Day-of vs. Month-of Planning

Here's another from the MasterPiece Weddings feature defining the difference between day-of and month-of planning. Be sure to check out the MasterPiece Weddings blog for the rest.

Written by Melissa, of MasterPiece Weddings:

I think there is a misconception as to what a Day Of Coordinator (or Month of...or whatever your planner calls it) and what a Full Service Wedding Planner can do to help you.

There are similarities and differences.

Both services will be there on your wedding day or organize and orchestrate your wedding day. And you get to work with a planner, but the similaries sort of end there.

If you have a Full Service Coordinator they will do the following, plus a TON more:

• Help with budget
• Review contracts and negotiate your contracts, make sure nothing is missing or duplicated
• Offer Vendor Recommendations
• Attend your meetings with your vendors (offer our opinions)
• Assist with décor
• Help with Set up and possibly breakdown
• Be “In-the-know” with every aspect of your wedding
• Create and extensive timeline for each vendor involved in your wedding
• Organize and Orchestrate your Rehearsal and Wedding Day
• More extensive time on the day of the wedding
• And Much, much more!

What can a Day Of Coordinator do for you:

• Be there on the day of your wedding and your rehearsal to organize and orchestrate your day
• Meet with you 1 or 2 times prior to your wedding
• Be there for a limited amount of time on your wedding day
• Create a timeline
• Coordinate your Ceremony

It really depends on what you need. How much you’ve planned.

I'M A PLANNER ON BE A PLANNER: Mark Kingsdorf

Mark Kingsdorf | Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants

Name: Mark Kingsdorf
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (service greater Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and Delaware)
Company: The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants
Years in Business: February 2010 will be our 10th anniversary
Website: www.QOHweddings.com
Blog: www.QOHweddings.com/blog

What do you specialize in (Day of Coordination, Full Service Design...)?

We offer both Wedding Day Services and Full Service Event Design but specialize in Green/ Eco Friendly Weddings and Long Distance Planning

What are your three favorite sources of wedding inspiration?

Nature, my culinary experience, photographers websites

Why did you get started wedding planning?

Totally by accident, I am a classically trained chef with catering background – was getting out of my restaurant and was asked by a photographer to speak with a client who was having problems with their caterer planning their wedding.

What is one thing in your office that you could not live without, technology excluded?

My Emily Post Wedding Etiquette book - I still refer all the time

If you could make one recommendation to a new planner, what would it be?

Take a part time job working for a catering company as a server…. You’ll learn about catering which makes up 50% of the average wedding budget and most of the wedding day, learn how long it takes to set up, serve and breakdown an event; as well as make some great connections not only with the catering company but with wedding professionals you’ll work with on events.

Would you like to be featured on Be a Planner? Please see our "Be Featured" link on the right-hand column for further instructions. Submissions will be accepted at our discretion.

Day-of Coordinator

Recently over on our sister blog, MasterPiece Weddings, we held a "Planner Week" discussing topics surrounding planners and wedding planning. So, over the next few days, we would like to share with you some highlights from our post topics.

First up, what is a wedding coordinator? What do they do? Do you need one the day of?

Here's the post, written by Melissa and directed to brides...

There is a lot of controversy going around as to hire or not to hire someone to help you on your wedding day… and I wonder why.

Let me clarify, we are a wedding planning company in Gainesville, Florida. That is what we do…that’s all we do. Full Planning. Day Of. We’ll plan anything, anywhere. Anything on the Planet we can Plan It! But I digress.

Why do you need a Day of Coordinator, Month of Coordinator- whatever you call it… someone to help you on the day of or month of your wedding. You have your wedding planned, your contracted with all of your wedding vendors. Now what? You don't want your mom or Bestie to be running around making sure your details are handled...

• Who is going to organize your wedding day, create your schedule for the day of your wedding, go over your contracts, make sure you and your fiancé – your mom can be guests at your party!

• Who is going to open the door for you right before you walk down the aisle… hint – NOT your mom, she’s already seated.

• Who is going to take care of THAT drunk guest at your wedding, that just so happens to be a prominent judge and is making a fool of himself and pulling down his pants on the dance floor – hint, NOT your mom!

• Who is going to inform your caterer that they didn’t include the green beans on the buffet, or make sure your 2 Vegan guests can't be served a vegetarian meal… hint- NOT your mom!

