Double Headers: Tips to Successfully Manage More Than One Wedding A Weekend
One of the biggest challenges wedding planners around the world will be soon facing is the shift of postponed weddings to 2021 combined with new bookings. Now more than ever you might feel lack of control of your calendar as you look ahead to more than one wedding per weekend. That might be a big change for you and might seem scary. But it’s doesn’t have to be - especially if you have a plan. So today, we wanted to share some of our tips to help you successfully navigate multiple weddings in one weekend.
Know You Can Do This
Confidence is key. Take a deep breath and remember that you are a badass planner or coordinator and you got this. While multiple events on a weekend might not be your norm - it is definitely something you can handle. We promise - we believe in you!
Have a Dialed Process
It's important to have every detail for each wedding confirmed and double (maybe triple) checked. Your timeline, your personal items list, your layouts, your rental orders and vendor contracts - those should be dialed as soon as possible and be sure to include all the notes you can. Once you have the final guest list, seating and final details make sure your documents are precise and clearly map out the plan.
If you feel like you have room to make some improvements in your planning process or workflow, work on those now.
Be Proactive
A successful wedding day has always been about the planning timeline and when it comes to the good ‘ol double header. Whatever software or program you use to manage your planning deadlines, move your due dates up one or two weeks. Have final counts, decisions, and deliverables due earlier, send out confirmations sooner, get final final notes way ahead of schedule. This gives you more time to fine tune the details and give the individual attention to each project without feeling buried. The key here is to build in some breathing room for yourself and your vendor team if something were to go awry.
Prep Your Team
You might already have this in your work flow - but for large scale events or extra busy weekends we highly recommend a team call to review the details of the event ahead of time. Send over the documents, schedule a call and answer questions ahead of the event day. This saves time, helps ensure the details make sense and allows you all to do better.
Extra Staffing
A wedding weekend is already physically and emotionally challenging. As much as you would like to be a superhero, you can't always expect your body and mind to be 100%. We recommend adding an extra team member to each event as well as scheduling the support staff to start early and go late. This scheduling and added support will be worth every penny!
Hold Off On Social Media
Before we dive into this point, we want to remind you that you should inform both of your clients that you have two weddings that weekend. Avoiding surprises is always good form and you want to be transparent with them. That being said, even though your couples will know that you have two weddings, we recommend not posting much on social media while you are working the first wedding of the weekend. It can cause confusion with vendors and anxiety for the second client.
If you wait until early the next week to post you can celebrate both couples and likely use the sneak peek professional images.
Take Care of Your Health
Think of this as your super bowl! So, in preparation, you need to make sure your health, diet, sleep, and hydration are a top priority.
Eat well all week - try to limit your sugar and caffeine so you can also make sleep a top priority.
Stay hydrated - Drink lots of water! Heather’s favorite is Liquid IV to help booth hydration when it feels like you are too busy to get your daily ounces.
Be mindful - we both are fans of meditation before big events and a double header is the perfect reason to pop on that meditation in the morning and or evening to give your mind the pause and rest it needs.
Since we all know calling in sick is not an option, Lindsay has a tried and true immunity regime she loves. (While all of these are over the counter products, please be sure to consult with your doctor if you have any questions!)
Elderberry syrup (we love one from Honey Gardens),
Yes, all of these! Take the normal dosage of each starting when you feel run down or in preparation a week or two before your double header.
Up your Shoe Game
Nothing slows you down like sore feet and an aching back. Bring a well planned shoe game. Heather likes the three shoe rotation - set up shoes, event shoes and strike shoes. Usually tennis shoes with socks for set up, flats or loafers for event time and then black slip ons or all black tennis shoes for clean up.
Here are a few of our favorites
TIEKS: After Tieks are broken in, they are perfect for long wedding days. While Tieks are on the pricey side, they are also durable, comfortable and last forever. For an added bonus, they roll up, making them easy for storing in a bag! Tieks come in a variety of colors and patterns, so you are sure to find a pair you will love.
CROC SIENNA FLAT: Yes, I'm sure seeing the word "Crocs" probably scared you. While typical Crocs are not the most attractive shoes, the Croc Sienna flats are both extremely comfy and cute! These shoes have padding like normal Crocs, but look like a typical ballet flat, giving you the best of both worlds.
LUCKY BRAND BALLET FLATS: These flats are awesome because they have gel padding on the bottom, which provide lasting support throughout the day. Lucky Brand Ballet Flats are mid-range in price, durable and simple. If you're looking for a basic yet classic flat, these are the shoes for you!
DEXFLEX COMFORT BALLET FLATS: Dexflex Comfort Ballet Flats are (as the name implies) comfortable, cute and inexpensive--which is great, because we go through shoes quickly as planners! Payless offers many different styles of flats in multiple colors. You can easily find a pair online that fits your style and your price range!
Melissa Women’s Queen V Flat: The Melissa Women’s Queen V Flat is about $29.99 but they clean so easily and are super comfortable and also look cute!
Plan Your Recovery
After event one, be sure you drink water, get as much sleep as possible and wear compression socks before bed or while sleeping.
The next morning be sure you get a hearty breakfast and have water and snacks on hand.
Schedule Down Time
After both successful events - be sure to plan some down time. You might not want to but you will need it. Try to plan a day off, unplugged and include some self care. Pedicures or massages are a planners best friend!
You got this friends!
We will be cheering you on,
Heather & Lindsay