Wedding Pros: Please read the Planners Wedding Day Timeline!

What happens when a string quartet plays just a bit too long at a wedding? Chaos ensues, and we're here to tell you why reading and sticking to the Wedding Day Itinerary is absolutely critical. On today's episode of the Wedding Planner Profiles Podcast, we delve into Lady Whistlewed's latest column to uncover the hidden stories behind the scenes for planners and pros. We'll explore how a wedding planner's role as the "conductor of the symphony" can make or break the day. From ensuring every professional adheres to the meticulously crafted schedule, to the Herculean effort required in reviewing contracts and coordinating with vendors, we showcase the dedication needed to pull off a seamless celebration.

In the second segment, we shift our focus to the pivotal planning phase that occurs two months before the big day. Learn the significance of reviewing contracts, drafting an initial itinerary, and the all-important meeting with the couple six to eight weeks out. This is where timelines are scrutinized down to the minute, stress levels are managed, and excitement is built. We'll highlight how the exceptional planners go beyond mere competence through meticulous coordination and proactive communication, ensuring every vendor is aligned, and any necessary adjustments are seamlessly integrated. Buckle up for an insightful journey into what sets the best wedding planners apart.

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Transcript

Importance of Wedding Day Itinerary

Speaker 1 0:00

You're listening to the Wedding Planner Profiles Podcast brought to you by the CWP Society. Welcome to the Wedding Planner Profiles Podcast brought to you by the CWP Society, the world's leading wedding planner certification program and the largest network of wedding professionals. Your hosts for today's episode are Lori Hartwell, founder of the CWP Society, and Chrissy Thomas, the Society's Vice President.

Speaker 2 0:34

Hey everyone, Lori Hartwell here. It's great to have you guys listening in. Hello Chrissy, how the heck are ya?

Speaker 3 0:41

Hello, lori, and hi to all of our amazing listeners, lori. I am really hi to all of our amazing listeners, lori. I am really excited to talk about the latest Lady Whistlewood column because this is a topic that speaks to my heart, if you will, this is something that I think all wedding planners struggle with, so I'm excited to talk about it because it's something that I have also personally struggled with as well.

Speaker 2 1:02

I agree completely, yeah. And so for those of you who have not yet grabbed the latest Lady Whistle Weds column, she speaks all about the sanctity of the wedding day itinerary and it's basically a plea to all wedding professionals about those timelines. So let's listen in real quick and see what she had to say.

Speaker 4 1:22

Dear gentle reader, it has come to this author's attention that a matter of great import must be addressed to those esteemed professionals who lend their talents to the creation of nuptial celebrations. I speak, of course, to the melodious DJs, the botanical virtuosos, the culinary maestros and all others who contribute their expertise to these joyous occasions. The subject at hand, dear reader, is the sacrosanct document known as the Wedding Day Itinerary, also known as the Wedding Day Timeline, a masterpiece of organization so meticulously crafted by our certified wedding planners. This schedule, born of countless hours of deliberation and refined through years of experience, is not merely a suggestion, but instead it is finely tuned sheet music that contributes to the symphony in keeping proper timing and coordination. Consider, if you will, the unfortunate tale of Lord and Lady Drigerton's eldest son's wedding, son's wedding. The carefully orchestrated affair was nearly derailed when the string quartet, in a moment of misguided spontaneity, decided to extend their performance by a full quarter-hour. The resulting domino effect led to cold soup, wilting blooms and a first dance that coincided most inopportunely with the setting of the sun, leaving the newlyweds to sway in near darkness.

Speaker 4 2:46

With the setting of the sun, leaving the newlyweds to sway in near darkness, I implore you, dear professionals, to regard this itinerary as you would the most precious of heirlooms. Each minute detailed within its pages has been calculated with the precision of a Swiss timepiece. To deviate from its carefully plotted course is to invite chaos into what should be a seamlessly executed celebration of love. Your talents, dear reader, are beyond question. It is precisely because of your expertise that you have been chosen to participate in these momentous occasions. However, I must stress that your role, while crucial, is but one instrument in a grand orchestra.

