When I was in kindergarten, my teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I told her I wanted to be a flower shop owner.

Why you may ask? Well, I believed that flowers brought people happiness and I wanted to make others smile.

Now, you would think that I would be a wedding florist but as I have grown up, I have found that being a wedding planner gives me that same sentiment. I get to be in my craft and help couples enter this life-changing milestone. I get to be creative and personalize each wedding to every couple’s love story. I truly mean it when I say I love what I do and I do what I love.

But…

What exactly do I do as a wedding planner?

Your wedding planner is the mastermind behind your wedding day logistics. We oversee all of the moving parts and pivot accordingly when unexpected changes arise. Before we dive deeper into the responsibilities of a wedding planner, let’s clarify some of the misunderstandings.

The Myths of Being a Wedding Planner

Myth #1: We party every weekend!

A lot of people think that being a wedding planner means that you get to party and have fun with the guests ALL NIGHT LONG. The reality is, however, that while you are dancing the night away, your planner is looking closely at your timeline and checking in on your vendors to make sure all of the right moments are being captured.

Myth #2: Your church or venue coordinator is your wedding planner!

Furthermore, a wedding planner is significantly different from a church coordinator or a venue coordinator. A wedding planner spends a significant amount of their time getting to know you, tailoring a vendor team to your priorities, and finalizing all of the event logistics to ensure you have the most perfect day. A church coordinator, on the other hand, guides you through marriage prep and ensures the space is being kept sacred during your ceremony. A venue coordinator specifically focuses on setting their venue team up for success by finalizing your set up preferences, menu selections, and connecting with your wedding planner for timeline details.

Myth #3: Your wedding planner just walks around with a clipboard and fluffs your dress before walking down the aisle!

Truly, your wedding planner is the liaison between you and your vendor team. We do it ALL! And “all” is exactly what we’re going to define today.

Now that we have discussed some of the myths, let’s dive deeper into what a wedding planner actually does.

Leading Up to the Big Day

Before you hire a wedding planner, it is important that you define your priorities for your wedding and figure out what you will need guidance with. Don’t worry, any good planner will help confirm the package type that’s best fit for you during your discovery call. Here at JJE, we plan highly intentional weddings that truly and authentically represent YOU!

Before your special day, our main focus is to understand what your priorities are so we can make the best recommendations for your vendor selections, event design, and timeline.

For us, it’s important to really get to know you. One of the ways we do this is by asking you what your passion points are. Passion points are key details of the weddings that hold significance to you such as having delicious food, the perfect music vibe, or feeling absolutely stunning. Think of your passion points as your non-negotiables. These are the priorities that you do not want to sacrifice. By understanding what is important to you and your future spouse, we can make the best recommendations for your wedding day.

This framework affects EVERYTHING we do as your wedding planner, and truly acts as our North Star on wedding day too.

The Day Of

It’s the morning of your special day. You’re getting ready and enjoying brunch with your wedding party. Maybe you’re feeling the wedding morning butterflies, but are overall excited to finally see the details come together.

Meanwhile…

Your wedding planner is overseeing your vendor team.

While you’re in the makeup chair, your wedding planner is reviewing the flow and details of the day with your vendor team. We’re on call for the vendors who get lost in the resort parking lot, and watching our phone for those last minute vendor requests. We’re handling the questions and leading the vendor team, and overseeing setup so that you’re able to focus on making memories and being fully present with your VIPs.

Your wedding planner is coordinating ceremony details.

Once we’ve helped stage your first look, or gracefully maneuvered the ‘keep-the-couple-from-seeing-eachother’ dance, we like to build in 30 minutes to just relax before the ceremony.

Our job during this time is to confirm your wedding party remembers their order, triple check that rings and vow books are in position, communicate with your vendor team to ensure everyone is aligned and ready, and give final reminders to empty pockets, hold bouquets low and SMILE. It may sound simple, but this is GO TIME as a wedding planner and the most hectic part of the day for us. Don’t worry, we’re handling the pre-ceremony (organized) chaos while you’re safely tucked away for a peaceful moment of anticipation. When the time does come, we line you up and cue each person when it is their time to walk down the aisle.

