Wedding Coordinator Noob

My day job consists of Marketing, Event Coordinating, PR and Project Management, so I decided to put my organizational skills to use to start an event planning business.

Late last year, I was giving one of my good friends some ideas for wedding invitations and décor. I also ended up giving her a copy of a spreadsheet I created to help her budget and keep track of her expenses for the wedding. She ended up making me her Day of Wedding Coordinator, and that’s how this business became a reality. Here's my beautiful bride and groom:

Since this was a good friend of mine, I tried to also help her along the way, not just on the day of. I created the templates below for her to fill out to help the day go smoothly:

·         Timeline – Based on a traditional wedding I gave her time suggestions of events (makeup, ceremony, pictures, speeches, cake cutting, etc). I created a separate timeline for her wedding party and a vendor one so I knew when she wanted me to meet with vendors, provide payment, etc.

·         Checklist – list of things to bring and where they would be

·         List of Vendors & Contact Info

·         List of Bridal Party

·         I also asked her for : Any special requests/notes, diagram/picture of how she wanted décor set up

Here's a glimpse into her wedding and the decor I set up. It was a puzzle theme because they "found their missing piece"

On the day of the wedding, below were my main responsibilities:

·         Line-Up Wedding Party and give Flowers/Boutonnieres for Ceremony

·         Set up Décor: Welcome Table, Seating Chart, Guest Dinner Tables, Kids Activity Table, Dessert Table

·         Set up Food for Wedding Party

·         Meet with each vendor and call them to make sure they are on time.

·         Give meals and final payments and gratuities to each vendor

·         Work with Venue Coordinator to make sure everything in place, lighting is good, and be point of contact if any issues arise

·         Line-Up Wedding Party for Grand Entrance

·         Give cues to DJ for events and make sure everything running on time

·         Put Away Welcome Table Décor towards end of night

·         And most importantly… Make sure Bride & Groom are relaxed and have a great time!

For the most part I felt everything went smoothly. My bride was very happy with my work and so were the vendors that I worked with. Being on the other side of the wedding, I knew it was important to build a rapport with each vendor, so I tried to make sure that I took a few minutes to talk to each one and make sure they had everything they needed throughout the night and to use me as a resource if they had any questions or needed anything. When I had down time I brought drinks to my bride and groom and the wedding party too because I wanted to make sure they had a good time. It was also important to me to make sure the parents of the couple had everything they needed throughout the night, because this day is for them too. Many of the vendors asked me for my card, so I guess I need to create one now. I’m officially for hire for your big day!  

Here's are a few pics from the day of the wedding. Since I was also a guest at the wedding in addition to being the wedding coordinator, I got to get dressed up as well. If I wasn't a guest, I would most likely be wearing all black. I was going for a "Great Gatsby" look. You know I'm savvy, and my dress was a steal and treasure find from Lohemann's for about $50. The beading makes it look so expensive, I loved it! I  also included a shot with my cousin who is a good friend of the bride, but also the Hotel Venue Coordinator who helped me throughout the day as well.