Thank you to wedding and event planner Eileen Benson of Elegance by Elm for these wonderful day-of wedding planning tips.
One of the most important tips is to have a plan for a time-line for the day of the wedding. But, leave it up to the planning professionals that you hire and just enjoy your day.
Make out a checklist of everything you need for the wedding and reception. Have a safety kit or tool box, and circle the things you want someone to gather at the end of the evening and put with the wedding gifts.
Regarding the tool box, I never do a wedding with out my emergency kit. Have these things set up ahead of time in case something should occur. Just a few of the items include:
- Tylenol
- sewing kit
- super glue
- moleskin
- band aid
- mints
- Shout wipes
- scissors
- double sided tape for dresses (sold at dress shops)
- safety pins
I also always pack up cake to go for the bride and groom, as they never get to eat the cake.
If all the bridesmaids go to Church or a Synagogue to dress, have large, white shopping bags with the girls names painted on them and have the girls bring all the items they need in these bags. Once dressed, they can put all their items back into their bag and nothing is lost. The bags can be loaded into a limo and taken to the club or hotel, and it is so much easier to keep track of everyone’s things.
Eileen Benson’s Sample Day-Of Checklist
- rings
- marriage license
- wedding programs
- guest book
- favors
- seating list and floor plan (copy)
- cake knife and server
- place cards
- menu card
BONUS TIPS from Eileen:
- Never let the toasts last longer than 3-5 minutes and limit the number of toasts. Do the long ones the night before. I once had a best man do a toast that lasted 17 minutes.
- Do not try to serve a five course meal if you want to dance and have a lively reception. Your guests will get antsy and some may start leaving before its time to hit the dance floor.