Welcome back, loverves! I cannot believe we’re here kicking off Season Five of the Ask the Planner Podcast. Seriously, where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday we launched this podcast to help couples (and planners!) navigate the beautiful (and sometimes crazy) world of wedding planning, and now here we are, five seasons in, with so many incredible episodes behind us—and an amazing season ahead of us!

This summer was truly one for the books. We had such an incredible wedding season as planners—everything from romantic, garden-inspired outdoor ceremonies to chic, metropolitan and modern ones. And now that our last wedding of the season is finished, I am so pumped to dive back into answering your wedding questions and sharing everything we learned from this season. It was a whirlwind, but the good kind of whirlwind. I’m actually sad that this season is over for us but I already can’t wait for next wedding season!

One of the things I love most about this podcast is the connection I get to build with all of you. I’m an Enneagram 2—so, helping people is literally what fuels me, and your questions are what keep me going. Please, please, please keep sending them in! Whether it’s through DMs, reviews, or email, I’m always here to help, and if there’s one thing I promise you, it’s that I will answer your questions.

So, let’s get into today’s episode! 

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Last-Minute Wedding To-Do List

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LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

• Visit the ASK THE PLANNER Wedding Planning Templates Shop (Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off!)
• Book a Clarity Call with Desirée
• Wedding Pocket Schedule 
• Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist

First, let’s talk about the week before your wedding.

This is where the magic (and some of the chaos) really happens. I know a lot of couples think, “Oh, we can just do a few last-minute things,” but honestly, there’s A LOT happening behind the scenes.

One of the biggest things we do as planners is send out a detailed schedule to the entire wedding party and all the vendors. This is more than just a simple email saying, “Hey, the wedding’s on Saturday!” No, we’re talking about a full-blown timeline that covers everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Don’t assume if you’ve hired professional vendors that you don’t need to do this. If you don’t have a planner doing this for you, it will fall on you. Also, this schedule can’t always be done ahead of time because things change until the last week or so but even then sometimes things might be getting tweaked!

So what’s in this schedule? We call it our VIP & Wedding Party Schedule. We outline when your wedding party needs to arrive, when the rehearsal is, when breakfast is, when hair and makeup will start, what time you’ll be taking photos, and exactly who needs to be in those photos. 

We also remind people to steam their attire before arriving, how to prep their hair and skin for styling. For the guys, we remind them to make sure you bring your socks, cufflinks, belts, etc.

The reason we’re so detailed is because this eliminates a ton of questions and confusion on the day of the wedding. The last thing you want is to be fielding texts from your bridesmaids or groomsmen asking what time they’re supposed to be somewhere or the DJ or photographer asking you where so-and-so is, or if you know who they should ask about ______. 

As the couple, you want to be in the moment, not stressed out because someone’s late or doesn’t know what’s going on.

And while I’m on the subject of the week before—communication is KEY. One thing that’s often overlooked is following up with your speakers. Whether it’s your maid of honor, best man, parents, or anyone else giving a toast or speech, you’ll want to collect their speeches ahead of time (or have someone do it on your behalf). This is so important because we print them out for the big day and make sure they’re placed at their seats. It saves them from reading off their phones or showing up with crumpled papers that have been in their pockets all day.

Trust me—this little detail is a lifesaver for photos. 

It also forces your speakers not to wing it. A good speech is rehearsed, well organized, and succint. It’s not a rambling list of compliments or inside-jokes between the speaker and the couple. In order for this to happen, they need to take time to write it, edit it, and rehearse it.

Also talking about speeches, my team and I also make sure we go over all the pronunciations and run of the show with your MC or band leader. This final check ensures that everyone’s on the same page, so there are no awkward pauses or mispronounced names during your reception.

So that’s a taste of what we do in terms of your timeline.

Next up—your rentals and vendor deliveries.

This is something people tend to forget about until the last minute, but it’s so important. In the days leading up to the wedding, we double-check all the delivery dates and times for your rentals—everything from chairs and tables to linens and decor. We want to make sure everything arrives on time and that we’ve taken inventory of it all. It might sound like overkill, but trust me, you don’t want to find out the day of your wedding that you’re short on chairs or missing a table. Mistakes DO happen, all the time actually. For example, a delivery driver forgets to drop off one of the boxes of linens or someone miscounted the candle holders. By doing this a few days in advance, we have time to troubleshoot if anything goes wrong.

