The less time until the wedding, the higher the stress level. When advising brides who are planning their own weddings, I noticed that the most stressful issues for brides are decoration and catering issues. And this is justified, because catering and wedding decoration are the most important and often also the most expensive sections of the wedding budget . Especially brides are worried that they will not be able to control these issues on the wedding day, because they have completely other important tasks in the morning - hairdos and photo sessions. However, if there is no coordinator at the wedding, who controls everything on the wedding day and, if necessary, can introduce corrections and solve the problems that have arisen, the bride should prepare more thoroughly before the wedding, so that on the wedding day she is less worried about whether everything is fine at the place of celebration.

Wedding decoration

1. Detailed documentation

Design estimate and moodboard with a description of the wedding design and example pictures are mandatory documents to be drawn up when working with a decorator. The moodboard file should describe the color range and style of the wedding, what elements of the wedding design are intended for the wedding and in what quantity they should be. Before the wedding, be sure to check that all the design elements you have discussed are included in the moodboard and estimate.

2. No verbal agreement

Everything you talked about with the decorator (wishes, arrangements, etc.), reflect in writing. In WhatsApp chat or e-mail - it doesn't matter, the main thing is that it is written somewhere. There is always a human factor (someone forgot to say, someone forgot to write down), so to avoid conflict situations, it is better to record all information in writing.

3. One month before the wedding, discuss all the design details again

You must call or meet the decorator one month before the wedding and discuss all the issues related to the design again. Specify color, style, quantity again. Ask the decorator what his plan is for the day of the wedding, what he will do and when, and when the wedding decorations will be ready.

4. Clarify all technical details before the wedding

Does the decorator need stairs, access to technical water, extension cords or other technical equipment, from which side the decorator must drive to the place of celebration, what time does he arrive, who cleans the hall after decorating the celebration hall, etc. All these questions need to be clarified before the wedding, because it often happens that these questions have not been discussed beforehand and calls to the bride start on the wedding day. As long as she has a blowout and a photo shoot, she definitely shouldn't worry about technical issues.

5. The day before the wedding, ask the decorator to photograph the bride's bouquet

Usually the bride's bouquet is made the night before the wedding. Seeing the bouquet will tell you whether the bouquet (and therefore the rest of the design) matches the overall style and arrangements. I know a case where the decorator messed up the wedding and instead of pink flower arrangements, he created green arrangements. Of course, this is a scandal, irresponsibility on the part of the decorator, but the wedding day is already ruined anyway. It is better to exclude the occurrence of such situations than to deal with the consequences afterwards.

6. Specify the delivery time of the bride's bouquet and groom's pin on the wedding day

Most often, the decorator brings the bride's bouquet and the groom's pin to the bride and groom to the wedding venue. If it is expected that the groom will present the bouquet to the bride, then it is also given to the groom in the morning. However, if the location of the celebration (where the decorator works in the morning) and the morning location of the bride and groom are too far from each other, and the decorator also decorates the ceremony location, then it is permissible to hand over pins and bouquets to the couple at the ceremony location before it begins. This is especially important if the decorator works alone and does not have assistants, in which case it is better not to waste time on transfers, but to start setting up the decorations sooner, so as not to be late and finish the design when the guests have already arrived.

7. Ask someone to accept a job as a decorator

Do not rely on the fact that the decorator will send you pictures of the finished work and you will have time to study them and compare them with the estimate. To look - maybe yes, but to correspond and discuss some issues with the decorator is certainly not realistic. It is better to delegate it to a reliable person (with whom you have similar tastes), who will follow the decorator's work during the assembly, compare it with the moodboard and the estimate, if necessary, will be able to correct the decorator's work and at the end of the assembly check the coincidence of all positions with the estimate.

Catering

1. Discuss the entire day's plan with the banquet manager

It is important to spell out the whole day's plan in detail, because sometimes, only after the written plan, the banquet manager may not understand everything and change something in his work, which may negatively affect other activities. For example, the bride had not specifically told the manager that before the dinner, candles should be lit on the couple's table, because at the beginning of the dinner there was a planned activity with the lighting of three candles. But the manager had thought that the bride had simply forgotten to specify it, and lit all the candles. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss all activities related to the banquet hall and catering, so that there are no unpleasant surprises during the wedding.

2. Where will the buffet table be located

Specify the place where you want the buffet to take place. It is often forgotten to specify this, and the bride had imagined that the buffet would be held by that beautiful tree, but the caterers have placed snacks and drinks near the building. On the wedding day, such situations can greatly spoil the mood of the bride.

3. How to serve snacks and drinks at a buffet

for the same reason, also specify how the snacks and drinks are served at the buffet. Appetizers are served in two ways - either they stand on the buffet table, or the waiters bring them out on trays. The same goes for drinks. If everything is served by waiters and on trays, then there may not be a buffet table itself, but it is very important to have standing tables or a lounge area with tables where guests can put their glasses.

4. Specify who is responsible for refilling glasses for guests

Do the waiters pour the first glass for the guests when they sit down at the table? Is there alcohol on the guests' tables? As the evening progresses, do the waiters refill the guests' glasses, or do they do it themselves? So that the guests don't have the feeling that they don't understand what needs to be done now, the host of the evening can announce the "way" to refill the glasses - the waiters will serve the guests or the guests are invited to refill the glasses themselves.

5. Find out how many waiters will serve guests

Minimum number - one waiter per 10 to 12 guests. If there are fewer waiters, then guests will have to wait longer for dinner and glass service. However, it is much more convenient if each table has its own waiter, for example, 5 waiters for 5 tables (7 to 8 guests each).

From all of the above (and many more details), we can conclude that hiring a coordinator on the wedding day will increase the likelihood that everything will be realized the way you imagined it. But the main thing is that you will not have to solve most of the points yourself. Remember - on the wedding day, the bride can either work or relax. Unfortunately, there is no hybrid option, so each bride has to decide what they want to do on their wedding day.

Author of the article: Oksana Shpakova / Wedding Fairy

Photo: Santa Apšeniece