Speaker 4 3:23

The certified wedding planner, in this metaphor, is the conductor, and the itinerary is the score by which you must play.

Speaker 4 3:31

Let it be known that the certified wedding planner's itinerary is a product of countless hours of deliberation, negotiation and foresight. It is a delicate balance of the couple's wishes, the venue's requirements and the collective expertise of all involved. To disregard the schedule is to risk not only the smooth progression of the day, but also to potentially tarnish your own sterling reputation. After all, a professional who doesn't follow a simple, albeit detailed, itinerary may find future invitations to participate in such events becoming scarce. In conclusion, I beseech you to embrace the itinerary with the same passion and dedication you bring to your craft, for in doing so, you not only ensure the success of the event, but also demonstrate your commitment to professionalism and your respect for the collective effort that goes into creating a truly memorable wedding day. Until next time, when we shall perhaps discuss the rising trend of unconventional wedding favors or the shocking appearance of colorful wedding attire, I remain your faithful chronicler of all matters matrimonial, yours in advocacy for punctuality and seamless execution, lady Whistlewed.

Speaker 3 4:45

Oh, this was so good because we hear from so many of our members. Many planners are saying what's happening on the wedding day honestly, even leading up to the big day, is that wedding pros are not reading the timeline in advance and walking into wedding day with what time is the first dance? What do I need to set up All the questions that nine times out of 10 are on this very detailed wedding day timeline?

Speaker 2 5:14

Yeah, I mean, there's so much time that goes into it and a lot of wedding planners spend, I would say, on average, anywhere between three and it depends on, of course, what software you have right Anywhere between three and sometimes 15 to 20 hours just on this wedding itinerary and wedding timeline, and just working in the software typically itself doesn't take more than three hours.

Speaker 2 5:38

But many times what happens is we have a lot of meetings and a lot of discussions that have to take place so that we have a really detailed itinerary. So I think maybe, chrissy, what we should do is kind of break down what a wedding planner is supposed to do in regards to a wedding itinerary. And the first thing that I do as a wedding planner when I'm starting to work on my itineraries, I go through all of the contracts that my clients have signed and I'm reading all of the details and seeing how long they've hired the photographer for and how many hours do we have the entertainment for and what entertainment do we have in what section of the event, and you know all of the things. I'm going through the entire contract. Are you finding that wedding planners are at least doing that aspect?

Speaker 3 6:33

I would hope so, but what I'm seeing is it not happening and I'm seeing this from other wedding pros, whether it's photographers, hair and makeup artists is a big one and also even venue coordinators, where they are not even reading the basis of what time they're even allowed on site for the venue, which means, in my head, that you're not reading the contract at all.

Speaker 3 6:54

So for all my fellow wedding planners listening nine times out of 10, the information you need to even make that rough draft of your timeline is going to be in the contract, and this is going to really impact your couples, because when I think about the venue, for example, if you are not reading what time you have access to the venue and you have set this entire day and your venue is coming back to you like, oh, they're going to need additional hours added to their venue package with us. That comes at a cost to your clients at that point. All this could have been avoided by you simply reviewing all of those vendor contracts. So even for my planners who are listening, who just serve as a coordinator that should be part of your services is you are getting all the contracts from your clients and you are reviewing these contracts. You cannot go into this blind, and I feel like when you don't review contracts, you're starting off your timeline completely blind and guessing and hoping and assuming, and we all know what a disaster that can be.

Speaker 2 7:53

Well, without a doubt and this just kind of breaks my heart, I don't want to lie to you Like it literally breaks my heart because you know, wedding planners have so much weight on their shoulders. And what I'm hearing from you is that you're seeing and hearing that a lot of wedding planners are waiting until the last second to even look at anything or they're not looking at all of these detailed contracts in advance. And we should be getting all of these contracts well in advance. I don't wait till the week of the wedding to get all the contracts. That's not what I do. My whole job is to be the person who takes all of the 5,000 details of every wedding and bring them together. Well, you can't do that at the last possible second. It is always better to do weeks and weeks in advance. So what I like to do whether I am only hired as a coordinator or a full service planner planner is I, can I make sure these contracts are in my hot little hands at the time that they are being signed? So even if I'm only hired as a month of coordinator, eight months in advance, let's say, the couple then goes and meets with the photographer, and these are again.

