We all have our own ideas about what makes a perfect wedding. Each couple will give you their wish list and ask you to turn it into their dream day. Your task is to coordinate all the elements and guide them through any pitfalls before they might happen. A great way to do this is to run the event through your head in a quiet space from time to time as part of your preparations.
Visualise arriving at the venue as a planner, then visualise arriving at the venue as a guest and then visualise arriving at the venue as the newlyweds.
Think back to weddings of family and friends and see what you remember, good and bad. Do you remember the invitations, the bridal car, the dress, the flowers, the favours, the cake, the music, the food, the bar and any personal touches?
Whilst the choices are not yours, it is your responsibility to make the sure the day is memorable for all the right reasons! So if your list of things you remember from events you have attended is focusing more on what went wrong….. the lesson here is to make sure that even when things do hit a glitch you find a solution so that minimal notice is taken.
Hopefully, this process will put the wedding day into perspective. The elements that you think are crucial may not necessarily increase the success of the day for the couple. It is our job to guide them through and give them the facts. So if they choose to spend a large chunk of their budget on items most guests will never remember but they have told you they want a wow of a venue space. It is your place to suggest that they look at lighting and allocate some finances to that.
Remember also that it is your work on show so you want to be proud of your efforts, as well as pleasing the guests and clients. I find time for reflection and thinking through every step of the day in my head slowly really helps me be sure that nothing will be overlooked, I also do this with any eventuality in my mind too. So I run it through for wet weather, missing suppliers, late timings etc. in addition to all the necessary run sheets and lists. Got to love a list in this job!
If you are interested in training to become a wedding planner with the Academy and learning from industry professionals then check out our courses and connect with your nearest regional Academy here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zoe McKeown owns a successful wedding planning business, Cherish Weddings, where she works with some high profile clients and shares her experience with students as the lead tutor and course consultant for the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning.
www.cherishweddingplanning.co.uk
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