Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Engagement is a wild ride for most couples, whether or not they work with a Chicago wedding planner. From the initial high of saying “yes” to a life of love with your person to concerns about sticking to your budget, finding a great venue, and coping with the stress of a big life event, it can feel like your emotions are taking you on a roller coaster. During our years in the wedding industry as wedding planners in Chicago, we’ve seen it all!
To help support couples during their planning process and prepare for one of their best days ever, we’ve worked with the best day of wedding coordinators in Chicago to put together this post. Everyone is unique and may work through this exciting process in their own way, but we hope these tips will keep you confident as you move forward.
We’ve all been at weddings where the guests are all seated, and the groom is standing at the altar, but the bride and the wedding party are nowhere to be seen. As you may discover on your wedding day, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the getting-ready photos and lose track of time, forget something at your hotel, or not build in enough time to eat a snack.
You can avoid timing glitches and the stress that they can cause you and your guests by working with your day of coordinator Chicago to build a realistic itinerary for your day. They’ll be equipped to communicate with your makeup artist, hairstylist, and photographer to ensure your vendors are on the same page. They’ll build in time for snacks and extra photos, and can make sure that you have time for a quiet moment with your best friend if your nerves start acting up. They’ll also include transition time in the itinerary and keep you and your bridal party on track.
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Trust us, at the end of the night, the last thing that you’ll want on your mind is where your guestbook is, and how you’ll store your leftover cake. Do yourself a favor and work with your Chicago wedding planner to make a plan for the items (like your bridal bouquet, guestbook, cards and gifts, and cake top) that you want kept safe after your wedding. Whether you ask a close family member or planner to take care of these items, you’ll be able to relax, knowing they’re not going to be thrown away or misplaced.
Worried about sticking to your budget, or having to decide between the dress of your dreams or the venue that you’ve fallen in love with? If you’re debating working with a planner, we recommend searching “how much is a wedding coordinator” to get a basic understanding of the range of pricing, and then weighing that amount with the amount you may be able to save by having access to the planner’s trusted network. Frequently, you can get priority pricing or special add-ons for less when you work with a planner’s network of vendors, or even receive package pricing for bundled services. These benefits all help to balance the average cost of wedding planner.
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There’s no regret like not capturing the photos you wanted at your wedding, whether it’s the getting-ready portion, specific arrangements of friends or family, or close-up wedding portraits. The good news is that this problem is easily avoided with a little forethought.
We always recommend making a list of all the photos you want and discussing them with your photographer prior to the event day. Think through where you want to capture these photos, and ask your photographer if they’re familiar with the venue. Giving your photographer plenty of time to visit the venue if they haven’t been there before may result in having better light or a more intimate corner, but remember also that some of the best photos are taken spur-of-the-moment and become treasured candids.
Wedding planners in Chicago can also handle the group photo-ops that require a bit of delicate handling, like making sure to capture photos with complicated family dynamics.
One last thing about photos - although the professional photographers will likely take the photos that you’ll enlarge and print for display, we love the cell-phone photos that folks in bridal parties capture. Unless you’re having a tech-free wedding, post your hashtag publicly at the event to have a way to access your guests’ favorite images of your big day. You can also ask a friend to be your unofficial phone photographer to have more immediate access to some of the photos!
With events that incorporate any type of outdoor element, whether it’s the ceremony, cocktail hour, pre-wedding photos, or otherwise, there’s always the possibility of dealing with complications relating to weather. Here in Chicago, we enjoy lots of days of sun year-round, but there’s always a chance that you could see significant snowfall in winter or that a heat-wave could arrive just in time for your outdoor ceremony in July.
No matter the forecast, work with your Chicago day of wedding coordinator to create a backup plan. They will then communicate this with the vendors so that the whole day-of team is ready to implement the plan with a moment’s notice, if needed.
Your wedding day will undoubtedly involve lots of standing, walking, and probably dancing, and you can take action to prevent pain and other physical effects that might distract you from all the fun. The best advice we can give is to take special care of yourself mentally and physically in the months and weeks leading up to your wedding. Get lots of sleep, exercise appropriately, eat nutritious meals, drink lots of water, and avoid alcohol and caffeine.
As you prep your day-of bag, throw in an extra pair of shoes that are comfortable, and bring some over-the-counter pain meds just in case. We recommend eating a snack every few hours and drinking water throughout the day to give your body a boost dealing with the stress as well.
Zits and splotches happen, and professional makeup artists are experts at smoothing over blemishes, so don’t panic if you wake up to a big pimple on your wedding day. That said, avoid known triggers for break-outs, redness, or irritation in the weeks before your day. Don’t change your routine significantly or get a facial, as products and procedures can be irritating, and make sure to drink lots of water and always use sunscreen.
Our list of things that can go wrong at your Chicago wedding was put together with you in mind. It’s been curated with the experience of wedding professionals who have years of experience preventing and responding to wedding mishaps, and yet, unforeseen complications can always arise.
Our best advice is to work with vendors who you trust to anticipate the unexpected and make decisions in your best interest when things do come up. Planners will spend time getting to know you and your partner and what is most important to you so that whether you are hosting a large black-tie ballroom affair at The Langham or have opted at one of many micro wedding packages chicago at a garden or winery, your values and desires shine through. In the end, you’re marrying the love of your life, after all!
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