How To Organize Wedding Plans

While wedding planning should be enjoyable, it comes with its fair share of stress too.  One of the main sources of that stress can often be traced back to organization – or lack of.  Use these tips to stay organized from “yes” to “I do”.

Get Organized!  Appointment books, smart calendars and bridal planners are essential for a busy professional.  Block out time for planning and prioritize what you will do when.  If you need to speak with wedding professionals during the day, block out time during your lunch, commutes and during any downtime you have during the day.  Color coding between professional and personal engagements will help you to better visualize how your time will be spent. For a copy of Metro Detroit’s ultimate wedding planner, click here.

Some things to include in your binder:

• Checklists
• Planning Calendar
• Budget
• Receipts and Contracts
• Fabric Swatches
• Contact List
• Inspiration Photos

Go With What You Know!  Do you use google docs and calendars to keep track of your daily tasks and important notes?  Color code project files at work?  Whatever method you are accustomed to using daily will work well for you as you plan your wedding.

Multitask!  It would never be a good idea to address your wedding invitations during a department meeting, but you can do that during your lunch hour.  Look for little pieces of time you can claim for simple tasks that won’t interfere with your work duties.

Create A Wedding Day Plan!  You, and everyone involved in the success of your wedding plan, will be much happier with a wedding day plan.  Your master agenda will give everyone the information they need to complete, as well as an overview of the entire day.  Some things to include on your wedding day plan include:

• Vendor set up schedule
• Wedding party appointment times and locations
• Photography plan
• Start times for wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner service
• Schedule of events for master of ceremonies
• Vendor breakdown times
• End of the night tasks

Make A List, Check It Twice!  You can settle your week of the wedding nerves by taking one last look at your planning notes and reviewing the last minute details. You can see the finish line; all of the major decisions have been made, the details finalized and the anticipation builds.  Here are a few things to remember as the big day approaches.  

• Review all contracts and check for changes
• Complete final calls with vendors
• Add setup, start times and cell phone numbers to the agenda
• Distribute agenda to everyone involved in wedding day

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Saving Money, Time and Your Mind

Today we have a guest blogger – Jennie Wiegand, certified wedding planner and owner of Beautiful Day Planning, LLC.  Jennie has some great tips on why your should consider working with a wedding planner for your wedding day.

Everyone’s on a budget when it comes to a wedding!   Because of this, most brides make “educated” decisions on where to cut money, the most common being the wedding planner. After-all, if you’re on a “budget”, how can you afford to have someone else working on the wedding with you, right?!

However, working with a planner should SAVE you money in the end!  And many brides don’t realize how many other things a good planner can save you; like time or your sanity!

Preferred Vendors.  All planners have a preferred vendor list; a list that details the companies that he or she thinks are the best in their field.  The list is continually evolving and no planner is shy about removing a vendor who isn’t living up to expectations or pricing!

How does the list save you money?  Repeat business!  Because I continually call these companies and send them referrals from multiple clients, you’re no longer a single wedding or event.  This means the company is more likely to cut pricing or add extras into their packages.

For example, Mike Staff Productions automatically knocks $100 off any package if the bride is a client of mine!

In addition, most of the vendors that work with a planner numerous times are more likely to work with clients with tighter budgets, adjusting their standard packages to accommodate what a client can afford.

Tricks of the Trade.  Most people are going to plan one wedding in their lifetime – the average planner is going to plan 5-10 every year.  Because of this, planners have worked out various “tricks of the trade” that will help save money!

Hiring a planner will open you up to all kinds of good hints and cost savings ideas that you may not have even thought of on your own!

Time.  According to the The Knot’s 2010 Real Weddings Survey, during the last three months of engagement, the average bride will spent 11 hours per week on their wedding. Wouldn’t you rather spend 1-2 hours a week with your planner finalizing details than the 11 hours a week that may be required otherwise?

Sanity.  Planning your own wedding will be one of the most rewarding and stressful experiences of your life.  It seems really easy at the beginning but no matter how well prepared, organized, and excited you are, I can guarantee you that there will be stress involved in your wedding day.  A planner will, by no means, erase every stress you have, they will just be there to ease you off the guest-count ledge and whisk you back into a land of happy-wedding-planning-feelings!

How nice would it be when you have a stress-out moment, to be able to call someone that isn’t related to you and has NO one else’s best interests at heart?  And how reassuring to talk to that person and hear “I’ll take care of it”, Or, better yet, “It’s already taken care of”.  Trust me, there is no monetary value to that!

It isn’t “all or nothing”.    I want all brides reading this to realize that hiring a planner is not an “all or nothing” proposition;  meaning, you don’t HAVE to hire a planner to plan the entire wedding!

Most planners offer packages varying from Day-Of Coordination only to Full Service Planning, and everything in between!  With my packages, you choose how much help you believe you need and tell me where you want me to use the hours you’ve purchased. This arrangement is ideal for the bride that DOES want to plan her own wedding – but may just need help keeping everything on track and understanding what she needs to do and when to do it.

Remember, this is YOUR wedding day and it should be everything you want it to be!  Hiring a planner will help make all of your dreams come true while working within the confines of the budget you have outlined.

You’ll end up getting more bang for your buck, as well as saving a lot of time and stress!!

So no matter how far away your wedding is, contacting a planner may be the best decision you’ll make…next to your choice of groom, of course!

Thanks for the great info, Jennie.  To learn more about Beautiful Day Planning, visit them on Facebook or click here for their website.

www.mikestaff.com

Email us or call (248) 689-0777.

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