Who does what on your wedding day
Want to know how to have a calm, stress-free wedding? Organisation and delegation from the start! Your wedding is to be enjoyed and you will not enjoy it if you are responsible for delivering key elements of your day. Assign these jobs, so you can do what a bride and groom do best - live in the moment of your best day yet!
Here at La Lista we love efficiency, so having a key person assigned to each role is vital. And guess what the number one rule here is – it shouldn’t be you!!
Set up
At a self-catering venue it is common to stock guest fridges. A supermarket trip should be carried out by a friend / family member. Do not make this a ‘bride or groom’ job!
Set up the ‘glam room’ the day before, with the bridal party’s clothes and make-up ready to go. The morning will be so much calmer because of it. Print your wedding day schedule and have it easily viewable. Saves you from the repeated ‘what time are we…’ questions!
Hand over any decor bits to your planner the day(s) before so they can be included at the ceremony or reception. If you don’t have a planner, then ensure you know who is going to be putting these items out and properly brief this.
Photo: Valeria D’Angelo
The Meal
Catering is responsible for base layer table set up (chairs, tables, linen and crockery).
A planner is responsible for checking this matches your style brief and does a final check.
The florist is responsible for placing flowers, with your planner checking against your brief.
If you’ve defined your planner’s role is to place stationery and favours etc then they will do this. Normally they will coordinate the suppliers involved in lay-up and make final checks. Always ask if this falls into their remit.
Photo: Urska & Domen
Timekeeping
A planner should check everything’s on track throughout the day. If you don’t have a planner, then your HMU artist should keep to their schedule pre-ceremony. Ask someone from your party to keep a watchful eye on the clock…it flies when it’s your big day! And remember a wedding schedule print-out comes in handy here.
If you miss the transport or are late to the wedding at a town hall or church, the Italians can get a little bit stroppy (understandably so, but you do not want drama on your day). The timings of one element feeds into the timings for the next - so a late start, means later aperitifs, food etc, which can potentially push costs up; and annoy more people!
Photo: CheChic! Weddings
A word of warning
As tempting as it might be do not have suppliers working across a number of roles. For example, asking a catering manager to undertake a wedding planner’s task or to sort a decor reshuffle before the meal is served. Each supplier is there to do their role to the high standards you selected them on. You may have very generous suppliers who offer to do more but if this is not their expertise or you haven’t got firm boundaries on how they will deliver this new remit, then you might find yourself in trouble. On the day suppliers will prioritise their key role and stretching them could leave them distracted from their most important job. A flustered supplier is not going to deliver either well.
The Planner
If you do have a planner, their role is to hold your suppliers accountable to their defined roles. They are orchestrating this wedding for you, so they should be aware of every contract, remit and plan to be able to do this. Production means timings, and so they’re there to keep things moving along and aesthetically on track. Get yourself a good one - you would not believe the fires they put out so calmly and efficiently without you even realising there is problem! Check out our recommended Planners.
Planner: Sara Tusset
The Florist
The florist is usually responsible for the delivery and set up of florals; sometimes moving them through the day and clearing down. This can differ between florists and what contract you have with them. Remember the varying responsibilities will impact the price quoted, so be sure to be clear what you want and what they can deliver.
Florist: The Good Florist
Wet weather decisions
Nothing confuses a day more than a ‘no wet weather’ plan. The implication of rain must be considered months before the wedding and during the planning stage, with a wet weather contingency set. Closer to the day you need to know the latest time a call needs to be made on whether the plan B option needs to be actioned. Setting up this decision process beforehand not only calms your nerves, it makes it a lot easier for suppliers – without this you can have confusion and mistakes. The final decision will likely be made between you, your planner and caterer.
Photo: Benjamin Wheeler
Top Tip
A planner clearly plays an integral role across all elements of the day. They’re the only person, aside you, that knows absolutely everything about your wedding, plus has the power to hold suppliers accountable.
Flying solo? Brief a ‘figure-head’ person to guide your wedding through each stage of the day. Likely they will be the person responsible for managing the suppliers, issues, timings and checking that delivery matches what’s expected from your contracts. Choose someone you trust and who can make decisions on your behalf!
