3 Details You Are Probably Forgetting When Planning Your Wedding

If you’re planning a wedding right now, you probably feel like you are juggling a million things at once, while also trying to make sure you haven't forgotten anything. Vendors and their expertise can be helpful with details you might not have even thought of, but maybe you are using a non-traditional vendor, like restaurant catering (instead of full-service catering) or doing a backyard or park wedding instead of at a professional venue. Things can fall through the cracks at any wedding; that's why it's so nice to have a wedding coordinator. When I take over wedding coordination for nearlyweds, these are the three most common gaps I catch in details they forget when planning their weddings.

Water Service

Something as simple as water is such an easy thing to forget. Especially if you are getting married in the summer heat, it's important to keep your guests hydrated. With full-service catering comes a catering staff that can handle things like water service, but even then, if you have a separate bartender you don't want them assuming the other is handling the water. Sometimes with catering staff you might have water pitchers or carafes on the guest tables, or you might want to opt for a self-serve station. Either way, you need to figure out who is keeping it full throughout the day and where that water is coming from. You may need to locate the nearest tap and at an outdoor venue that might be easier said than done. Also make sure you know who is handling the ice and making sure that water stays nice and cold. If you don't have staff for these things, be sure to delegate these tasks to friends or family members so the water dispenser never runs out.

Bussing Tables

Whether you are renting dinnerware or using disposables, the tables have to be cleared off. If you’ve gone for rented, someone also has to scrape clean those plates and get them ready to send back to the rental company, and every rental company is different about what state of cleanliness they require. If you have a full-service caterer with catering staff, this part is fairly easy, but if not, you may think the guests will bus their own tables. I hate to break it to you, they just will not. I've done enough weddings to know that it never happens, and now I always warn my clients that it's not going to. You will have to figure out who is going to bus the tables, even if it's just clearing disposables into the trash, and remember, the larger the wedding, the more hands you’re going to need to get it done. If you are relying on restaurant catering to bus tables, I recommend they stay till the very end of the event. Sometimes they head out right after the initial round of bussing tables, but you never know what is left on a table after more drinks and dessert, etc. Your bartender may even stick around to help clear up extra glasses, but make sure someone is still there at the very end to clean up whatever is left.

Trash

Venues often have very strict rules about trash, so this is definitely something you need to figure out ahead of time. Does your venue have a dumpster or do you have to figure out where the trash is going at the end of the night? Do you need to separate out recycling? Who is going to change the liner when the bin is full? Does your venue have enough bins? Especially if you are having a backyard wedding, you may want to rent some bins that are big enough to handle your event. Sometimes the caterer can handle the trash, but if so, they will need to be there until the very end when all the clean up is done. Some venues that do handle trash often have a maximum amount you can leave or don't allow you to dispose of all your floral on site. If so, make sure you know what's happening to the trash the venue will not accept.

Most importantly, with anything I've mentioned here or anything else in your wedding planning, don't make assumptions. You don't want to assume your bartender is handling water service, or your caterer is bussing tables, or your venue has a dumpster, and then find out the hard way that's not the case. It's always best to ask questions, double check and make sure everything is going according to plan, so you don't miss any details when planning your wedding.

Happy wedding planning,

Andy <3