Without a doubt, the wedding day timeline we build for each and every couple we serve is the blueprint of their wedding day. Chaos would unfold without it and many people would be lost and confused on expectations, let alone basic directions would be null. While I feel strongly that there’s not a right or wrong way to build a timeline, but rather a best way, I do believe there are must-have elements in a strong, sound timeline.

Here are a few things to consider when building yours in the most intentional way!

1. Pair together important names with clear phonetic guides

One of the best ways to ensure people feel welcomed and cared for is to use their name in conversation and more importantly perhaps, to say their name correctly. As the recipient of a hard to read name I vouch for this on a personal level, but on a professional level the effort goes the distance. For any non-obvious names on my timeline whether it be a parent, member of the wedding party, or professional working the event, I always put a phonetic next to it. I also make sure the emcee for the evening is very clear on how to correctly say any and all names. This small effort makes the biggest difference in how everyone feels on the event day!

2. Ask your client for the exact way they want to be introduced to their wedding.

Not only is it important that the DJ or band emcee knows how to welcome the couple into their own wedding (e.g. “Introducing, the newly married Shawn and Laurie!” or “For the first time, Mr and Mrs Shawn Anderson!”) but putting in names of family members, wedding party participants, and the professionals included ensures everyone gets called what they’d like. This also allows for a deeper sense of camaraderie with the people working tirelessly behind the scenes when vendors can call each other by preferred name instead of an awkward half-hearted, ‘Hey, uh Kelly’s second shooter, Sarah I think? uhm, did you shoot this already?’ Like I mentioned above, knowing someone’s name and how to say it right goes the distance.

3. Ensure special needs are clearly outlined in the necessary parts of the timeline.

Whether it’s a frail grandmother who needs to be escorted to her seat well before the rest of the guests so she doesn’t feel rushed, a special group photo that the bride has requested and a small window of time where this can happen, or a certain vehicle that personal items should be packed into before the last dance, all of these things should go into the timeline and with clear parameters. This ensures that even if the main day-of contact person is not avialable at a given moment (like me for example because I am tending to an issue), there is still clear direction on how the client, and their guests, expect the event to unfold.

4. Make the timeline a solid blueprint for a one of a kind experience.

Most people want their wedding day to be a seamless, close-to-perfect experience and rightfully so. But rarely is perfection possible, even with the most meticulous of timelines. So understanding that some things won’t unfold exactly according to plan, build in others to the plan that will surprise and delight! Listing out the married couple’s favorite drink choices so they may be handed their preferred libation throughout the celebration, mentioning a groomsmen’s birthday so he may be toasted to during the reception, and putting in a note for the planning or venue staff to strike the ceremony flowers so that they may be bundled up into take home bouquets for the women, are all easy ways to use the timeline to your advantage and help make the day memorable.

I always try to put myself in the shoes of my clients; what elements would I appreciate having in the timeline to ensure I felt at ease, and better yet, truly catered to on an intentional level? How can I anticipate needs, both physical and emotional, to ensure we surpass expectations?

If you’d like to receive more wedding educational related tips, information, and resources, I’d love to hear from you below. You may also sign up for my monthly newsletter where I share creative and inspiring musings on all of the things I’m passionate about. I hope to see you soon in your inbox! Xo

Well here we are! Halfway through 2019. In some ways January feels so very long ago and in others, it feels like yesterday we were thick in the bitterness of winter, still figuring out a groove with a then newborn Ev and nearly no sleep. I held off on sharing my July goals until tonight for a variety of reasons and those are:

I wanted to take time to look back on my overarching 2019 goals to see if they still reflect the direction I want to go this second half of the year and beyond. Some goals are absolutely still things I am working towards (like learning to love myself well, that’s still very much a project in progress!) but some goals have transformed and shifted, and that was both surprising and satisfying. I’m hoping to share more about these changes later this fall both out of respect for current clients and to get my thoughts together in an articulate and strategic way.

And July is the start of an eight week period of what I hope isn’t chaos in my business and life but could easily be so. This week we have a family road trip to Canada for my friend Ashley’s wedding, which we are thrilled to be attending as guests. But I am also doing her flowers so this requires a different approach to packing our car up and planning out our trip. From there it’s back home to prep for a very large floral event, another family road trip to North Carolina, and then two large back to back events before August 18th. Every little bit of my time that’s not been spent enjoying the hot summer sun with my boys has been used to prepare for this upcoming schedule.

So let’s review my June goals:

• Submit a special project outline to a trusted friend for feedback (done)
• Have a nice visit with my dad when he visits us mid-month (done)
• Take an entire week of off all social media and content channels (semi-done)
• Organize our Boys’ Bins and share a blog post about this project! (done!)
• Blog five intentional blog posts throughout the entire month (done)
• Send out an awesome summer newsletter (done!)
• Clean out under our bed finally and tackle the car glove box (blah!)
• Visit Oval Beach twice, bonus if both visits happen in June (semi-done!)
• Replace the broken frame from our Legacy Wall with a print of Ev (ordered!)
• Read: The Glass Castle, You Who, and Holding Up the Universe (1/3 done)
• Go on two kid-free midday lunch dates with my husband (semi-done)
• Find an iron-rich, vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe! (guys, help!)

Rescheduled Goals: 

• Blog my perspective behind my Keeping the Peace vision (I promise I will get around to this!)
• Finish organizing the garage so Andrew’s car can fit in there too (wedding season took us a few steps back).

And in an effort to hopefully cross off rescheduled goals on top of accomplishing ones set for July, below is what’s on the docket for the next four weeks. I am hoping to keep things overly simple in July by being over-prepared for my many commitments. I plan to do this with a ‘conquer and soar’ approach and if you read my summer newsletter you’ll know what that means! Instead of surviving, I want to finish out the next two months by thriving.

My July goals:

• Have a wonderful time designing flowers for Ash and celebrating her and Matt’s marriage
• Enjoy our first official wedding of the season with a new team and dynamic approach
• Rock out my presentation at The School of Styling and learn new things from others
• Over-deliver and beautiful execute our August 3rd private residence wedding
• Keep The Peace throughout the month, and finally blog what this means for me

And a couple weekly goals to help me make it happen in July:

• Eat clean with no dairy or gluten
• In bed by 11:00 pm or earlier
• Keep home clutter to a minimum
• Stay on top of my pumping schedule
• Be disciplined with my decisions

As always, feel free to join in the conversation below and link to your monthly goals! Xo