Okay, ladies! It's time to have a serious chat. Somehow, many brides have become convinced that in order to have a wonderful wedding, they have to do everything themselves ... and I'm here to tell you that's not true! Trying to handle every single detail and task on your wedding day is no guarantee that everything will run smoothly, but it DOES guarantee that you'll be too stressed and exhausted to enjoy your wedding day!
In order to help you let go a little, here is a list of 7 wedding tasks that you can (and should) delegate to someone else:
1. Simple and repetitive tasks.
There are a LOT of envelopes to stuff, party favors to package and place cards to fold ... and you don't have to be the only one doing it! This kind of basic, repetitive task can be a perfect job for your younger (but responsible) family members! Or gather a group of friends together, put something fun on Netflix, and have a "getting stuff done" party. After all, many hands make light work!
In order to help you let go a little, here is a list of 7 wedding tasks that you can (and should) delegate to someone else:
1. Simple and repetitive tasks.
There are a LOT of envelopes to stuff, party favors to package and place cards to fold ... and you don't have to be the only one doing it! This kind of basic, repetitive task can be a perfect job for your younger (but responsible) family members! Or gather a group of friends together, put something fun on Netflix, and have a "getting stuff done" party. After all, many hands make light work!
2. Be the information center.
Chances are good that many of your guests will have questions, need clarification or require directions. Find an organized friend or family member and ask them to serve as your wedding information center. Be sure to provide this person with all of the information and timelines for the wedding, and then let THEM answer all of those inquiries. It can be a good idea to put their contact information on your wedding website, so that guests know whom to go to for help. Not only will this take a weight off your shoulders, having a clearly designated "answer person" will also make things easier on your guests!
3. Day-of contact for wedding vendors
The guests aren't the only ones who will have questions on your wedding day! Many of your vendors will need to touch base and confirm details as they arrive and throughout the day. Delegate the task of being the wedding vendor contact to someone organized and trustworthy, and make sure they have all of the information they need. If any of your vendors need to be paid or tipped, get well labeled checks or cash envelopes to this person BEFORE the wedding day, so you can relax in the knowledge that your vendors are in good hands!
4. Keeping the getting ready space tidy.
As a photographer, I know the value of a tidy and well lit getting ready room! It's hard to make getting ready photos look elegant if there's a giant pile of clutter visible in every shot! But even more importantly, having a tidy getting ready room will help you to enjoy a calm and happy mood as you prepare for your wedding. So talk with someone who will be with you as you get ready, like one of your bridesmaids, and ask her to keep the clutter and mess cleared away. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes!
Chances are good that many of your guests will have questions, need clarification or require directions. Find an organized friend or family member and ask them to serve as your wedding information center. Be sure to provide this person with all of the information and timelines for the wedding, and then let THEM answer all of those inquiries. It can be a good idea to put their contact information on your wedding website, so that guests know whom to go to for help. Not only will this take a weight off your shoulders, having a clearly designated "answer person" will also make things easier on your guests!
3. Day-of contact for wedding vendors
The guests aren't the only ones who will have questions on your wedding day! Many of your vendors will need to touch base and confirm details as they arrive and throughout the day. Delegate the task of being the wedding vendor contact to someone organized and trustworthy, and make sure they have all of the information they need. If any of your vendors need to be paid or tipped, get well labeled checks or cash envelopes to this person BEFORE the wedding day, so you can relax in the knowledge that your vendors are in good hands!
4. Keeping the getting ready space tidy.
As a photographer, I know the value of a tidy and well lit getting ready room! It's hard to make getting ready photos look elegant if there's a giant pile of clutter visible in every shot! But even more importantly, having a tidy getting ready room will help you to enjoy a calm and happy mood as you prepare for your wedding. So talk with someone who will be with you as you get ready, like one of your bridesmaids, and ask her to keep the clutter and mess cleared away. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes!
