This blog is just a bit of fun! I'm going to share with you my top 9 most un-glamorous moments of this years wedding season, I really have seen it all this year!
Working in 30 degree heat!
One wedding this year it was over 30 degrees on the day and I've discovered that I'm really not cut out for working in heat like that! It's really hard running around like a headless chicken in the heat to the point where it made me feel really faint, so I take my hat off to all the destination wedding planners out there.
I prefer a holiday and lying on a sun lounger in that type of heat not working!
Wasps!
A downside to the heat also brought out all the wasps, now I hate wasps with a vengeance! And on one wedding the wasps were eating and attacking this beautiful sugar detailed cake which we tried so hard to save by covering it. In the end I had to stand there with a giant portable fan turning it on and off because wasps don't like wind just before the couple came to do their cake cutting and so we could get that photo moment!
We had another wasp encounter at another wedding where one wasp had found its way into the ceremony barn and decided to taunt myself and my assistant who we're trying to cue and play the ceremony music. I can't tell you how hard it was trying to navigate this wasp whilst trying not to squeal during the ceremony!
Then at this same wedding a poor guest got stung by a wasp because it flew down her dress and got stuck!
Your Step Count
You may think life as a wedding planner is glamorous but it's really hard work, you're on your feet most of the day running around the venue, looking after suppliers and looking after the couple and that racks up your step count! The highest step count I did this year was 27,000 steps in one day!
Portaloo Duty
Another very un-glamorous job I had this year was filling up portaloos with water, thankfully it was just water I suppose. But it was a beautiful festival style wedding with a glamping site for guests to stay and sadly the portaloos had a little bit of a malfunction so there we were going back and forth from an outside tap filling up the portaloos with water so guests could use them.
Long Days
A lot of our bookings are mainly on the day coordinations where we're usually onsite for 10-11 hours which are pretty long days, however they can be longer especially when we've done the full planning of the wedding.
One of my full plan weddings this year was an entire weekend where I was up at 6am on the first day not going to bed until about midnight and then the wedding day starting around the same time and not getting to bed until around 2.30am and then needing to be back up early the day after to help with the clean up, breakdown and guest departure so weddings can be very tiring and very long days but the most rewarding!
Sweaty Betty!
You might think being the wedding planner is just about overseeing suppliers and making sure everyone is doing what they need to do but for me I'm extremely hands on and the styling is very important to me, so I'm always involved and getting my hands dirty with the set up, making sure the tables are styled how my couples want, running around to make sure everything is in exactly the right place. And yes you guessed it this makes you pretty hot and sweaty!
We always wear set up clothes in the morning because of this reason and then change into something more professional before guests start arriving just to feel slightly fresher than during set up!
Any aspiring wedding planners out there - never wear the clothes you want to wear for the wedding for set up! Always bring a change of clothes.
Keeping Hydrated & Remembering to Eat
Now this may seem stupid but honestly it's one of the easiest things to forget to do when onsite at a wedding and thats remembering to take time to eat and keep hydrated! And I really am awful at it, I could go all day forgetting to eat and drink because I'm so focused on what needs to be done and then wonder why I feel faint or have the worst headache!
Without sounding like a diva, it's one of the jobs I give to all my assistants when I meet them onsite and that's to remind me to eat and drink and they're all amazing at doing that!
Sore Feet!
Now hats off to any wedding planner that can do the whole wedding day in heels because I certainly can't! By the end of the long day my feet are throbbing, if you work in a job where you're on your feet all day you'll understand the pain.
I even had to take some time out during one wedding (lucky I had time whilst the guests were eating) to actually ice my ankle as I had been limping around for most of the day. This wedding was off the back of the three peaks challenge I did so that's probably why my ankle was so bad.
There really is no feeling like taking your shoes off at the end of the day, it's heaven!
Intensity
I think any wedding supplier will agree with me that 2021 was the most intense wedding season anyone has ever had with having to sandwich and compact two years worth of weddings into one.
It really was exhausting having back to back weddings over the entire weekend, every weekend and maybe even having a couple of weddings on the same day, every supplier in the industry will tell you how exhausting it's been. Emotions were high as everyone just wanted to give their best to all their couples because they hadn't been able to do anything during the pandemic and what a relief it was for the 2021 wedding season to come to a gradual end coming into winter.
So there you have it wedding planning can be a very un-glamorous job at times but it really is the most incredible and rewarding job watching couples have the best day of their lives!
If you're looking for a wedding coordinator for your wedding then please do get in touch, we'll take care of all the un-glamorous jobs that you do not want to deal with on your wedding day!
Happy Planning
Lauren xx
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Photos by 1 & 4. Mindy Coe Photography, 2. Anneli Marinovich, 3. Juliet McKee Photography
