In 3 wedding seasons Prologue has helped a 100 couples go down the aisle! That is so many love stories to be apart of and girl do I have stories!
1.Your energy dictates the whole day
2. I find weddings, even more sentimental after my husband has had cancer because I’m viewing it through the lens of the marrying a partner that’s going to be their partner in the lowest of lows
3. A wedding day is a timestamp in your life. Enjoy the people that are there to celebrate with you that day. It’s just a part of life, but I often see like a year or two later some people that were at the wedding have passed and it’s just a reminder to really enjoy the people you’re surrounded with in the moment because it might be your last time with them
4. It’s awesome to see families grow after they do a wedding with me a lot of times a year or two later I’ll see their baby announcement which is really exciting
5. Don’t get trapped in tradition, if it doesn’t feel right then don’t do it
6. One task no matter how small a day is the key, you just have to keep the momentum
7. Go into planning w/ the big 3 and everything else don’t fixate on. What are the 3 most important items to you.
8. Only ask feedback from people that you truly value your view, too many options can be stressful!
9. Weddings are a luxury even ones on a budget
10. Think twice before purchasing those one used items that aren’t gonna hold a lot of sentimental value
11. If your wedding involves a ferry, it’ll be at least 10 times more expensive with all the travel fees and pain in the ass fees vendors put on
12. Don’t forget about tips when budgeting
13. Always take 10% out of your budget and have it saved for unexpected cost.
14. Don’t blow your budget on the venue, you still have a long planning journey of booking vendors and it’s difficult to blow the budget from the start. Everything is more expensive than what you think.
15. having a xylophone on hand, makes guest move to the next reception space without having to yell
16. I five northbound add an extra hour. Traffic is is like a vortex there.
17. Get wedding insurance I’ve had a wedding almost every year. Have a venue canceled.
18. Wind and Washington is nothing to joke about. It’s not the rain. It’s the wind that’s a pain in the ass.
19. It never gets dark in July. If your wedding reception is outside event at 10pm it’s not pitch black.
20. You are going to need heaters by the second week of September
21. If your tables are outside buy linen clips
22. If it’s rainy have a stash of towels
23. The most used items in a wedding emergency kit or scissors, Band-Aids, tape, Bub, tape, safety pens
24. Always have a portable handheld fan and an instant ice pack. Wedding dresses are hot even in the winter.
25. You’re getting married in June and it’s outside by disposable umbrellas and return them if it doesn’t rain
26. Always carry scissors in your fanny pack someone’s always asking for a pair
27. Always carry feminine products in your emergency kit one time I had a little girl asked me for a pad instead of a tampon which I didn’t have and she looked for a fight because it looked like it was one of her first periods so now I carry pads for people
28. Don’t ride go karts during wedding season I broke my arm
29. Sandbags and tape have came in handy many times over the years
30. You will be a therapist. Weddings bring a lot of tension to the surface. Relationship stressors, parents, money, ability to compromise.
31. Always check Facebook marketplace and OfferUp for wedding decor
32. You may have to embrace an esthetic that isn’t your cup of tea
33. Maybe not do flowers for the flower girl if it’s an outside venue because someone has to get on their hands and knees and pick up all the pedals out of the grass which is me and I’m allergic to grass
34. Florist aren’t paid enough, but they’re also the vendor you complain of most about paying their profit margins are so slim
35. If you’re going to do taper candles, make sure you have the sticky glue for them. It’s a lifesaver.
36. Make sure your venue allows real flame if not I like the faux wax candles with a black with, those are fairly realistic. Then sell them after your wedding
37. You are going to hyper fixate on the chair but once butts are in them they truly fade into the background
38. Real candles around the sweetheart table is a fire hazard
39. It’s okay to copy an idea, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
40. Your linen is going to have creases in it. I know I hate it to but it’s not realistic to steam every single linen. That would take a hole day. Compromise and just do the sweetheart
41. Pinterest and Vogue are great for inspo but let your wedding be real and authentic and don’t put too much pressure on it to be perfect
42. Always get a hair and makeup trial, 30% chance you will walk away in tears
43, Don’t forget your flatlay items, have them in a box w/ other small details for your photographer
