You’re getting married in a few months, maybe next summer or fall, and if you’re planning on DIYing a lot of the elements, you’re going to have to get started now!

As an event planner I know how much of a runway I’m going to need to plan a wedding, depending on the vision for the wedding. And realistically, it typically takes a lot longer than most DIY couples think - especially if you want to keep the whole process joyful! For example, if you’re planning on catering your own wedding, you’ll have to plan the menu at least two months out.

To do that, you’ll need to get RSVPs back before that point, which means invites need to be sent out two months beforehand so that you can take note of various food allergies/preferences etc. Once you have all that info you’ll need to create a very big list of all the ingredients you’ll need to buy, and whether things will be frozen or made fresh the week of your wedding. And then how all the food will get to the venue and where it will be stored so that it’s safe to eat. Plus, who’s taking home the leftovers?

And this goes for any DIY wedding project, on top of all of the logistics that need to be accounted for as well.

Luckily for you, I’ve got a handy dandy template that I made, to get you started which you can get at https://joyfactorweddings.com/wedding-timeline-template - totally free if you sign up for my email list - and hey, I share some excellent DIY wedding tips in my emails!

1. Make a timeline from now until the wedding day (or the end of the honeymoon) - use key dates to get this started
2.  Rally the troops! Ask your bridal party/family/friends what they’re willing to contribute to the big day - and/or just assign things. This really depends on the person you’re working with.
3. Start filling in the little details. You won’t know everything right away but as new important elements come up, you will add them into your plan.

Get started as early as you can, because as you can see, there are a LOT of little details that need to be accounted for, and they’ll pop up unexpectedly! The sooner you have it down on paper, the easier it will be to make your vision come to life.

Links:
https://joyfactorweddings.com/wedding-timeline-template 

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
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You’re a DIY bride and you’re planning your wedding, but you might not know exactly what goes into the logistics of your wedding day - like how the hell does everything get done at the right time? Hey, you could wing your wedding day after spending months and months planning everything, OR, you could have a solid plan for the day itself. And it’s important you understand how it all works, so that there’s way less room for blunders or emergencies, and way more room for JOY!

So like, how the hell does everything actually come together on your wedding day? Like how does the florist know where to go at the venue? And will the cake need to be refrigerated? Or does your bridal party actually know they need to be at the hotel the night before so that you can all get ready at 6am, or will they casually be rolling in around 6pm?!

In this episode I'm sharing what I take my clients through on their kick off calls when they book me as a day-of-wedding coordinator, to make sure we have everything covered. You can find this list on my blog too, just copy and paste that bad boy into your own google doc!

Links:
DIY Wedding Checklist: https://joyfactorweddings.com/diy-wedding-checklist/
Wedding Itinerary Sample: https://joyfactorweddings.com/wedding-itinerary-sample-download/

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
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Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

Where the heck are your guests supposed to go? And when they get there, what the heck are they supposed to be doing? In this short Saturday episode I'm giving you the basic rundown of wedding signage you should consider for your own wedding day, to make your guests' experience awesome (and to reduce the number of questions you get throughout the day!)

If you have any questions about planning your wedding that you think I should cover on this podcast, email me at [email protected]! Or if you’ve hit a point in your planning process where you feel like you’d rather have someone else take the reins on your wedding day so that you can just enjoy it, you can learn more about how I help DIY couples with Day Of Coordination here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

A wedding welcome table is the PERFECT place to set the tone for your guests! In this short Saturday episode I'm sharing a few different ideas that you can use to set up your welcome table at your wedding. 

If you have any questions about planning your wedding that you think I should cover on this podcast, email me at [email protected]! Or if you’ve hit a point in your planning process where you feel like you’d rather have someone else take the reins on your wedding day so that you can just enjoy it, you can learn more about how I help DIY couples with Day Of Coordination here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

An often overlooked, but key moment in your ceremony is signing the legal documents to make your marriage official. And even though it's bureaucratic, it can still be fun, whimsical, romantic, or themed to your wedding! In this short Saturday episode I'm sharing a few ideas for what should be on your wedding signing table.

If you have any questions about planning your wedding that you think I should cover on this podcast, email me at [email protected]! Or if you’ve hit a point in your planning process where you feel like you’d rather have someone else take the reins on your wedding day so that you can just enjoy it, you can learn more about how I help DIY couples with Day Of Coordination here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Links: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/getting-married/step-1-applying-for-a-marriage-licence/

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

Even if you've asked your guests to not bring a gift, someone's probably going to bring a gift! In this quick Saturday episode I'm sharing a few ideas for what you can put on your wedding gift table. 

If you have any questions about planning your wedding that you think I should cover on this podcast, email me at [email protected]! Or if you’ve hit a point in your planning process where you feel like you’d rather have someone else take the reins on your wedding day so that you can just enjoy it, you can learn more about how I help DIY couples with Day Of Coordination here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

You could throw caution to the wind and just hire someone based on vibes alone - and sometimes that works! But if you want a little more reliability when you hand over the reins to your big day, here are some things you should ask a potential day-of-coordinator when you interview them.

When couples come to me to find out if I’m the right fit for their wedding, we have a 30-40 minute call where I ask a ton of questions, and open up the floor for the couples to ask me questions. I go through my whole process, including what the kick off call looks like, what I’m available to them for, during what times I’m available leading up to the wedding, and then what the actual day will look like, working with me and my team. So I’m giving you a peek behind the scenes to get a sense of what you might want to ask your potential day-of-coordinators when you meet with them, to make sure they’re the right fit for your wedding.

If you’re thinking about hiring a day-of-coordinator for your DIY wedding, you have to know what you’re going to ask your vendor when you interview them.

