Planning a wedding is an exciting, magical experience, but it can also be overwhelming. Brides-to-be are often caught up in the whirlwind of details, and sometimes the smaller, yet equally important tasks, slip through the cracks. As a wedding planner, it’s essential to guide your clients through every step of the process, ensuring that nothing is overlooked.
In this post, we’ll cover 10 common things brides forget when planning their weddings — and how wedding planners can be their secret weapon to avoid these pitfalls.
1. The Timeline for the Day-of
When it comes to the big day, timing is everything. While many brides focus on the ceremony and reception details, they often forget to create a detailed timeline for the day. This includes everything from the bride’s hair and makeup schedule to the timing of the grand entrance.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
Wedding planners are experts at crafting a seamless timeline, ensuring every moment flows smoothly. They’ll create a detailed schedule, coordinate with vendors, and manage the day-of timeline so the bride doesn’t have to. Personally, because we are also wedding photographers, we understand what works in a wedding day timeline and what doesn’t. We understand the nuances of how much time each thing may take.
2. The Rehearsal Dinner Details
While brides usually plan for the ceremony and reception, the rehearsal dinner often gets sidelined. Brides forget about things like the rehearsal dinner venue, guest list, and coordinating speeches or toasts.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
Our job is to ensure that every aspect of the wedding is covered, including the rehearsal dinner. From location scouting to managing the RSVP list and coordinating with the caterer, we can take the stress out of this pre-wedding celebration.
3. Vendor Contracts and Payments
Brides tend to focus on finding the perfect vendors, but they may overlook the importance of keeping track of contracts, deposits, and final payments. Missing deadlines or overlooking details in contracts can lead to unnecessary stress.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
Wedding planners ensure all contracts are in place, payments are made on time, and the bride doesn’t have to worry about chasing down vendors. You can act as the liaison between the bride and the vendors, ensuring everything is squared away.
4. The ‘Something Old, Something New’ Tradition
Many brides love to incorporate this sentimental tradition into their wedding, but in the hustle and bustle of planning, they often forget to pick out these meaningful items.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
Wedding planners can remind brides to check off this list of traditional items. Plus, you can help them find creative ways to incorporate these into their overall wedding theme.
5. Post-Wedding Tasks
Once the wedding is over, there are still tasks that need to be handled, such as sending thank-you cards, returning rentals, and handling the marriage license. Brides often forget about these details in the excitement of their honeymoon.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
A wedding planner can help create a post-wedding checklist for brides and even assist with post-event tasks, like overseeing the return of rented items and tracking gifts for thank-you cards.
6. Bathroom Basket Essentials
While it might seem like a small detail, having a well-stocked bathroom basket for guests can be a lifesaver. Brides often forget to include essentials like deodorant, hairspray, or even a sewing kit.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
A wedding planner will make sure the bathrooms are stocked with everything guests might need. This small touch ensures the comfort of guests and eliminates any last-minute stress for the bride.
7. Guest Transportation
If the wedding and reception are at different locations, transportation is a common oversight. Brides can easily forget to arrange buses, shuttles, or car services for guests, especially when alcohol is involved.
How Wedding Planners Can Help:
Wedding planners can handle the logistics of transportation, ensuring that guests are safely transported between venues without any confusion or delays.
Conclusion: The Importance of a Wedding Planner
Wedding planning can feel like a never-ending checklist of tasks, and even the most organized brides may miss a few important details. This is where wedding planners come in — offering expert guidance and keeping everything on track.
By covering the overlooked aspects of wedding planning, from rehearsal dinner to transportation, we’ll ensure your special day is stress-free, memorable, and flawless. We want our brides to enjoy their big day with the peace of mind that everything is taken care of!
