and makeup done
58. That you should pick an unused room to get dressed in (you wouldn’t believe how much mess is made on a wedding day)
59. How to pin a buttonhole
60. When to eat (and what) before your wedding
Ceremony
61. How much space that needs to be left between chair rows for your ceremony
62. How wide your aisle needs to be
63. That it’s not just a table plan you need to organise, but the order of processional and a mini seating plan for your ceremony
Food and Drink
64. How best to calculate how much alcohol you need if you’re paying corkage for the drinks reception and dinner
65. Which types of cocktails are best to serve
66. Alternative wedding timelines that don’t require you to feed and water your guests for over 12 hours (and require the bride/s to get up at 5am for hair and makeup)
67. How many canapés you need for the length of your drinks reception
68. That food can’t be left in the sun for hygiene reasons
69. How much corkage is appropriate, and when your are being overcharged
70. What corkage should include
71. That it’s not just ice cream cakes that can melt… We know where and how they can be displayed, and how long depending on the icing and filling type
72. What size of cake you need a specialist stand for
73. What menu choices are going to have the biggest impact on your day
74. What catering equipment needs to be rented, and when you might need extras your caterer won’t account for
Reception
75. How big your dance floor should be for your guest count
76. The best way to make room for Ceilidh dancing
77. The best ways to have a garden ceremony or drinks reception without all the ladies shoes being ruined
78. The right number of bars to have in your event space
79. The minimum number of bartenders for your guest numbers
80. How much decor to put on your tables that will look great, but not get in the way of your guests (or your food)
81. How many people to fit at different types and sizes of tables
82. How to fold your napkins
83. That guest books require a little more than simply being put out with some pens
Toilets!
84. What is the minimum size of bathroom that will give your guests the best experience
85. What to put in your toilets to make your guests that bit more comfortable and looked after
86. Basic requirements for portaloos, there’s more than you think!
Music
87. How many songs you need to select for your wedding day (it’s more than 4!)
88. When to cue musicians during a ceremony
89. When your space can handle those extra band members, and when adding the horn section will deafen your guests
90. When to save your money on live music and when to save and make a killer playlist instead.
Miscellaneous
91. Making sure there are plenty of lighters for all those candles, and that they’re the right kind of lighters
92. That candles must be stored in cool, dry, dark places
93. How to get nasty sticker marks off photo frames and mirrors
94. How many extras of anything you’ll need (from glasses in case of breakages, to numbers of teaspoons)
95. Which tables are best for the type of centrepiece you want (hint: not all banquet tables are the same)
96. Managing the power requirements so you don’t have a blackout during the wedding
97. What you can use fixed focal points or installations for so you can make the most of them
98. That it’s worth setting aside the time to open all boxes and bags of decor, it’s amazing how quickly things break
99. What stains and marks you’ll have to pay for on your wedding linen
100. The best sparklers to use for THOSE shots, and who to include in the photo
It’s amazing how quickly that list came together when we sat down to write it. Wedding planning comes so naturally to us that we almost forget about all the things we do for our clients! It’s fun to share some of the things we do, that most people don’t know about, and with any luck it will shed some light on things you’ve maybe missed in your wedding planning journey!
Very best of luck to you, and if you think you need some help you know where to find us!
- The Scarlett & Bell Team x