Then, it’s finally YOUR big moment!

Just out of sight from guests, we’re on standby with tissues as we fluff your train and hand over the bouquet. We LOVE to build the feeling of suspense in. An intentional pause gives guests a moment to shift their attention towards you, the officiant a chance to invite the crowd to rise, and YOU a second to let it all sink in.

You are about to get married!!!

While you’re saying “I DO”, your planner is thinking ahead to post-ceremony photos, outfit changes, and setting any final reception details. Even with all of these flying details, the JJE team will take a moment to pause and listen to your beautiful vows as a reminder for why we are here today and the reason we’ve chosen this career.

Then we’re hitting the bar after all that hard work!!

JUST KIDDING! But we are hitting up the bartenders during the first kiss to pour some celebratory champagne for you, just in time to meet you as you step out of sight from your guests.

Your wedding planner is managing the timeline and supporting vendors all night.

The ceremony ends and you are officially married!

YAY!!

Now, we are going into cocktail hour where you’re usually taking pictures before mingling with guests. Your wedding planner will work closely with your venue and paparazzi team (photo, video, and/or content creator) to support family photos and transport you to the dreamiest sunset locations. You may not see us, but we’re in lockstep communication with your camera crew to keep the day running smoothly.

As we move into the reception, your wedding planner stays in constant communication with your vendors for all of the major moments: the grand entrance, the first dance, the cake cutting, speeches, and many others. Our job is to keep vendors aligned as the timeline lives, breathes, and pivots throughout the day. This is the heart of a wedding planner’s role and what makes a wedding day truly feel effortless for you and your guests.

“Everything just flowed smoothly. Nothing really went wrong at all!” is music to our ears. It means we did everything right behind the scenes to ensure the day could feel that way.

Your wedding planner is the conductor to your grand finale.

Towards the end of the night, your planner is discreetly starting to pack everything up and load boxes into cars. We always make sure to store your keepsakes in a safe place so that when you look back on your wedding day in a decade, you will still have those custom bar napkins and candid polaroid prints. To top it all off, we finish the night on a high note by smoothly transitioning into your grand exit, as you two enjoy a private moment alone to soak it all in before the night ends. Your wedding planner wraps up the day by setting up your loved ones outside to cheer you on as you drive away!

… and then it’s back to business for the final hour of cleaning up before we head home for the night.

The Post-Wedding Blues

Post wedding blues are definitely real, even for wedding planners!

For a couple, you have just been surrounded by so many loved ones that it can feel overwhelming and exhilarating at the same time. There aren’t many more details to think about beyond sending thank you cards and maybe your name change. The big celebration is over and married life begins!

For us, the wedding day is bittersweet. It’s sweet because we finally get to celebrate your love for your forever person and see you enter this exciting chapter of life; however, it is also bitter because we will REALLY miss jumping on calls with you and brainstorming ideas to infuse personality into the details of your day.

Lucky for us, our job isn’t quite done yet.

After the wedding ends, we’re still with you for the last few loose ends: sending your “After I Do” checklist, closing out your planning portal, dropping extra florals at a nursing home, and scheduling our very last Wedding Debrief Meeting.

This is one of the most rewarding meetings for us because we get to hear how the wedding was from YOUR perspective and what your favorite moments were. We really take these Debrief Meetings to heart because they’re what help us to continue fine tuning our craft and elevate your wedding experience.

The Best Part of What We Do

One of the most beautiful parts of being a wedding planner is that I get to witness so many couples’ love for each other and hear their story. Though I may not own my own flower store (yet), I am overjoyed with my work as a wedding planner every time I witness our couples’ reactions to seeing everything come together.

My wish for you is that you find the kind of wedding planner you deserve: someone who is truly excited to see you get married and support you through the process.

And if you haven’t found the perfect fit yet, you’re in luck! Learn more about JJE’s wedding planning packages HERE: https://joyfuljourneyengagements.com/wedding-planning-services

By Selina Hanna, JJE Assistant Wedding Planner