Speaker 2 9:01

Planners are always making it clear to their couples you I have to vet and approve any wedding professionals that are going to be working next to my name. Right, you have to do that. But it is incredibly important that once they do book whatever photographer or approved DJ or approved caterer or whatever that as soon as that contract is signed, I have a copy of it. What happens there? And I don't even like to look at it beforehand? So all of my month of coordination packages included me actually looking at the contract, reviewing it before the client signed it.

Speaker 2 9:32

Why? Because I was trying to protect them from making really bad mistakes that are going to burn them in the end. I would much rather my clients understand what they're getting into and not have any surprises at the tail end of the planning process. So I would always have those contracts in my hot little hands for whenever I need them, and I think that that's one of the most important things You've got to. The first step in creating a wedding itinerary is to have all the contracts at your fingertips. The next thing is to create a rough draft based on all of those basics that you just gleaned from all of those contracts. What do you think about that?

Speaker 3 10:08

I think that's perfect because at least that even early in advance, my rough draft is created. Honestly, since you're getting those contracts during a planning process, go ahead and start plugging that into your timeline. That way, you're not waiting until the last minute to get those details. So creating that rough draft to me is an essential step to making sure that you have a really good and media detailed timeline. After that rough draft is created. That is when this is so vital and so important that you speak to all the hired wedding pros.

Speaker 3 10:38

This is a mistake that I'm seeing planners are not doing and to me, I'm honestly baffled by this, because I am very much in a mindset with my wedding pros that are hired for my couple's wedding day. I want to give them time to do their job. They have been paid to do a job and I want to make sure that my itinerary and my timeline reflects the amount of hours they've been paid to do and what they need to do in order to do their job well. And that requires me talking to them and saying here's my rough draft. Take a look at it.

Speaker 3 11:07

Have I given you enough time to do your job? How much time do you need? Do I need to adjust, edit, tweak. What do you need? And I'm hearing from wedding pros that this is not happening, especially my hair and makeup artists. I'm hearing from hair and makeup artists that the wedding planner is just making a mock-up timeline for hair and makeup and not talking to them about how much time they need per person and how much, how many assistants they need based off this schedule. There's so much that goes into that hair and makeup timeline that you have to be able to collaborate with your wedding pros to actually make it, and it's just baffling me because I feel like the collaboration is missing in the timeline creation part of the process.

Wedding Day Itinerary Coordination

Speaker 2 11:48

It is missing in a big, big way. So what we need to do as wedding planners is we need to make sure that we are having all of the right conversations, especially the main wedding pros that are going to really have an impact on the day itself. And so you've got to make sure that you are scheduling enough time to talk to people reaching out via email, scheduling it, and even if we can't talk in person, I want to at least send them a rough draft of that itinerary. Here's what I've got for you, but please let me know if this is not going to work. You have to have these conversations, whether it is through email or over the phone or in person, I don't care how, what format you do it, but if you, as the planner, are not reaching out and talking to them and saying, hey, this is what I've got, or this is what I'm thinking, or what is it that you need, or how can I help, or what are your needs for this, this and this, if you're not having this discussion, you're not doing your job. This is a large part of the job, so the next part that I typically do, after I have reviewed all the contracts, created that rough draft, spoken to all the hired wedding professionals. Now I have a pretty solid itinerary.

Speaker 2 13:01

And now what I do it's usually at this point in time, about two months prior to the wedding day.

Speaker 2 13:06

This is typically when I have a sit down chat with my couple, and this is anywhere from six to eight weeks.

Speaker 2 13:13

So if you're not even starting the process until about eight weeks prior, then by six weeks prior you should have something pretty substantial done, enough so that you can kind of show your couple.

