I love and look forward to all my
weddings, but having gotten to know Katie and Yannick so well in the lead up to
their big day, this was one wedding I was really looking forward to. With COVID
rearing it’s ugly head Katie and Yannick had been through so much and had been
forced to postpone their big day three times. Wanting to help as much as I could, I had been there for Katie and Yannick
throughout their planning stages and had helped with suggestions and
recommendations each time a new date had been scheduled. As you can
imagine I couldn’t wait to coordinate and share their big day with them both at
the beautiful Smedmore House on the Jurassic Coast.
With the excitement building, NO
guest number restrictions, NO compulsory face masks, live music and dancing
allowed and NO new restrictions enforced by Boris, Katie and Yannick’s big day
was fast approaching. With the amendments made to their time plan, Katie and
Yannick’s tailored schedule was ready and waiting for its big debut!
My son had tested positive for
Covid, eleven days before Katie & Yannick’s wedding day. I knew that if I
managed to stay Covid free within our 10 days of isolation, I would still be
able to coordinate their big day. However, this wasn’t to be and by day 7 of our
isolation, Covid grabbed me by the horns, threw me over its shoulders and
smacked me in the face with a great big positive test!!
After everything they
had been through I can’t tell you how devastated I was knowing I wouldn’t be
able to see Katie and Yannick finally tie the knot.
As a coordinator it’s second
nature for me to want to solve any problem, so my next mission was to find
someone I could trust to coordinate Katie and Yannick’s wedding, as I would. My
team were Covid free so I knew they would be ok, but I needed someone to look
out for them and to make sure all the jobs were done, as well as making sure
Katie and Yannick were happy and enjoying their day.
A couple of months before, I had met up with Stacey Page, whom I knew if she was available and happy
to help, then Katie and Yannick would be in safe hands. When Stacey
said YES she could help, a huge wave of relief washed over me. I was so
grateful, as it is so important to be able to help and support each other’s
small businesses. Now more than ever, with the effect this awful virus has had
on the wedding industry and not knowing when it might just get one of us!
The email I dreaded ever having
to send to anyone was about to happen, but I was so relieved Katie and Yannick
took my sad news well and were very happy I was able to clone myself for their
wedding day!
After several conversations with Stacey and my team, I was able to
handover my time plan and information with confidence that everything would run
smoothly.
On the day of Katie and Yannick’s
big day I sat at home coughing, sneezing and generally feeling rotten but also
desperate to know how their day was going. Phone glued to my side, I
made sure my team could contact me whenever they needed, with any questions or
concerns they might have. I can honestly say there is nothing worse than
desperately wanting to be somewhere but knowing you can’t!
However, I didn’t need to worry,
wearing my Tasha-Mae aprons the girls all worked well together and I had
nothing but great feedback on how everything went, especially from Katie and
Yannick who left a wonderful review ...
There were many different jobs
Katie and Yannick needed help with, which as always my experienced and
professional team executed perfectly. That is the beauty of my co-ordination
services, as we really can fill in the gaps with the jobs the other suppliers
aren’t doing for you.
Setting up the drinks station for
the welcome reception was first on the list for Katie and Yannick’s day. With a
wide variety of drinks to choose from, there was a lot to set out. Pimms, Rose
wine, bottled beers, champagne and the water dispensers topped with cucumber in
one and lemon in the other.
Serving the drinks is always important and of
course filling up the guests glasses as they finish...
There were lots of suppliers to meet and ensure were
ok, such as the wonderful Mark and Sara from
Atlas Photography
who took all of these fabulous images.
Also,
Bournemouth Crazy Golf Hire
who were a great addition
to the afternoons entertainment.
There was also Becky Corbett, the saxophonist who
played at the ceremony and then later in the evening, alongside Mark from LUVWED
with his awesome Ibiza tunes.
After the ceremony, the chairs
were moved to the marquee by the strong chaps of the wedding party, where my team put them around
the tables ready for the wedding breakfast.
Just inside the marquee was a
beautiful table plan with matching table numbers telling the guests where to sit.
When the guests found their table
they were met by the most amazing LEGO name places showing them which seat was theirs.
Everyone loves LEGO, so to find a LEGO person personalised to each guest was
such a fabulous touch and...
Before the guests took a seat the
girls put bottles of wine and water on each table, as well as filling all the
toast flutes ready for the speeches. Katie wanted to say a few words and Yannick was keen to say his speech at the
beginning of the wedding breakfast, so he could relax and actually enjoy his
meal.
My response to that
question is...
Of course, there are still the traditional suggestions, but weddings have
changed so much, that nowadays you can do whatever you want. My top tip is...
Once the guests were eating a delicious
meal prepared by Crab Apple Catering, Sam, Hayley, Abbey and Stacey cleared the
beautiful walled garden of the welcome drinks station and any dirty glasses
that were lying around.
The next job was to stock the
free bar ready for the evening with a huge selection of spirits, mixers, beer
and wine.
Making sure the drinks were
stocked up, the ice bucket was full and the sliced fruits were out ready, the
bar was ready to party!
Between them the girls served on the bar and cleared
and squirrelled away all the glasses from the tables, as now the evening party
had started the glassware was changing over to disposable cups. This is one
suggestion I always make to my couples. After several drinks it can often mean
several breakages and it is difficult to get every shard of broken glass from
the coir matting of a marquee or from amongst the grass of an outdoor wedding.
With the temptation to kick off your shoes and get your dancing feet on,
bio-degradable cups are definitely a good idea to avoid any possible accidents!
Time prompting is always high on
my list of jobs as no one wants to be looking at their watch on their wedding
day. With the speeches already done, the first dance and cutting of the cake
needed prompting in order to keep to the time-plan.
Once the cake was cut by Katie
and Yannick, two of my team members took the cake away to cut in to smaller
pieces, so the guests could help themselves to it during the evening.
The first dance is always lovely
to watch and those confetti cannons looked so much fun.
Oh, and I can’t not mention how
much I love the fact Katie slipped off to change into a bridal jumpsuit after
the first dance, so she could hit that dancefloor hard...
My team were kept really busy
serving on the bar...
As my team’s day came to an end,
they fully stocked what would now become a DIY bar and moved the cards and
gifts into the house to keep them safe before they left.
Even though I sadly couldn’t be at
Katie and Yannick’s wedding, hopefully this blog helps you understand how I help my
couples prior to their big day and also the huge variety of jobs we get up to
on the day itself.
If you need help like Katie and
Yannick did with ‘On the Day’ wedding coordination, then don’t hesitate to get
in touch as I would love to chat with you about your wedding
requirements.
A huge congratulations to Katie
and Yannick on making their dream day happen and tying the knot.
