We are so excited you're considering us to help plan your wedding! We want this process to be easy and smooth for everyone, and we find it helpful to set clear expectations from the start. Before booking with us, we'd love for you to review our policies below, as well as, the four key stages of our planning process.
- Communication: So that we can keep track of all communication and important details, we prefer that all questions/conversations occur via email. We're also more than happy to schedule phone calls as needed to chat and check-in throughout the process, but due to the nature of our business, phone calls need to be pre-scheduled in advance. Please do not send text messages unless it's for something quick that does not need to be referenced in the future (e.x. I'm running 5 minutes late to our meeting).
- Vendor Communication: Speaking of communication, we are happy to do most of the communicating with your vendors once they're booked; however, if you end up doing any direct emailing we kindly ask that you copy us so that we can be kept in the loop, help keep vendors accountable, and keep details organized. The more we know the better we can serve you!
- Office Hours: Our "office hours" tend to be a little untraditional based on various meetings, weekend events, etc... Our "weekends" a.k.a. "days off" tend to be Sundays and Mondays; however, we are usually out of the office Friday afternoons for rehearsals and all day on Saturdays due to being onsite for events. You can expect emails to be returned within 24-48 business hours, and slightly longer if your email is received over the weekend. Ideally, all phone calls and meetings will be scheduled during normal business hours.
- Meetings: While we want to be as flexible as possible, due to most events being on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays vendors (including planners) are not usually available for meetings, beauty trials, consults, tastings, etc... over the weekends. Please plan to make a planning trip in the summer months or over some weekdays.
- Check Ins: We will be in touch a lot and will lead you through the whole process. We send several "official" check in emails at pivotal parts in the planning process. They include to-dos and details that should be tackled at that specific time. Our hope is that these emails give us a few things to work on at a time rather than bombarding you with too much too soon. We promise there is a method to the madness!
Planning Process
In hopes of creating a clear and easy flow, we've laid out our signature four-phase planning process below. We know at times the order of things may change, but we do try to stick with this flow as best as possible because we know from experience that approaching the process in this way leads to a beautifully executed event. Keep in mind, if we're ahead in the planning, there may be a period of time when you don't have many wedding related things to do... try to remember that's a good thing! We'll lead and guide you all the way!
1. The Foundation
- Introduction Questionnaire - after the signed agreement and retainer fee are taken care of, you'll receive an introductory questionnaire to fill out.
- Creation of Planning Hub - after we receive your questionnaire, we then put together your "planning portal" which is a detailed, personalized planning folder in Google Drive with checklists, budgets, timelines, vendor comparisons, guest list templates, and so much more. Some planners offer hard copies of all their planning documents, but we've instead created an online, personalized version that we can share with multiple people and keep updated in real-time. We find this much more convenient and practical for our clients.
- Venue - If you haven't booked a venue, we'll hit the ground running by getting proposals from your top 3-4 venues. We'll then help you set up site tours with your favorites. Please keep in mind, we can try to be at these site tours, but it's based on availability. After the site tours, you'll pick your top location and we will then help you review proposals and contracts to point out possible areas of negotiation, check for fair industry pricing / practices and more regarding the wedding events and room blocks. We ask you you do the direct negotiating and we'll advise behind the scenes.
2. Vendors + Services
- In your Planning Hub will be a customized vendor list. The vendors we will work to book first are the photographer, videographer, officiant, hair/makeup, and DJs/bands/entertainment. We have an extensive list of tried and true vendors to not only match your personal style and needs, but your ideal budget. Some vendors may come from Tucson while I have others out of Phoenix and even California. Florists, rentals, and decor companies are not included in this initial list. We'll get to these later on in the process. You let us know which vendors jump out to you and we'll do the leg work for you!
- Review of all contracts to ensure fair industry practices and pricing.
- Remain point of contact for both the vendors and venue to plan all logistics and details, BUT all major decisions that impact the style and direction of the wedding always remain yours.
- Creation of a base timeline (for ex, ceremony start time).
- Assistance with food and beverage selection, flow, set up and order of events.
3. Event Design
- Design Concept - after your venue and main vendors are chosen, we will begin working on a design concept to include theme, color palette, floral, rentals, misc. decor, stationery, and more... all of which will reflect your personal style and preferences. This usually takes place around 8-9 months before the wedding. The design concept includes a visual PDF presentation, and we will continue to "hone in on it" until you love it!
- After you approve the design proposal we will gather various vendor options and price points for you to choose from.
- We will get proposals from florists and rental companies that we believe to be the best fit regarding style and budget. This doesn't mean they'll be the "cheapest," but our goal is to be cost effective while getting the best quality.
- Creation of layouts and diagrams along with venue manager.
- Coordinate directly with the venue, florist, rental, and lighting companies, etc... to properly communicate your vision so that your day is exactly how you imagined (if not better).
- Assistance with stationery design to carry through invitations and wedding day paper products.
- We highly recommend you use one of our custom stationery designers. If you decide to use an online option, you are responsible for actually designing and ordering, but we'll happily proof and offer suggestions.
4. Event Execution
- We put together a thorough "wedding day details" packet for vendors to refer to as needed. That will include timelines, layouts, guests lists and more.
- Ceremony rehearsal coordination.
- Our team monitors all aspects of wedding day production and strives to make sure your wedding vision truly comes to life.
- We work hand-in-hand with the venue and all vendors to ensure a seamless, memorable, amazing experience for you and your guests by monitoring the flow and timeline, food and beverage service, DJ/band production, and so much more.
- The goal is for you and your family and friends to enjoy every single moment without having to think twice about any details or logistics.