Speaker 2 13:23

I like to sit down with my couple and walk them through every single minute of the timeline and what I find happens and this is the beautiful part of my job, right Is I'm watching all of the weight that has been weighing them down on their shoulders actually lift off their shoulders and go away, because now I'm actually painting the picture of how their wedding day is supposed to go and what, what I'm envisioning and how I'm bringing all of the millions of details together. Because, honestly, it's this one aspect is one of the couple's biggest fears and worries that they don't even realize that. That's where it's stemming from. It's the how, how is all this going to be brought together seamlessly? And they don't even realize it until you're reading the itinerary and then they're like, oh, this is magnificent, right, and so they can like, breathe a little bit better and they get excited, like when you're painting the picture, they get really excited.

Speaker 3 14:18

Oh, this is what the day is going to look like, but that's honestly my favorite meetings because, like you said, we're painting that picture. I see the stress leave their body and I see the excitement come in, knowing you know, the last few weeks of wedding planning is always a lot stressful because they're dealing with all the questions from the wedding party and all those details and it comes together with this itinerary. It's my favorite meeting. I love it.

Speaker 2 14:39

I love it too. It's just because I get to watch that all the hard work I put into something made someone happy, you know, and it's I'm doing good in the world, and that's what it reminded me of and it kind of helps keep me going, you know, knowing that someone's being affected positively. So sometimes the couple, chrissy, will say, hey, is it okay if we tweak this or tweak? There are some things that I'm like. No, let me tell you why. So this is a great educational tool for me to use with my couples. So now we have a okay. So let me tell you why this is.

Speaker 2 15:12

Another reason why this is such a big deal is because when we're going into a wedding day on the same page with our couple and they understand why I'm doing every little thing that I'm doing, we are now in sync. We are now one and I am going to get great reviews because they're seeing me execute this exactly the way I had said it was going to go Now. But they also know that they had a hand in some of these decisions and that makes us a team, and isn't that what it's supposed to be? So, again, it makes everything better when we're having all these conversations. But the next thing is, after you talk to the couple and they have maybe some valid concerns or valid add-ons, or maybe they want the aunt, who is a formal singer, to sing a quick song and blah, blah, blah. Whatever we're going to make, whatever adjustments we need to make, I'm going to talk to whichever wedding professionals that's going to affect, because I don't want them to be caught off guard on wedding day if they didn't notice that change. Because, see as me as a wedding planner, if I know that we're now going to have a surprise song, if I'm not letting the DJ know that there was a massive addition to what they're going to be doing and they just assume that that rough draft that they've seen is going to be what it is, I am doing that entertainment provider a disservice, not to mention my couple and that pop-up singer.

Speaker 2 16:37

Right, I'm now messing up everything. My job is to go to the DJ or the entertainment provider and say, hey, so my couple's aunt is a formal singer, they want to sing a quick song. Here is, you know, the song that they want to sing. Can we get the music? They're going to need a microphone. Where do you want them to stand? I, you know, and I coordinate all of this with them. That's my job.

Speaker 3 17:00

Yep, and then letting the photographer and the videographer know that they're in position, they're set and ready to go and, if this impacts their timing, letting my caterer know again. Lady whistle, what said you were the conductor of this itinerary? So any updates or changes, you have to communicate that with your wedding pros.

Speaker 2 17:17

It is the most important thing you can do. And this, by the way, is what makes the difference between just a wedding planner and a terrific, certified wedding planner Like this is the difference. You want to know the difference. You want to know how to stand out in your industry. It's by doing these types of things correctly. Then, of course, I just make a quick second draft After all those adjustments are made.

Speaker 2 17:38

I make a second draft, I send it out to all the appropriate people letting them know that I've made some adjustments, that there's a pop-up singer or there's a pop-up whatever. Please review it. And I always say please give me feedback. And I give them a deadline on when to give me that feedback by, and because if you just leave it open-ended I may never hear from them again. I always say in the email please respond by. And I give the date and that's the date that I'm going.

Speaker 2 18:04

I'm planning on getting all it's. Actually the day before I plan on working on the itinerary to make all the additional adjustments and things, and then I create that final itinerary and we're done, we're good. That's so important. So I just think it's important that people know and understand kind of what goes into it. So a planner factors in all of the things that we just discussed, and it is a way for all of us to get on the same page so that there's no detail left unnoticed. Here's the key, though, If a professional isn't reading it all this work and if you're actually reading it and don't just read it.

