Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Luxury Wedding Planner
Asking a wedding planner about their typical day is like asking some to describe what water tastes like… it’s near impossible! Just as no two weddings are the same, there are definitely no similar days! Whether it’s a wedding, editorial, corporate event, meeting with one of our couples or networking, there’s always something different and exciting going on. Here is a look at the typical-ish day in the life of a wedding planner…
8am: I’m definitely not a morning person, but since having a baby, I’ve been forced to be! I start my day by pouring a coffee, get my daughter fed and dressed for the day, and quickly scan my inbox to see if anything came in overnight from one of my international couples. This season many of our couples are based overseas, so more often than not we’ll have heard from them overnight. Whether it’s coordinating deliveries on their behalf, doing site visits over Facetime, we do whatever we can to make the whole wedding planning process as simplified, straightforward and enjoyable as possible.
9am: I start the day checking in with the rest of team Bow to see if anyone has anything they need my guidance with. After this, I’ll look over my to-do list that I set the evening before and add to it if needed. The hidden super power of a wedding planner is that we’re able to put out fires left right and centre, without couples ever realising there was a problem to begin with! So whether it’s putting together a plan B, C and D for impending weather or figuring out the science behind cloning so your photographer can be at two ends of Melbourne at once the morning of your wedding - these curve balls are often what we start our day with.
10am - 12pm: Wedding admin, admin and more admin! Whether it’s following up with vendors, scheduling meetings or venue walkthroughs at one of Melbourne’s many incredible wedding venues, managing couple’s wedding budgets or tweaking timelines. There’s lots of typing, and SO many spreadsheets! I like to break it up with a few moments of mindless scrolling here and there, because you never know when inspiration might crop up…
12pm - 2pm: Time to head off to an industry event. Now, I know this was meant to be a typical day, but the amount of industry events lately warrants this inclusion! Whether it’s a hire company launching a new range, a new wedding venue opening or a networking event, there always seems to be something on! We always make an effort to go, it’s important to us to alway maintain strong relationships with all our incredible colleagues in the industry. Knowing the who’s who of wedding vendors comes in handy for our couples, so we’re able to recommend a list based on not only style and budget - but also personality and vibe fits too!
2pm - 4pm: Back home for some baby cuddles and of course, checking emails! At this stage, replies would be well and truly coming through from our morning round of emails, so we’re able to update the status of our to-do list and action next steps if required.
4pm - 6pm: We’re on the road! Whether it’s a site visit to measure out a space, check the light in the venue at key times to help inform our lighting schedule, or an in person meeting with one of our couples to chat about their day.
6pm - 8pm: Most days, this is our quality family time while we eat dinner together and catch up on each other's day before the night routine starts.
9pm - 10pm: I’m a night owl, so I feel my most creative when most other people are in bed! Once everything has been crossed off the to do list, my inbox is empty and the house is quiet, my mind is finally freed up to enter a more creative space! This is the time I reserve for creating styling mood boards, researching new and different ideas, and dreaming up unique wedding styling ideas. This is by far my favourite part of the day!
11pm onwards: I’ll sneak in an episode of a Korean drama before bed. I told you I’m a night owl! This is my chance to switch off and decompress after a non stop day.
Thanks for joining us in a day in the life of a Melbourne Wedding Planner and Stylist! I think I need another cup of coffee now…