I know you said that your fiancé can be the “point” man for your wedding day, but really, when it comes time to cut the cake, and you want 20 more minutes to mingle with your friends before, is he going to stop mingling to inform the caterer, the photographer, the videographer, the DJ or Band that you need more time, because by the time he does that, you’ll need another 40 minutes. Because he just wasted 20 informing everyone.

That’s our job, we do all of that and SO MUCH more, really… it’s worth the money…. I promise!

Does that make more sense as to what a wedding planner will be doing on the day of your wedding?

I'M A PLANNER ON BE A PLANNER: Lisa Green

Lisa Green | Anderson Green Events

Name: Lisa Green
Location: New York City
Company: Anderson Green Events
Years in Business: Established in 2007
Website: www.andersongreenevents.com
Blog: www.andersongreenevents.blogspot.com

What do you specialize in (Day of Coordination, Full Service Design…)?
I specialize in ensuring that the bride is a bride and the groom is a groom on their wedding day. My services range from Day Of to Full Planning.

What are your three favorite sources of wedding inspiration?
Photographers websites and blogs, Interior Design magazines and blogs and DIY projects I find around the web. I look at all the wedding blogs too but mainly for color inspiration.

What made you get started in wedding planning?
I LOVE planning and organizing. Planning parties, planning trips, planning just about anything. It drives my husband insane when I announce that we are having a dinner party, since I treat it like a royal affair. My mother worked in fundraising events, so I’d been exposed to planning events from a young age. After college I worked at Sotheby’s and then a hedge fund and realized that I wasn’t doing what made my happy {or let’s face it, what I was great at}. I had an opportunity to work for a planner and as they say, the rest is history! Out of chance / luck / destiny & the right timing, my firm was born. Its grown organically in two years and I am having the best time helping to create seamless and beautiful weddings.

What is one thing in your office that you could not live without, technology excluded?
Besides my office mates, Lulu and Max {my french bulldogs}, I would say SPACE. While I love certain technological advances that are wonderful and great, I still like pen and paper and being able to write notes and keep my day planner close to me. I also like space so I can spread out and work on projects ~ putting together welcome bags, or creating inspiration boards. Being cramped just doesn’t cut it for me!

If you could make one recommendation to a new planner, what would it be?
Research and know the industry inside and out. Do your homework. Know who the ‘key’ players are in every field. Without research, you’ll never be able to formulate new trends or to stay ahead of the curve. Read a ton of business books to educate yourself not only in weddings and event planning but in business overall. Don’t forget that while planning weddings is awesome, you need to also be schooled in accounting, filing, marketing, advertising and technology. Write a solid business plan. If you treat your business like a business and not a hobby, everyone will treat it that way too. And lastly, remember that timing is everything.

I'M A PLANNER ON BE A PLANNER: Melissa DiStefano

And now, the grand finale... an interview with the big cheese Melissa herself.

Melissa DiStefano | MasterPiece Weddings

Name: Melissa DiStefano
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Company: MasterPiece Weddings, MasterPiece Certified
Years in Business: 15
Website: www.masterpieceweddings.net | www.beaplanner.com
Blog: http://masterpieceweddings.blogspot.com | www.beaplanner.com

What are your three favorite sources of wedding inspiration?

Blogs (none specific, because really, I can find inspiration in a Home Depot circular), Wedding Magazines, and my clients (for without them, I wouldn’t be…)

Why did you get started wedding planning?

You’ve probably heard this story before, and it’s sort of a funny story, I assisted a wedding planner while in High School, and she was the epitome of everything you DO NOT want to be as a wedding planner. She was feared and scary! I vowed to never be a wedding consultant if that is what it meant to be in this industry. When I moved away to go to school at The University of Florida (Go! Gators!) I assisted a fabulous couple that are wedding photographers – loved them! They taught me everything right about the wedding industry! I had a family emergency and moved back home for about a month and when I came back my job was filled. So, I got a job assisting another wedding photographer – complete 180! He was mean, and terrible – I worked 20 hour days and got paid $25 (for the whole day)! I came home from one August wedding, it was 102 degrees outside - I was exhausted, had sweat in places I didn’t know you could sweat in, and my poor husband had waited up for me. I walked into the front door and laid down – started to cry and said “I might as well just become a freakin’ wedding planner!” as he stumbled over me on his way to bed, he said “well, then just do it” – the rest is history.