Speaker 2 18:46

Read it in advance, uh, and you know it's just. If you, as a wedding professional, are listening to this and you're not receiving an itinerary in advance and you know that a coordinator or a wedding planner has been hired, you have got to reach out to that planner and say I need a copy of the itinerary. It's a week before the wedding, even if it's a rough draft, please give me something. You are supposed to definitely have this. You are entitled to this as a wedding professional. If someone has been hired to put this together, you are entitled to it. So don't forget that. Wedding pro, you are entitled to this.

Speaker 2 19:24

And a wedding planner a great way, all of the great wedding planners and all of my members who are certified wedding planners I can guarantee you are putting together these beautiful, amazing wedding itineraries, and I'm hearing a lot of frustration that these wedding pros are not reading them at all. So, listen, if you are a wedding pro, read it in advance and let the wedding planner know, yep, we're good to go. Or let them know, nope, there's a couple of changes and adjustments that need to be made. Here's this and this and this, and then the wedding planner can go and talk to all the people that one little tiny change affects, because everything in a night canary is like a domino effect. Everything is adjusted after that.

Speaker 2 20:07

But there are two things, and this is how I think we should kind of wrap it up. There are two things that you and I see go very wrong. Some wedding planners are not speaking to the hired wedding professionals in advance. So if and the second thing is some wedding professionals are not reading the itinerary, those are the two main things that we see. So let's speak real quick to if the wedding planners are not speaking to the hired pros, let's just speak to that real quick.

Speaker 3 20:35

You're not speaking to the hired pros in. Let's just speak to that real quick. You're not speaking to the hired pros in advance. You can't create that final draft without having a discussion with those key players and those key wedding pros. If not every single one actually Correct, correct when you have your itinerary.

Speaker 3 20:48

Create that rough draft, like we mentioned, send this out weeks in advance, so that way everyone kind of has a good starting point with the timeline. Make sure that so you're all of the hired wedding pros for the wedding day and make sure that when you do send out this itinerary, that you give them a thumbs up or you request the wedding pros hey, does this look good? Bye, let me know by this date. That gives them a deadline. That kind of creates some urgency where they're forced to actually read it and let you know. Yep, all looked good. For those wedding pros who are not reading the itinerary, please don't wait till the last second to read it. Like you said, lori, one change can impact the entire timeline. So make sure that you're actually reading it and to help you not ask a million questions on the wedding day, read the timeline Because I can guarantee you, if you're working with a great certified wedding planner all those questions that you may have on wedding day. It's gonna be in this itinerary.

Speaker 2 21:47

I can. I can guarantee it, I really can. I mean, I'm here to tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, if they are a certified wedding planner and they have great training underneath them, they're going to do all the right things and all of that information is going to be in there. But here's the thing a wedding planner we're we are just humans right, there might be mistakes. There might be pieces of information that you have in your mind that you need that you don't see. If that happens, prior to the wedding day is the best time to get that information, not on wedding day.

Speaker 2 22:20

Wedding day itself is not the time to bring all of these things up.

Speaker 2 22:25

So please make sure that you're reading it in advance so that you can ask all of the millions of questions that you might have or get the information that you don't see and you can get it in advance, and that way we're all on the same page. And then, if the wedding planner, based on what you just said, has to go talk to the photographer, the entertainment provider, the baker, the venue or they have time to do that, but sometimes, when you're waiting until the last second to ask all of these questions, there's no time to fix or solve or resolve problems, and that is the key here. So I think the moral of the story, chrissy, is we have got to all be much better at getting on the same page. Okay, so I'm just glad we had this discussion, I'm glad Lady Whistlewed mentioned all of this really great info and, of course, if you'd like to go see that on our blog, please visit our website. And thank you all for listening to the Wedding Planner Profiles podcast.

Speaker 2 23:20

If you're not yet a member of the CWP Society, gosh, we would really love to welcome you into our amazing and loving family. We have free memberships, premium memberships, certified memberships. We have something for everyone. All you have to do is go to our website to learn more information cwpsocietycom. Learn how you can join today. Have a great day everyone. Thank you so much for joining us.