A Day in the Life of a Wedding Planner
A Planner With Priorities
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WEDDING PLANNER
“What do you even DO?”
As a wedding planner, this is a question I hear a lot. I often feel like I’m this mythical creature who does things. But couples aren’t quite sure what those things are, or what my job entails.
So, today, I’m inviting you to come behind the scenes with me to discover what I do, why and how I do it, and to get a small glimpse of a day in my life.
I’ll start with the what, why, and how:
WHAT do I do?
All the things. True story. Because when you really break it down, as a wedding planner, there’s not much I don’t do.
I typically say that my job has three main duties: Planning, design and production.
But within those three areas, there are a lot of intricacies. I’m a project manager, crisis control, therapist, designer, expectation manager, logistical maven, and a communication specialist {just to name a few}.
WHY do I do it?
Well, I don’t do it because it’s fancy or easy. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions about wedding planners is that our job is super glamorous, and we walk around, clip-board in hand, giving orders to a swarm of people {in our fancy cocktail dresses and heels nonetheless}. But, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Wedding planners work hard. And our job is demanding both physically and emotionally.
I’m often the one cleaning things up, looking for tiny flaws and perfecting details, putting out fires {a few times in my career literally putting out fires, but thats another story}, and on my hands and knees bustling dresses.
I’m the calming voice guiding you through your decisions. The person that touches every detail of your day to make sure it fits your vision. And the creative, cool, calm, and collected gal by your side helping you pull it all together.
All that being said, my job is focused on the happiest moments in people’s lives. That is really special, and something that very few other jobs can claim! And that is a huge part of why I do what I do.
HOW do I do it?
A big part of what I do is trying to get to the root of what’s important to you. And I dig deep to determine if it’s what you really want, or if it’s just a passing fad you think you want because Pinterest told you so.
In other words, I help you narrow things down to create your vision. And then we get to work to make it happen.
I do this by offering candid advice and recommendations on things like logistics, rentals, budgets, vendors, and design. And I stay accessible throughout the entire process. Not only because I manage things digitally but because I communicate clearly and efficiently.
If I can’t communicate effectively with you, my team, and all of your vendors, the day simply will not happen.
By the time your wedding day arrives, I’m thoroughly prepared for the unexpected. I work hard overseeing the timeline and working with your vendors- making sure your wedding runs like clockwork- and looks beautiful too.
And should any issues arise {as they do} I stay calm, and handle things with kindness and a caring approach so that even the biggest situations can feel small and handled.
A ‘TYPICAL’ DAY:
Just like no wedding is the same, no day in the life of a wedding planner is the same.
Plus, depending on if it is a wedding day vs an office day, my day looks pretty different.
But, I’ll do my best to break it down for you.
Office Days:
10% of what I do for you is actually ON the wedding day. 90% of a successful wedding is sweating the details and putting in the work before the wedding day.
For me, that care, attention, and work happens on office days.
I wake up early, make coffee and a small breakfast. And I try to squeeze in 2 hours of work before my kids demand my full attention!
Luckily, I’m a morning person and my husband is a night owl. So, the mornings are the perfect time for me to spend some quality time with them. Then the husband takes over around 10:00 a.m. and back to the office I go to answer emails, work on designs, update files, etc… You know the very necessary, yet sometimes very boring office work. And these are also the days where I’ll schedule site visits, or in-person planning and/or vendor meetings.
On office days I usually work from 6 AM until about 5:30 PM. Then it’s back to mom duties, dinner, bath time, and bedtime. I usually crash by 10 PM!
Wedding Days:
My team and I start our day at the venue by going over the timeline, decor, and layout. Then we walk the venue and note things that need to be done.
- Do floors need to be swept?
- Are things out of place that need to be moved?
- Are there linens to steam?
It’s not always pretty but someone has to do it and that someone is us.
As the day progresses my main role is to oversee all the details.
My team is typically responsible for all the setup and decor while I troubleshoot, check in with the couple, oversee all the vendors, answer questions etc.
Throughout all of this I’m keeping an eye on the time and making sure that the team is aware of how close we are to the ceremony. Then once guests start to arrive it’s go time.
The 10-15 minutes leading up to the ceremony are easily the most stressful part of my entire day. Guests are watching and we have to be on our best game, while also getting the wedding party focused and from point A to point B. And if you’ve ever been in a wedding, you know that everyone is excited and adrenaline is high, So this can sometimes be a bit like herding cats.
Once we send everyone down the aisle, we breathe a small sigh of relief. Then quickly move on to our next task.
For me that’s running to check in with catering. Making sure they know we are on a roll, and to start getting food and beverages ready for a mass of hungry, thirsty people who are ready for some fun!
Then I head back to the ceremony by the time the couple is recessing, and help guide them and tuck them away so we can clear out the ceremony location.
From this point on, our main goal is to manage the day and work with our vendor team to ensure the day flows naturally. But most importantly, it’s making sure our couple is able to just sit back and enjoy!
Once the party’s over, it’s time to clean up. This can be one of the hardest parts of the day because we’ve been on our feet since 6 AM, walked approximately 10 miles over the last 14 hours, and we’re tired. Clean up isn’t fun, but again, someone has to do it. And as part of my job- that someone is me and a team of amazing people who worked hard to pull off your incredible day!
While I can’t make your future mother-in-law more tolerable or take away all of the stress of planning a wedding, I can support you and guide you as a professional, and feel like a friend and confidant too.
I’ll be the one to give you a pep talk when your emotions run high. I’ll tell you honestly how things are going to work, even if it’s hard to hear {but necessary to create an even better event}. And I’ll be sure that I’m the one to make you laugh and feel like everything is under control
(because with me, it is!)
Now that you know what I do, let’s connect, to see how I can do it for you!
