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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THE ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE YOU LATE ON YOUR WEDDING DAY

Timelines Are In-Place For A Reason!

Let's talk about them for a second.... and imma give you some advice!

These are tricky waters here....because in my eyes-timelines are a loose guideline to keep the day running smoothly. Yes you'll be 10 mis ahead or behind, and it's our job as a planner to gently guide you along without being excessively late.

It's like a science, I know how long certain tasks take and plan for our brides accordingly. By the time your wedding comes, we'll know if @britd (as seen in the photo above) is super organized and on time or not. - B, we love you for being so punctual!

So I'm going to tell you EXACTLY where you will always loose time followed by great advice to make sure you don't let that happen on your wedding day.

It starts with BEAUTY.

 Bellow I'm giving you explicit instructions on what to do and what NOT to do on your wedding day! 

GIRLS! This is so-so very important!!!

1. What's the number one thing that will mess up your whole day from the get-go?.....your bridal party arriving late for hair & makeup. This is so unacceptable ladies- get it together! xox Pack your bags the night before, make a list and check it twice because when the morning alarm hits- you gotta be up, present and ON TIME!! And no! You can not pick up a Starbucks on the way- why? Reason number two.

2. The morning should be relaxing and literally want for nothing. When your beauty team is onsite- it's go time. That means no leaving to pick up something you forgot at home or decide you need that Starbucks after all. To all the Maid of Honours reading this blog. This is your cue! It's your job to set the scene. That includes organizing snacks, making coffee, assembling the brides little curated emergencies kit, curating that itunes play list, helping the beauty team set-up, making sure the place is always neat and tidy etc. The morning is your time to shine. The wedding planner isn't there to micro manage everything- so that's your job now :) and for a limited time. You need to keep all the girls in-check with no extra chit-chatting while makeup is being done- this always slows down the process, because once you move your mouth- your artist has to stop. 

Next.....

3. Someone randomly decided after having their hair done, that they would rather have an up-do than that gorgeous blow-out the stylist just spent 1.2hrs on. For brides, once you make a decision at your trial- stick with it!! There is simply no time for two beauty looks. Same with your bridal party. To avoid this from happening, ask all your bridesmaids to send you a picture of what they would like their hair and makeup style to be in advance. MOH- your job again- make sure those pictures are printed and available for all your artists the morning of. CLICK HERE for my very own Beauty Prep document that I use for all my clients.

And there you have it. My achilles heel for loosing time on your wedding day.

Lastly, I'm going to throw some mathematic at yah! 

Add 5 mins for each bridesmaid and that will equal how late you'll be even if you follow all my advice ;) 

Keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg and there's so much more I could chat about for days!!!

But until then my pretties, stay tuned and visit our blog often for more amazing advice, tips and tricks to help you get through your wedding planning. 

xo

Eliza