Are you prepared for your client’s wedding day? Here are five (5) important tasks to check-off your professional wedding planner’s to-do list.
1. Make follow-up delivery calls
Make sure that items are delivered as scheduled and listed on your timeline. You don’t want to wait until you arrive at the reception site—20 minutes before the cocktail hour–to discover the wedding cake has not been delivered as planned.
2. Have a ‘risk assessment’ plan (i.e. Plan B) in mind
Sounds pretty serious, I know. But as a professional wedding planner, thinking ahead is an absolute must! Just be mindful of some common wedding day risks that could occur and how you will potentially deal with them. For example:
* Vendor no-show (no cake, no DJ)
* Severe Weather Conditions (high winds, lightning)
* Union staff at the reception site goes on strike
* Streets around the venue are closed (car accident, water main break)
Think through what the most likely risks are for your wedding and have a ‘plan B’ (and possibly a ‘plan C’) in mind.
3. Familiarize yourself with the area hospital locations
Hopefully you will never have to utilize this tip. But just in case, keep the address and directions of the nearest area hospitals and/or urgent care facilities with you. Of course, having this information doesn’t replace the use of 911 in the case of emergencies, but is helpful if someone needs it. Also ask your clients if they know of any guests that have a chronic illness (such as diabetes, asthma) that may possibly require immediate medical action.
4. Prepare a security plan
Outside of managing a high-profile or celebrity wedding, your security plan should be relatively simple. The wedding gifts are usually the largest assets, so be sure to have a plan in place as to how gifts are monitored and secured. Whether or not you decide to take on the personal responsibility of managing gifts, you should discuss a plan with your clients to deliver gifts safely after the reception.
5. Make sure your emergency kit is ready to go.
Your emergency kit is a vital piece of equipment for the wedding day and contents vary for each wedding planner. But whatever you plan to have in your emergency kit, gather items before you need them. The day before the wedding isn’t the time to do this! Replenishing items immediately after each wedding is a good rule of thumb to follow.
HAPPY PLANNING!
I have done countless hours of research before I commit to wedding and event planning certification. Doing weddings for a hobby is different than running a business. As a Stay-At-Home Mom this will allow me to set my own hours.
Your website has given me extreme insight and nuggets of wisdom. I veiw this website as an online mentor for the wedding planner. You have helped me tremendously and I will refer back to this website often. Many Thanks.
I never really began the wedding planning but a friend of mine was getting married and I offered as a wedding gift to plan and coordinate her wedding because they did not have a clue what to do. Well, since I have planned COUNTLESS parties (not weddings) I figured, this isn’t much different… WHEW… well let me tell you since I started I have been exhausted, the wedding was last weekend (Oct. 12th) and I have had countless calls to help plan their weddings and do their invitations etc… I did not know where to start to because I never thought wedding planning was going to be this involved. Well young lady, I would like to thank you for all the useful information that you give on this site because now I can make a decision on whether or not this is an avenue I want my company to touch on.
God Bless,
Jessica Smith, CEO
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