A Piece of Harmony Events: FAQ Blog

As I was making my blogging calendar for 2023, I realized that in the 3 years I have been posting to this blog I have yet to do a frequently asked questions post! So, I decided it was high time that topic makes the list for this year and today I am going to answer five of the most common questions that I get during initial consultations. My hope is that this blog helps answer some of those lingering questions you may have if you are hesitating filling out that contact form and helps give you peace of mind that you are dealing with a true, experienced professional.

1.  Do you come to rehearsal and tell us where to stand? Yes absolutely! This is an extremely common question, and you bet I will block out time for not only the entire wedding day but usually an hour or two for rehearsal prior to the wedding day (typically scheduled with the venue for the day or two days before the wedding). The rehearsal is important because it gives your wedding party a chance to check out the venue prior to the wedding ceremony, to understand where they are walking from, when they are supposed to walk, how they are supposed to stand at the altar, when to walk out of the ceremony after you say “I do”, and where to go after the ceremony recessional concludes. Your wedding party is going to want to make sure they are doing exactly what you want them to do and feel comfortable doing it – that is what a wedding rehearsal helps accomplish and I will be there to help.

2.  Do you help create a timeline for the wedding day? Yes, without fail! A day-of timeline is absolutely vital for your wedding day. Is it ever going to be 100% perfect and run exactly how we have planned? Probably not. But without any kind of plan or timeline guidance for your vendors & guests, chaos will ensue. It is imperative to have a plan and timeline, but also to be flexible and know that if things end up off by 15 or 30 minutes, it will all be okay.

3.  Will we be working with you throughout the whole process, or do you have another planner on the day of the wedding who we will be working with? Just me! As I write this in June of 2023, I am still a small, one-man operation. For right now, I like it this way, and things will probably stay small for at least another couple of years. By keeping my operation small, I am able to pay more attention to each of my clients and ensure they are getting the full A Piece of Harmony Events experience – something that is very important to me!

4.  Will you bring an assistant with you on the day of the wedding? It depends. Do I have wedding day assistants on staff? Yes! Are they needed for every wedding? No, actually. Part of that initial consultation process for me is to really get a sense of your wedding vision and overall logistics of your day. Because rather than base this decision strictly off the number of people attending, I take a lot of the little logistics into consideration (i.e. what time can we arrive to the venue, are you wanting formal place settings set, is the wedding in two places or just one, etc., etc.). If I feel that a second set of hands is necessary, we will have that conversation right up front because my Wedding Day Management Package doesn’t automatically include a day-of assistant, since it is not always necessary. I have learned over the years I am capable of accomplishing a lot of things (with the proper time allotment), so I know when that extra set of hands is absolutely going to be a benefit to your day and when I can handle the logistics with my own two hands. 

5.  How do you handle high stress situations? I actually love getting this question because I can confidently reply, “with grace”! Over the last 9 years of being in the wedding industry I have seen my fair share of crazy stories and things that have certainly not going according to plan, requiring some crisis management skills. Back when I was venue manager for a local venue, 2 days before an 800-person event the venue suffered a devastating fire. Along with the amazing team onsite, we put the venue back together and troubleshooted every situation that came our way to host an absolutely stunning wedding for a wonderful couple just 12 days later. Another instance where I had to quickly think on my feet was when I showed up to the venue on the day of a wedding only to discover the cooler where the flowers were being stored had malfunctioned and froze half the centerpiece florals and part of the bridal bouquet. Yikes, right?! Lucky for me I have lots of amazing vendor contacts. I worked quickly to call in a favor, get some new (similar) flowers delivered, and together with the help of an amazing florist, we were able to replace and put back together all the centerpieces & bouquet. Everything turned out wonderfully and the couple never even knew (still doesn’t in fact… shhhh…). More recently we dealt with the situation that everyone should prepare for in the Inland Northwest but wants to ignore – rain on your wedding day. After watching the radar for hours, it was looking like the storm was going to pass right over the venue; however, less than a minute after this (super awesome and chill) couple said “I do” it started POURING. And it poured for a good 3 hours. Quickly, with the help of the venue staff, we all kept calm, directed the guests into the reception tent, greeted them with appetizers and drinks, turned on the heaters, and put plenty of umbrellas by the tent entrances so when someone needed to leave the covered comfort to go to the bathroom they didn’t have to get wet or run in heels. All that to say, I have dealt with a large range of situations since 2014 and problem-solved each one! The key is to stay calm and be solution-oriented versus focusing on the negative. We can only control what we can control, and by the end of the day if you are married to your best friend then the biggest goal is successfully accomplished!! 

Hopefully you feel more ready and prepared to fill out that contact form! Do you still have questions? Let’s start that conversation because I am here to answer any and all remaining questions you have during that consultation phone call. My goal is for you to get off the phone with great confidence that your day is going to run smoothly, and the planning process is going to be way more fun than stressful. Let’s create some magic together!!

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