9 things you don’t want to forget when planning your wedding
Hey everyone! Tricia here. I’m one of the nighttime coordinators here at Rockledge Gardens. We work with Jessica to make sure your ceremony and reception go off without a hitch. That being said, I wanted to take some time to bring up some commonly overlooked items we often see getting glossed over. Chances are that not all of these will apply to your event, but there’s a good chance that at least a couple of them will!
Have you shared your schedule with your wedding party and all your vendors?
Sharing your timeline gives your wedding party and vendors a better idea of how the event will flow. Chances are that you’ll get off schedule–which isn’t a problem! But including everyone in the loop with the schedule means that everyone will know the order and which specific activities (introduction, speeches, dances, games, etc) you want to occur!
Similarly, who has the answers to your vendors’ questions?
Designate one (or a couple!) trusted friends to be first points of contact for the vendors. This person should be able to answer basic questions from vendors, such as where things belong, but will know to loop you in on the important decisions.
Who is playing music during your ceremony?
Make sure to communicate the specifics of the professional, ceremonial, and recessional pieces as well as their cues to whoever will be controlling . This goes for having one song for the entire bridal party or a different song for each member. Also, don’t forget that we don’t have wifi at the pavilion! Make sure to download the specific tracks for your ceremony so that there’s no last minute scramble and you end up with the 14 minute live version as your recessional instead of your favorite remix.
Who is emceeing your event?
Throwing on a playlist and letting the night unfold can be tons of fun, but you still want to assign someone to help guide the party along. This person will be integral in making sure dinner begins smoothly (more on that later), bringing guests’ attention to you and your bae as you make your entrance or first dance, or pumping up the energy if it seems like guests are slowing down a little. They can have as little or as large of a role as you’d like, but it’s still good to have someone who knows the schedule of events and can keep everyone on track throughout the day.
If you are having a dinner buffet, create a plan for releasing tables for dinner. Who is announcing when the tables should go? Which order will they be released in? Figuring this out ahead of time and communicating the information with whoever will dismissing the tables will alleviate some unneeded pre-dinner stress. Also, make sure you place you and your bae’s dinner orders before your big day! Believe me, you’ll want to take any chance to sit down you can get. Giving your order to the caterers beforehand and letting them serve you ensures that you can grab a few quick bites while everyone else goes through the line.
How much leeway do your vendors have in their schedule?
There is a solid probability that you’ll need to start dinner either early or late, extend cocktail hour, or want your band to keep playing or your photographer to keep capturing the fun. Make sure to check with your vendors to see how much flexibility they’ll have on the day of–some, like your caterers, might be able to push up or back their services, but oftentimes they’ll have hard times that they will not be able to work around within that flexibility.
Who is cutting your cake?
Don’t worry about this if you are opting for a small cake just for you and your bae or non-traditional desserts. But for those of you who are planning on having a traditional cake for your guests, make sure to verify through your caterers that they will cut and distribute the cake, or assign a trusted guest to cut the cake for you. Here’s a guide on how to cut different types of wedding cakes!
Who is doing your clean up?
Bussers are included with the Farm-to-Garden package but not with the other packages. If your caterers do not provide bussing, you will need to assign bussing duties to some beloved guests (while thanking them copiously!). Bussing is not something you will want to be doing in your wedding dress! I promise!
Who is bringing home gifts, food, decorations, etc?
At the end of the night, we’ll be there to break down the tables and chairs and clear out the linens. You will want to make sure that whoever is bringing home your gifts, extra food and drink, and decorations know what they are in charge of and have the proper tools, like totes and boxes, to do so.
Here’s a list of commonly forgotten items!
- Extra long s’mores skewers
- Boxes or bags to bring home decorations, gifts, and food at the end of the night
- Lighters
- Scissors
- Cups (Especially specific cups for certain beverages! Having a keg? No one is going to want to drink beer out of a 8 ounce water cup, I promise)
- Tape
- Ice
- Cake cutter
- Safety pins and bobby pins
- Serving utensils
- To-go containers for food (These are typically supplied by your caterer, so if you aren’t having one make sure to bring some along!)
- Phone/ tablet/ computer converter for the A/V system
- Shoes to dance in
- Shoe glue
Behind the scene shots–we love your weddings as much as you do 🙂