Part two consists of other important details that you’ll need to have in check before even starting to get to the fun stuff – it’s coming, we promise!
The following is taken from A Practical Wedding Blog
- Guests
In addition to the guest list, you might also keep track of gifts received & thank you notes sent in this section.
- Attire/Rings
Many of you may find this section optional. However, if you are coordinating dresses and/or suits for a large wedding party and/or parents, that could go here.
- Décor/Floral/Photo/Video/Entertainment
Depending on your personal organizational style, you might put any of these in another section.
- Vendor Contracts
All of them. You do have contracts, don’t you?
You probably noticed a bunch of paperwork referenced in that list (Contact Sheet, Guest List, Timeline, Checklists, Playlist, etc.). I recommend you use an online document service (like Google Docs) for these things. That way you can access them quickly from just about anywhere when you think of something that needs to be added or edited, and you and your partner can collaborate easily.
Make Backup Plans
Ok, now that you’ve got everything in one place, there are probably some things for which you should have backup plans. Examples are: outdoor events, which should have an indoor location secured in case of inclement weather; flower girls/ring bearers who may be suddenly shy and unwilling to walk the aisle in front of all those people; your iPod playlist which should be copied onto someone else’s iPod too!
Find the Missing Details
Read wedding grad posts, consult online checklists or friends who’ve gotten married, ask a planner – whatever. There is probably something you forgot (reserved signs for your family’s seats? someone to press play on the iPod? toasting glasses your grandmother sent you a month ago?), and if you take a little time now to check your list twice, you’ll figure it out before the big day arrives and thus avoid panic.
Hire a Wedding Stage Manager or Sweet Talk a Friend.
As I said in my wedding grad post, a stage manager is not optional. Not because you need someone to plan your wedding for you, because, obviously you already did that in step 1. But because on your wedding day, you do not want to be setting up chairs and centrepieces before you run back to the hotel to get ready, wearing a watch to keep things happening on time, or talking to the catering manager every twenty minutes about what food to bring out and which tables go where.
Do you have to pay for this? No, you absolutely do not. But know that a professional has done weddings and events before yours and will help you with or even do all of the steps above for you. If you go with a friend, choose wisely. This is not a job for the social butterfly who makes everyone feel welcome and gorgeous at the party just as soon as she shows up late and without her potluck dish…again. This is a job for that friend who sends out the invites with driving, parking, and public transit directions from three different starting points and can usually be found apologizing for being ten minutes early with an extra bottle of wine in hand.
Practice
I know everyone’s schedules are crazy and it’s hard to get people in the same place at the same time, but even if it’s fifteen minutes the morning of the wedding, try to schedule at least a quick walk through of your ceremony. Practice walking slowly, and breathing to make sure you actually get down the aisle!
AND FINALLY OUR MOST IMPORTANT (and favourite) STEP:
Relax, Get Married
Hand over your binder, your watch, and your phone to that person you designated in Step 4 (preferably the day before) and simply be present. Soak up all the moments in the first day of the rest of your awesome married life.
So there you have it, feeling organised yet? Happy planning!
xx
