Wedding Planner Guide

A wedding planner guide is similar to the wedding planning book frequently used by brides. However a guide is often the checklist that one often sees in bridal magazines or on wedding web sites.

Founded by Deborah McCoy, the American Academy of Wedding Professionals

You will need to make sure every duty is on the list so that nothing will be overlooked. Use your computer to create your list, but make several copies in case of the dreaded computer crash.

You may want to use your wedding planner guide in your first meeting with the client and when drawing up the contract. That way there will be no surprises.

What should be in your guide? Everything from the meeting with the client, to the wedding day.

The most important thing is to get the signed contract that spells out your charges, with the deposit due at contract signing. If the bride asks for, and you agree to a different payment schedule, make sure the contract is amended to reflect that decision.

This will protect both you and the bride if a problem arises somewhere down the road.

The way you design your wedding planner guide depends on how far away the wedding date is scheduled, but the order of things to be done is always the same.

First is to meet with the client, sign a contract, and schedule the ceremony. Often the ceremony site has already been scheduled, since most couples know they are going to be married in a particular church, synagogue, hotel or on the beach and have already made that arrangement.

Determine what the budget for the wedding will be, visit some reception sites and then decide which one will be booked.

Discuss and choose the type of music for the ceremony and reception and hire the necessary people for that. Decide on a photographer and videographer. All of these tasks need to be done simultaneously.

The next part of your wedding planner guide requires tasks such as renting tents, tables, chairs and arbors if they will be needed.

Select a florist and have the bride choose her bouquet and her bridesmaid flowers, boutonniere for the groom, ushers, and fathers of the bride and groom and corsages for the moms.

All visits scheduled with vendors should be conducted with the client present and you need to be there to protect the client’s interests.

Then you need to remind the bride to register with a couple of gift registries and to order her invitations, have more than one stationer she can choose from.

Order the toasting glasses, cake knife and guest book. There is still several tasks left to do in your wedding planner guide.

Schedule the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It might be a good idea to distribute copies of the schedule of events to the bridesmaids and groomsmen so everyone knows where they have to be on what date and time during the coming weeks.

Remind the couple to gather their birth certificates and to arrange for medical exams and blood tests for the marriage license. Make sure the invitations are mailed and announcements sent to the newspapers.

Confirm date, time and place with photographer, videographer, limousine service and florists. No your wedding planner guide tasks are not over.

Work on seat charts for the reception and remind the bride to contact those guests who have not R.S.V.P.’d. Now the wedding is really close, only a week or two to go.

This is a time of high stress for both you and the couple, so take a deep breath and keep on going, you are in the home stretch now. Contact all the vendors and iron out any last minute details.

Give the caterer the final guest list. Make sure the checks for all vendors are ready.

Here comes the bride, this will be the ultimate test on all the work you have been doing for the last several months. Your first or 100th wedding is ready to go.

Make sure the bridal party knows when and where the photo shoot and reception are taking place. Be available at the reception to handle any problems that come up.

Write the couple a note asking them to write a reference for your files. Now your wedding planner guide is finished.

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Wedding Planning Guide