What is one thing in your office that you could not live without, technology excluded?

Gosh, this is a hard--- why do I ask this question! Okay, deep breaths… I would have to say Amanda – does that count? Or is that slave-like – but I pay her. So it should count, right? But really, seriously! Without Amanda and Erinn (now I am up to two things, I totally suck at this!) they are my left and right hands and I love them for their crazy mind reading abilities, and to know when something needs to get done, and just do it.

I love you guys!

If you could make one recommendation to a new planner, what would it be?

READ.THIS.BLOG! And if I can be shameless… wait, it is my blog, I can be shameless.

No, seriously, get educated, take classes, take a course like www.beaplanner.com course. Get in the industry, learn from people. Don’t just say “Hi, I’m Sally, I’m a Wedding Planner," just because you totally loved planning your wedding. That’s not fair to the educated professional (can I stress PROFESSIONAL) wedding planners.

Would you like to be featured on Be a Planner? Please see our "Be Featured" link on the right-hand column for further instructions. Submissions will be accepted at our discretion.

I'M A PLANNER ON BE A PLANNER: Amanda B. Young

Amanda B. Young | SWOONOVERIT, LLC

Name: Amanda B. Young

Location: Gainesville, Florida

Company: SWOONOVERIT, LLC and MasterPiece Weddings

Years in Business: The doors of SWOONOVERIT, LLC officially opened in April; MasterPiece has been in business for 15 years - I began working weddings for Melissa in July of 2008 and was brought on as a regular assistant in May of 2009.

Website: www.swoonoverit.com | masterpieceweddings.net

Blog: theblissfulbride.blogspot.com | masterpieceweddings.blogspot.com

What are your three favorite sources of wedding inspiration?

This is hard because I can - and do - find inspiration in just about everything. Firstly, I am basically obsessed with wedding magazines. Perhaps it's the editor in me kicking in, but I love reading the articles and swooning over the gorgeous photos. I'm particularly obsessed with The Knot and Real Simple Weddings. But other than that I would say that mostly my best wedding inspiration comes from things that aren't wedding related: particularly interior design and fashion. I love exploring these fields and watching them translate into weddings and wedding trends.

Why did you get started wedding planning?

Because I realized I loved everything about weddings - from the fun things like florals and linens which appealed to my creative side to the nitty-gritty things like budgets and timelines which applied to my type-a personality. My first job was as a technical editor and was something that I loved, but it, unfortunately, had no appeal to fulfill my creative mind. When I discovered a world where I could have the benefits of both I knew, immediately, that it was for me.

What is one thing in your office that you could not live without, technology excluded?

You're going to think I stole Erinn's response, but since we practically share a brain it shouldn't surprise you that we both had post-it notes as our answer. I love them. I have an entire drawer full of different sizes and shapes depending on my needs. And yes, I use them all.

If you could make one recommendation to a new planner, what would it be?

Don't stop dreaming. I know, it's cliche. But, we are only limited by what we believe we can do. If you don't think you can do something then you probably won't be able to. So, approach every new situation with an open heart, an open mind, and a world of confidence.

Would you like to be featured on Be a Planner? Please see our "Be Featured" link on the right-hand column for further instructions. Submissions will be accepted at our discretion.

Preserving the Cake

We have talked a lot about business advice on Be a Planner, but have not addressed much advice for the planning itself. So, this is one that we, as wedding planners, get all the time. And, unless you want to ruin the topper for your clients you should probably be prepared with this know-how as well; you'll inevitably be asked about this.

Preserving the cake topper is simple. That is, as long as you do it right.

Case in point:

Something was seriously wrong here.

[Source.]

First, you should carefully wrap the cake in layers of baking paper, then layers of foil. Then, place the cake in a plastic container and voila! Stick it in the freezer. That easy. When you remove it [probably a year later] you should pull it out about a week before eating to give it plenty of time to slowly thaw.

The secret is in the wrapping process. Many people will just throw it in tupperware and throw it in the freezer. This is a bad idea. This wrapping process does a good job at securing in the moisture of the cake and keeping the cake from getting freezer burn. I should know, after all, we just pulled out ours a couple months ago. And, I'll admit, it was almost as delicious as ever.