1: Find out if it’s them that will be working your wedding, or if they’ll be sending someone from their team. 
2: Ask if there’s any preliminary work that is done in advance, and what’s required of you - i.e. will they be putting together the day-of run sheet (itinerary) or will that all be on you to provide?
3: Find out if they’ll coordinate with your vendors as the main contact person, they honestly should, but find out.
4: Depending on your comfort level, you might want to find out how many weddings they’ve coordinated. 
5: Find out why they want to do day-of-wedding coordination and make sure it matches what you’re all about.

It can be a little scary and overwhelming to hand over the reins to a day-of-wedding coordinator after you’ve done so much planning, and so much work for your DIY wedding, so if you’re thinking about hiring someone, make sure you get this key info to help you make a decision that will make your day go exactly as planned!

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
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Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

Planning a wedding is an anxiety inducing nightmare full of bridezillas and doom grooms so joyful wedding planning is impossible, right?

Bwahahahahahhahahahaha heck no!

I love bringing joy into people’s lives, to help them create moments and memories that they’ll cherish forever! And as I was thinking about starting my wedding planning business, I kept coming back to the idea that planning a wedding doesn’t have to be some sort of frustrating activity that ends in breakups and family fights, it can truly be joyful, despite all the decisions and the family pressures. So today I’m going to share with you my Do’s and Dont’s of joyful wedding planning to make your wedding planning process even more joyful!

Full list of Do's and Dont's here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/the-dos-and-donts-of-joyful-wedding-planning/

The wedding planning process can be anxiety inducing and stressful and hard - but remember, it’s your day, and there’s always a way to make the process more enjoyable!

Links:
Wedding Activities That Will Make Your Guests Go Wild! https://joyfactorweddings.com/wedding-activities-that-will-make-your-guests-go-wild
Creating a Perfect Wedding Itinerary: https://joyfactorweddings.com/creating-a-perfect-wedding-itinerary
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Learner: https://a.co/d/8PmWoUm

00:01 Intro
01:08 An un-joyful wedding planning story
01:50 The do’s and dont’s of joyful wedding planning

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
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Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

Wedding day itineraries are just fluffy things that event planners pretend are important, right? Wrong! If you don’t have your itinerary written out the day of your wedding, it’s going to make the entire process a lot more difficult and complicated to manage - so why not make it easy on yourself and plan out your wedding day itinerary from when you wake up, to when you go to bed?

I’m serious when I say that you need to plan exactly what’s happening on your wedding day, down to the minute, so that you can easily share it with anyone that may be helping you on the day. Not only that, but when you’re sitting there getting your hair done, or trying to tie your tie, you’ll know exactly what’s coming next so you won’t feel any unnecessary stress or anxiety. Win-win, right?

Let’s get into why you should have a super detailed wedding itinerary!

• It will be easier for other people to help you.
• If something needs to shift in the schedule it will be easy to see what else will be affected so you can make quick decisions
• Your wedding day itinerary may shift as you get closer to the day, that’s normal

Full blog post here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/creating-a-perfect-wedding-itinerary/

00:01 Intro
01:06 Why you should have a wedding itinerary
03:19 What goes on a wedding itinerary
04:24 How to create a wedding itinerary
07:45 Wrap up

Follow me on Instagram  https://instagram.com/joyfactorweddings  
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Watch full videos on YouTube https://youtube.com/@joyfactorweddings

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings

If you’re paying a wedding venue the big bucks to host your big day, shouldn’t they be responsible for every single detail? Well, not quite - so I’m going to give you a list of 57 things you should be asking your venue BEFORE you sign a contract!

Although wedding venues ask us to shell out tons of cash to get married and have a reception, they may not provide everything you’ll need on your wedding day. So as you do your research it’s important to make sure that you are asking all of the important questions that could affect your wedding day BEFORE you sign a contract with a venue.

I fell in love with my venue the instant I found it doing a google search for “unique wedding venues Toronto”. Junto studio is a photography studio at Ossington and Dupont in a giant old warehouse. It’s a huge loft space that has been expertly designed and curated by its owners Theresa and Rana, it is truly gorgeous! I also did a brand photo shoot there literally a week after my wedding, LOVE IT!

I pretty much knew right away that we were going to sign the contract, however I definitely let my excitement get in the way of some key questions I really should have asked - especially as an event planner! Can you believe I didn’t realize that I needed to rent chairs? But I was excited about my own wedding, and when you’re excited about your own wedding it’s very easy to get caught up in all of the emotions!

That’s why it’s great to have a wedding planner with you to ask the important questions! So Today I wanted to share with you 57 different questions to ask your wedding venue before signing a contract. Keep in mind your wedding might not need all of these different items that we’re covering - but some of these questions might spark other questions that you’ll want to ask, so stay tuned!

Full list of questions here: https://joyfactorweddings.com/57-wedding-venue-questions-you-didnt-know-you-should-ask/

Just because you’re paying for a wedding venue, doesn’t mean that they’ll take care of all the tiny details! So make sure you write down all of your questions before you do your site visit to make sure you’ve got everything covered. And hey, if you need someone to point out very obvious things (like the fact that you need to rent chairs at a chairless venue) I’ve got your back! Send me an email at [email protected] to see how we can work together.

00:01 Intro
01:03 My wedding venue story
02:40 Questions to ask your wedding venue
12:35 Wrap up

If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about staying present and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!

Work with The Joy Factor on your wedding day! https://joyfactorweddings.com/day-of-wedding-coordination/

Follow me on Instagram @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Pinterest @joyfactorweddings
Follow me on Facebook @joyfactorweddings
Watch full videos on YouTube @joyfactorweddings