This is really one of the reasons it’s so hard to give a realistic view of the week of the wedding. You might be listening to this thinking “oh, I plan to do all of this WELL in advance” and trust me – we can RELATE. But the truth is, other vendors may not be ready to confirm with you early or really treat your wedding like the #1 priority that it is until the week of the wedding when they are crossing their own T’s and dotting their I’s. You need to give yourself some wiggle room to work with them (especially if you’re working at your 9-5 the week leading up to the wedding!)

Now let’s talk about DIY projects.

Our listener mentioned assembling bridesmaid bouquets the day before as an example, and I’m just going to be honest with you—DON’T DO IT. As much as I love a good DIY project, trying to handle things like flowers last minute is going to add unnecessary stress to your day. I can’t tell you how many couples I’ve seen try to tackle welcome bags or DIY decor the night before the wedding, and it always ends up being more chaotic than it’s worth or they expect.

For flowers specifically, you need to store them in a cool dry place, like a florist’s cooler – not to be confused with a refrigerator, which is not the correct temperature. Depending on what season your wedding is, you want to make sure that the flowers are as fresh as possible because bouquets take a beating on the wedding day. They’re out of water for long periods of time for photos, so they need to be made properly.

If you really want to do some DIY projects, I suggest getting as much done as early as possible.

For example, with welcome bags, you can prep the items well in advance and have someone (or even hire someone) to assemble them a few days before the wedding. But don’t forget that you’ll need to transport all of them. It’ll be much easier to transport everything separately (like all the bags in 1 box, all the waters together in a case, all the candy or whatever in their bags, as opposed to already assembled bags). 

The same goes for any floral arrangements or decor (although with florals you have less wiggle room because they can’t be done a month in advance). But truly – you don’t want to be up at 2 AM the night before your wedding gluing place cards together or assembling bouquets.

Honestly, you don’t. You’ll be exhausted and stressed and you really just need to be relaxed and refreshed.

And let’s not forget about food! This is a big one that people tend to forget about until the last minute. You need to plan out who’s bringing breakfast and lunch on the day of your wedding. Who’s setting it up? When are you going to eat? I’ve seen so many brides and grooms who forget to eat during the day because they didn’t have a plan, and let me tell you—nobody wants to deal with a hangry or tipsy wedding party because they forgot to eat! So, make sure you’ve got a solid food plan in place.

 

 

Finally, let’s talk about paper, signage, and miscellaneous décor.

The week of the wedding or the week before you’ll need to have organized all your stationery so it’s easily set up at your wedding by your planner, the venue, caterer, etc. This includes your escort cards, placecards, menus, programs, signage, etc. If you’re planning on doing something fun for any of these items, plan for extra time and that you might have to rearrange or edit some things because someone drops out last minute or someone brings a guest that you didn’t plan for.

In summary, here’s a very broad brush of what I’m doing as a planner, in addition to everything I’ve already mentioned above.

• Monday we send final files to the printer to print for our production books. We also send the final files to all of our vendors.
• On Tuesday, I print all the speeches and toasts I’ve received and start to compile them with our officiant’s script in our ceremony binder.
• On Wednesday we receive our linens and take inventory, as well as pack up our supplies, our emergency kit, radios, etc.
• On Thursday, I’m picking up any last-minute paper or decor pieces.
• On Friday, we start delivering items to the venue, steam linens early if possible, and have our ceremony rehearsal, receive our couple’s personal items like toasting flutes, cake knife/server, guest book, any gratuities they want to give to vendors, and then we setup and execute the rehearsal dinner and welcome party.

And then of course there’s the wedding day. The week of is still busy. I’m a planner and we’re organized and do this all the time. I couldn’t imagine trying to fit in a DIY project this week. I would just want to relax, maybe assemble the gifts for my wedding party, and write cards to them and our parents. 

I hope that helps give you a realistic view of the week of the wedding! These might sound like easy things you can check off but the truth is there really is SO much communication that happens during that week that we recommend keeping your days as open as possible for any last minute things that pop up.

There are so many things to consider in order for this to happen. I don’t want to scare you and make you think that if you don’t do all of this your wedding will be a disaster! Not everyone’s wedding is going to be as complicated as one of our weddings. HOWEVER, I included common things we do for every wedding or things that I know most of our couples are focused on during the week leading up to their wedding.

If you liked this episode, please leave us a 5-star review in apple podcasts so I can make this a regular thing each season. 

As always, if have any feedback or follow-up questions, make sure you send me a DM on IG at asktheplannerpodcast or call the wedding planning hotline at 585-210-3467. 

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