Today, I’m sharing 3 reception tips for wedding planners. Tips that I’ve learned over my thirteen years of planning weddings. The more weddings you plan, the more you learn and the easier it gets to stay super organized and as stress-free as possible.
After every wedding I like to write down things that went well and/or things that didn’t go so well, or any problems that occurred. That way I can make sure any problems don’t happen again and make sure the things that went well, continue to go well at future weddings.
3 Reception Tips for Wedding Planners
- Get the bride’s lipstick from her after hair and makeup and keep it with you at all times, OR give it to the groom to stick in his coat pocket. That way she has it handy at all times to touch up her lips throughout the day. She’ll need to touch up for pictures, before they enter the reception, before the cake cutting, before the bouquet and garter toss and before the exit at the end.
Just make sure you as the planner keep it in your pocket or cross body or whatever you carry with you on the wedding day. - If the bride does not want to wear her garters throughout the day, get them from the photographer after they capture detail photos with the garter. A lot of brides don’t like wearing the garters all day we have learned. For some reason some garters are not made as well these days and they tend to slide down her leg or they are too tight and just not very comfortable. So, as the planner you can get the garters from her after those detail photos and keep them with you throughout the day. Then about fifteen minutes before the bouquet and garter toss grab the bride and put the garters on her legs.
- If the bride is changing shoes for the reception find out if she wants to change before entering the reception or after the cake cutting. Some brides like to wear their same heels until after the finish the dances and cake cutting. If they want to change shoes after the dances and cake cutting, then make sure you get the shoes (which are usually sneakers for the reception) from her before the reception.
If you are going to the reception venue before the ceremony go ahead and take them and place them somewhere that you can access them easily. A great place to keep them is under the cake table, under the registry table or in the room you will bustle her dress in. After the cake cutting grab her shoes and change them for her or take her to a room and change them in there. Just make sure you get a game plan and know ahead of time where they will be stored.
You also need to find out if she wants to put her heels or whatever she wore before the reception, on before the bouquet and garter toss. The groom will lift her dress for the garter toss which means her shoes will be showing. Is she good with her reception shoes showing, or does she want her heels back on for the garter toss? Plan all this out ahead of time to save yourself time and stress during the reception!
xo, Terrica
