PLANNING

PLANNING OPTIONS

Planning, organizing, and designing every aspect of your big day will take a lot of timing, organization skills, and talent. The key to a successful, stress-free, wedding is hiring the right vendors.

Wedding planners and coordinators play a huge role in how your day will be executed. From setting up a realistic wedding budget, helping with floor plans, finding the best vendors, coordinating setups and deliveries, managing the wedding day, creating a timeline and so much more.

Executing a wedding takes exceptional skill, and although you may throw the best dinner parties, when it comes to one of the biggest events of your life, hiring a wedding planner or coordinator is not an option but a requirement in our book!

If your budget doesn't allow a full-service planner, you still may be able to hire a coordinator that can make sure the day of your wedding runs smoothly.

Planners take the guesswork out of the process, making planning a wedding as seamless and smooth as possible. A planner will keep track of your budget and handle the logistics. Some planners also provide design or styling services, helping with the creative specifics of your wedding day as well as the logistics. Below are a few wedding planner duties you can expect.

WEDDING PLANNER

Left + Right Photos: Callie Ring Photography

COORDINATOR

A wedding coordinator is logistically focused, but on a shorter timeline than a planner. They usually begin helping you prepare a month before the wedding and are the point on contact on the wedding day. Coordinators make sure that everything is in order, nothing is forgotten, and you’re free to enjoy your wedding day. Below are a few coordinator duties you can expect.

• Puts in around 25+ hours

• Meets with you four to eight weeks before the wedding to get a handle on what you’ve planned thus far • Checks in with your vendors to review the signed contracts and confirm logistics • Creates detailed timelines and floor plans • Completes a final walk-through of the ceremony and reception sites • Addresses any overlooked details • Creating wedding day timeline • Manages the rehearsal • Oversees everything on the wedding day • Puts in 80 to 250 hours • Helps create and maximize your wedding budget • Creates a overall plan for your big day • Pairing you with the best vendors in the area • Negotiates contracts, schedules, and attends all meetings • Reading over all of your vendor contracts to make sure everything is correct • Creating detailed timelines and floor plans • Manages the rehearsal • Managing the wedding day, coordinating your other vendors with setup, breakdown and deliveries • Handling any emergencies without you knowing so that you can enjoy a stress free day!

Photographer Heather Thompson | Weddings By Shauna

"Our company was born out of a desire to cater to couples who want a highly personalized and unique wedding planning experience.

We will be there every step of the way to help you choose the right vendors, work closely with those vendors and assist you with design, details, timelines and the creation of exclusive touches for your wedding! We truly believe that it is not just how your wedding looks….it is how your wedding feels!

From the first meeting to your wedding day, your experience should be creative, fun and stress free!"

SHAUNA HAMBY Weddings By Shauna

ADVANTAGES OF HIRING A PLANNER

By far, one of the biggest advantages to hiring a planner is what they bring to the table, when it comes to curating your dream team of vendors. Although you are scouring bridal shows and getting business cards, no matter how "known" a vendor maybe, they may not be the perfect fit for your vision. Planners will do vetting behind the scenes, considering the vendor’s skills and experience, the cost of their services, their overall aesthetic and their reputation in the industry. Wedding planners not only handle all of the finer details, they also curate the perfect "Dream Team" of vendors to make sure your event is memorable and authentic from the first kiss to the last toast.

Experience: It's safe to say you probably haven't planned a wedding before from start to finish. A birthday party or a company Christmas party is a totally different ball game than planning a wedding for over 100+ people. Wedding Planners bring knowledge and hands-on experience to help make your wedding the happiest event of your life vs. the most stressful.

Vendor Connections: Planners make sure your vendors not only fit your budget but also fit your vision. From coordinating all of the details with each vendor to managing contracts and deposits, planners have a one-on-one relationship with most vendors in the wedding industry. As the old saying goes "It's not about what you know, but who you know." That can make all the difference.

Budget: From day one, your planner will learn your budget and what is important to you. They will help ensure that your budget is realistic for what you want to achieve. If not, they are able to give suggestions on other alternatives that they think will work best. Once a realistic budget is set, they will be able to help decide where each of those funds should be allocated so that you do not over spend. There are a lot of moving parts to planning a wedding and a professional wedding planner will know how to make sure your budget is well spent.

Day-Of Details: You've made it to your big day - but you are not out of the woods just yet! The morning-of, you will want to spend time with your bridesmaids, getting your hair and makeup done, drinking mimosas, laughing and taking photos. The last thing on your mind should be if the caterer knows where to setup or if your future husbands college roommate is going to show up in time for photos. A planner will take care of all the day’s details for you, managing vendor arrivals, ensuring bridal party members show up on time, answering last-minute guest questions, keeping the schedule on track, and busting out a plan B...just in case.

A planner will become your best line of defense against day-of dilemmas. All their effort and time goes into creating a stress free and memorable experience for you and your spouse and at the end of the day, you’ll be so grateful you hired one!

STYLED SHOOT Garden Daydreams

BLISS WEDDING PROS

PLANNING & DESIGN / BLISS BRIDAL PHOTOGRAPHER / NEVA MICHELLE PHOTOGRAPHY VENUE / SHADY VILLA HOTEL BRIDAL BOUQUET / CREATIVE INNOVATIONS

RENTALS / CONFETTI RENTALS CAKE / SWEETNESS DESSERTS BEAUTY / GLAM BY PHY STATIONERY / PAPERDOODLES VINYL TABLE SIGNAGE / BEE ABOVE DESIGNS DRESS / GEORGIO’S BRIDAL MODEL / FELIZIANA DAVIS, ANITA SIMON, RAMONA HUTSON