5. Portrait wrangling
There are times when I compare getting the bridal party or family together for photos to herding cats. And I do this for a living! On your wedding day, you should not be the one hunting down Uncle Joe so that he can be in the family photo! The solution is to request that someone serve as a portrait wrangler for your bridal party and family photos. Make sure your wrangler has a list of all of the portrait groupings and who will be in each of them. It's helpful if the person doing this job is familiar with many of the people in the photos. Not only will you love how smoothly your group portraits go, but your photographer will thank you for it!
6. Timekeeping
There are a lot of moving parts to a wedding day, and it only takes a delay in one area to get the entire day off schedule! In order for your wedding to flow as planned, it's a great idea to ask someone to be the timekeeper. Give them a timeline of the day and make sure that they're watching the clock. They can then help nudge things along to keep all of the pieces of the day moving forward, on time and according to plan.
7. Transporting packages.
If you've never been part of a wedding, you might be surprised by the sheer amount of STUFF that needs to be moved from one place to another. As the bride, you don't need to spend your day hauling bags or fretting about things that might get left behind. Ask someone (or several someones) to take on this task. They can bring bags from the getting ready space to the venue, transport gifts from the reception to the honeymoon suite, and return any borrowed items to their rightful owners.
There are times when I compare getting the bridal party or family together for photos to herding cats. And I do this for a living! On your wedding day, you should not be the one hunting down Uncle Joe so that he can be in the family photo! The solution is to request that someone serve as a portrait wrangler for your bridal party and family photos. Make sure your wrangler has a list of all of the portrait groupings and who will be in each of them. It's helpful if the person doing this job is familiar with many of the people in the photos. Not only will you love how smoothly your group portraits go, but your photographer will thank you for it!
6. Timekeeping
There are a lot of moving parts to a wedding day, and it only takes a delay in one area to get the entire day off schedule! In order for your wedding to flow as planned, it's a great idea to ask someone to be the timekeeper. Give them a timeline of the day and make sure that they're watching the clock. They can then help nudge things along to keep all of the pieces of the day moving forward, on time and according to plan.
7. Transporting packages.
If you've never been part of a wedding, you might be surprised by the sheer amount of STUFF that needs to be moved from one place to another. As the bride, you don't need to spend your day hauling bags or fretting about things that might get left behind. Ask someone (or several someones) to take on this task. They can bring bags from the getting ready space to the venue, transport gifts from the reception to the honeymoon suite, and return any borrowed items to their rightful owners.
Throughout this post, I've mentioned finding an organized, responsible loved one to take on each task, but there is another option. For many of these jobs, an experienced wedding planner will take them off your plate. I've shared before about what a difference a wedding planner can make. Having a great planner is the #1 way I recommend to avoid the burden of doing too much on your own wedding day! A planner will also free up your family and friends from doing these tasks, so that they can more fully enjoy the celebration.
So far, you've seen many tasks that you can delegate to someone else, but there's one that you CANNOT give away: Being the bride. This sounds like common sense, but I've seen so many brides forget that this is the one and only job that belongs to them alone. On your wedding day, your true purpose is to be present in the moment, soaking in every little thing about this amazing day! Don't get so caught up in the work and minutia of your wedding that you miss out on the joy of it!
So far, you've seen many tasks that you can delegate to someone else, but there's one that you CANNOT give away: Being the bride. This sounds like common sense, but I've seen so many brides forget that this is the one and only job that belongs to them alone. On your wedding day, your true purpose is to be present in the moment, soaking in every little thing about this amazing day! Don't get so caught up in the work and minutia of your wedding that you miss out on the joy of it!
------> If you are engaged and planning a wedding, we hope this post was helpful. We also have even more ways to keep you on track! Click here to download a FREE tool to keep your wedding party organized. We've created a handy form for you to keep all of the contact info for your wedding party in one simple place, making it easier to delegate and assign roles to your right-hand crew! Download your copy today!
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