44. You will have to say no tip jars on the bar a million times
45. Pay for the extra bartender
46. Print an extra copy of the timeline, vendors always ask the day of.
47. When securing rentals consider their delivery times with venue access times
48. Many DJ will require a pop up tent for their equipment. Do I think they should have one yes but they never do. They are like $75 at Walmart
49. Put everything in writing
50. Never assume
51. Have a photo captain to make family photos run smoother
52. Limit your family photo list to 20 groupings and the rest be candid
53. Try to consolidate vendors as much as possible to avoid labor, travel delivery fee fees
54. Your photographer is going to be the person you spend your day with the most make sure you all vibe
55. Wear spanks or bicycle shorts to prevent chub rub
56. Embrace at the bottom of your wedding dress will probably get trashed and dirty
57. Double check that you have shoes always pack a pair of comfy shoes. One time I got in my car, wearing my crocs and had to buy shoes before the wedding.
58. It’s hard to find a wedding dress that isn’t in a standard color of white
59. Fiber optic wand, make cool Grande exits as well as dance floor props
60. Don’t party too hard at the reception you don’t want drunk guys in your photo
61. Don’t forget your cake, serving knife
62. Vintage cars make cute getaway mobiles
63. Your wedding is not a photo shoot try to have authentic moments and not go out of your way to get the shot because it’ll take you out of the moment
64. A first look is going to give you back more time in your day and actually enjoy the people that you invited to your wedding
65. Don’t over label items when you’re handing it off to a planner they know what a guest book is in a card box and where they should go don’t create more work for yourself
66. Always asking you how their mosquitoes are bee situation is mosquitoes are bad by those electric mosquito repellent
67. To unwrap any of your wedding decor that comes in a bunch of plastic film go ahead and unwrap it before the wedding day. I’ll save you a bunch of time.
68. If you are going to do sparklers make sure your venue allows it. You have a bucket of water to extinguish, multiple lighters, and buy the extra long sparklers
69. Get bubble machines for grand exit to make an impact on photos
70. The most efficient seating chart is alphabetical not by table
71. If the restroom isn’t in an obvious place always make sure to have signage
72. Let your planner or DJ release tables to the buffet
73. Guest love a toiletry bag in the restroom, easy way to elevate the experience also men dip into it way more than women.
74. Do your cake cutting before toast so catering can cut the cake during toast
75. If you are on a super strict timeline and have a bunch of toast. Tell your toasty we will start playing music after 5 minutes like an award show and give the DJ permission. I had a dad do a 40 minute toast and there was nothing we could do.
76. Assign a person to take home gifts and marriage certificate
77. Have seating overage for 10% for ceremony because guest won’t group perfectly
78. Have buffer time in your timeline, I like to do intervals of 5 minutes
79. Mountain weddings are cool, but accommodations are limited and guests are more likely to drive drunk
80. Leavenworth in July might as well be hell, it is so hot
81. Double check the responsibilities of the venue, even though they provide the equipment, doesn’t mean that they’ll set it up
82. I’m wary of new venues because there’s a lot of kinks you have to figure out that only comes with time of running a business for a few few years
83. If your venue has neighbors, ask about how they do with the sound I’ve had a lot of weddings that I have to turn on music during the event because the neighbors are mad and are calling the police
84. Protect your vendors by making sure that you have enough set up time two hours is the absolute minimum and not as tight. Set your event up for success and pay Dad extra hours for set up.
85. Confirm w/ your venue on trash. Some venues only allow a certain number of bins and will require catering to take trash with them. Also think about your florals
86. House weddings will always be labor and logistical nightmares
87. Catholic Churches don’t want your planner involved
88. Send your invites to the venue before print to avoid any miscommunication
89. House wedding: You need to think about power sources and how much power you can pull
90. Make sure to ask the venue how to dim the lights or give them a cue
91. If it’s really hot out, make sure the cake stays in the cooler as long as possible so it doesn’t melt
92. Have a water station available before ceremony for guest
93. For guest experience I think it’s worth the up charge to do a plated salad w/ a buffet.
94. Place cards- If plated do a large icon on the front. This is not the time to be super fancy they are there to serve a purpose first most
95.Double side your buffet
96. Guest like a dessert table more than cake
97. Don’t skip the coffee
98. Don’t forget to include vendors in your meal counts but make sure to say it’s for the vendors
99. Don’t forget to include the two of you in the counts
100. Make sure to ask about allergies during RSVP
