GUIDE TO WEDDING PLANNING DURING COVID-19

During these times it’s hard to even think about starting to plan your wedding even if it’s in 2021. But with our current state of social distancing and working from home, this can give you a one-up on your wedding planning. Though it might not feel right or exciting, with 2020 Brides postponing to 2021, this will certainly provide a shortage of availability for key wedding vendors you’d potentially like to work with.

BABY STEPS

But you can, and should take a few baby steps to test the waters. If anything this provides you time to research, pin and really curate your wedding. So here is what I personally suggest you start doing now:

1. You probably have a vision of your wedding in mind. So now is the time to start pinning inspiration, if you haven’t already. Once you have exhausted Pinterest, you should create a NEW board with only 25 curated images from your original wedding research. These images should represent the essence of your wedding and the vibe you’d like to achieve. All images should start looking more cohesive. The BIGGEST MISTAKE you can make is pinning images that have filters. STOP! The best way to create your board is in true color because that’s how your wedding day will look to the eye. I’ve had clients turn down gorgeous mood boards because it was too “light and airy”, having forgotten that once I put a filter on all those images- it’s what they want and envisioned in their own minds!

Having a clear vision of your wedding is key. If you have 100 + images to show your vendors it’s much harder to communicate your ideas. It’s better to focus on the main elements than 1000 misc details. The details come later once a design style has been established. Then you can create another board for those elements.

2. Start researching. Get on instagram and start looking for vendors in your area which seem to reflect the same esthetic as yours. Start and IG file so you can keep track of your faves. Cross reference their websites and Pinterest pages. If your styles don’t match but you like them for some other reason, forget about it. Asking a vendor to do or create something they aren’t specialized in - leads to disappointment. Now is not the time to think about costs or budget - that comes later! ;)

3. The vendors which you should “invest in” and pay the little extra- are your Planner, Venue and Photographer. I say this because your Planner is your biggest key to success in considering: design, budget, organization, communication and management. Venue and Photographer secondly, because they will be your emotional ties that will bring back all the feels when you look back on your photos and drive by your wedding venue in the future. Decor and Florals can be a big part of your budget - BUT, you can design beautifully in all the right ways to make it look gorgeous and within a reasonable budget.

4. Now that you have your curated Pinterest folder and a wish list of vendors- it’s time to reach out to those wedding vendors for pricing and availability. Keep in mind, in this day and age Thursday-Sunday weddings have never been more acceptable. Unless you live in Europe - they happen any day of the week. Bottom line, your guests will want to be present on your wedding day whether it’s a Thursday, Friday etc etc. What we call “off-dates”, can lead to more availability and vendor price flexibility. I rather have a 60k wedding on a Thursday than spend 80k just for a Saturday date, catch my drift ;)

5. Once you have compiled your vendor pricing for Venue, Photographer and Planner, your going to want to book your Wedding Planner first. This is important because they’ll review your vision board, consider your choice for venue and photographer as well as other vendors and may have a few cost saving suggestions or advice you haven’t yet considered.

6. Your Wedding Planner will then negotiate your Photography contract and your Food & Beverage quotes / Venue pricing.

Then you can Pause!

Why pause? Because you’ve just booked the key vendors that can’t take on more then one client a day! Once these stages are complete your wedding planner will guide you through the rest of the process. it’s just that simple!

Hopefully we’re on your wish list!

XOX Elise

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10 MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WEDDING PLANNERS

Myths and misconceptions- they're real. In an industry that fuels unattainable ideas and designs while saturating the market with unfounded wedding advice and information which can be misleading- it's hard to make the distinction in what's actually reality. So here are 5 things we want to shed some light on when it comes to the urban legends surrounding Wedding Planners. 

rban legend #1, You'll get all her discounts

Have you heard the saying "If you think hiring a Wedding Planner is expensive, you have no idea how much an incompetent one can". That's a stone cold fact my friends. So how do we begin to address the notion that hiring a Wedding Planner gets you massive discounts, than if you were to go out on your own. Let me debunk this tall tale- because it drives me crazy. A good planner will help you spend you hard earned moulah wisely, making sure you wont fall into the classic money pit-holes of over-paying for sub-par products and services. This includes DIY's that cost you more then if you were to pay for them, as spending money where your guests wont notice, frivolous delivery charges etc etc. A good Wedding Planner takes the guessing work out of the equation, providing you short cuts- saving you in the long run. So even though you don't see a discount on your invoice, rest assured that your money has been spent with intention and fore-thought. 

 

She's there to do all your running around

Negative. We're here to design and organize your wedding. There is literally no time for picking up your wedding dress, cake or stationary last minute. Your planner should be organizing the drop off of these items so these tasks don't fall on you.

She's your mediator

A much as we love to calm the waters and make things right, we're not trained to be inter-family crisis mediators. A planner must keep professional boundaries at all times and provide unbiased solutions in assistance.

She's a magician

There is only so much we can humanly do to address the issue at hand. Don't expect miracles to happen when in reality, it isn't feasible. Yes, we do have some tricks up our sleeves that will save you in a pinch but that doesn't mean things happen at the click of your fingers just because you hired a planner. 

She knows everything

Lets be real. No one knows everything. But this statement does depends on how many dedicated years your planner has put in and how many weddings she has under her belt. Event planning is a long process of learning as you go. No wedding planning course can prepare you for real-time issues, how to build vendor relationships, make on the spot decisions during a crisis or even how to think strategically. 

So there you have it. 5 expectations you need to check before you hire a planner.