Here Comes The Bride - South & West Wales September 2013 | Page 4

a day in the life of a wedding planner A day in the life of a Wedding Planner Every day is exciting and different in my job: working with so many different couples and suppliers, attending meetings, visiting venues and planning weddings, designing décor and managing spreadsheets. But one day does remain quite constant in my job, and that’s the wedding day itself. Here is an ‘oh so’ exclusive peek into one of my previous wedding day coordination schedules, along with an insight into my thoughts and feelings throughout the most important day of another couple’s life… - Work with maintenance man to put up Pompoms on the chandeliers. - Put bunting on top table and cake table. - Put out wooden ‘love’ and ‘Mr & Mrs’ Signs. - Set up the suitcase display for all the gifts and cards – florist to fill with flowers. - Place guest book and pens near suitcase display and photo frames. - Set up the table plan in the bar area. “The bride has asked me to make her some paper pompoms in her colour scheme to dot around the marquee, so I ask one of the onsite handy men to help with a step ladder. My bride has made all the bunting herself, clever lady, so I get to work putting this out around the room with all the other decorations too.” - Place table names in card holders on tables. - Place name card luggage tags on tables on top of the napkins. - Place menu cards on tables, 2 per table. - Place quizzes on tables to entertain guests during sit down. - Place favours on tables above napkins. - Place cameras on table 2 per table. - Place bubbles for children on table. - Check cake has arrived and is set up on cake table. - Check that vintage teacup supplier has arrived and set up on the tables. - Ensure florist has arrived and centrepieces are set up on the tables. “The florist has arrived and set up – check! So have the vintage tea cups – check! My cake supplier was supposed to have arrived by now though, I wonder where she is? Luckily I have her number on my clipboard, but she’s not answering the phone, perhaps she’s just stuck in traffic. I know there’s a local cake shop a mile or so away in the village and I have their number noted down ‘just in case.’ If the cake hasn’t arrived in the next hour I’ll put in a call to the shop and politely ask if we can borrow a dummy cake from the window. I can dress it up with some flowers borrowed from a centrepiece so it still matches the theme and we can serve guests a simple wedding cake after the cake cutting...” continued on the next page... 9am – 12pm - Arrive at venue and greet the onsite wedding planner. “It’s wedding day and the sun is shining – hoorah! It’s important for me to arrive promptly and start the day by checking in with everyone who works at the venue already, as we’ll be working very closely with each other throughout the day.” - Visit the bride in her room to see how she is, and meet all of the bridesmaids and mother of the bride. “My bride is already at her dressing table having her hair blow dried when I arrive, so I give her a little wave and carry on introducing myself to the bridesmaids - I already know all their names from my meeting with the bride. The hair dryer switches off so I go and give the bride a big kiss hello and see how she’s feeling. She’s excited, but I can see she’s nervous too as she’s wondering how everything is looking inside the marquee. I reassure her that everything is going to be fabulous – because it is!” - Say hello to the groom and introduce myself to the best man and ushers. - Check the best man has the rings. - Check the ushers understand their duties for the day and what to do at the church. - Make sure the ushers have the order of service cards and the confetti to take with them to the church. “Typical boys, they’re at the bar already, but it’s not a problem just as long as they don’t get carried away I’m happy! I make sure they all know their duties for the day and share a little friendly banter with them all – this is a fun day after all and whilst I’ll be keeping them all focused on their tasks ahead I want them to feel they can still enjoy a laugh and come to me with any problems through the day.” www.ohsoperfect.co.uk