The Planner's Edit with Desirée Adams: A Podcast for Wedding Planners and Pros (FKA Ask the Planner)

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineWho's excited to plan the "average" wedding of their dreams?! Nobody.How many times have you read an article that starts with something like, "On average . . . couples spend x amount on their wedding." Or, the average couple spends x amount on wedding flowers or wedding photography. I don't know about you, but I'm not excited to plan someone's average wedding. I don't think you've been dying to plan an average wedding either. So why should you expect to spend an "average" amount on your wedding vendors? All those inspirational images you're saving on Instagram or pinning on Pinterest were not from "average" weddings. Just saying. Want a better way of putting together your wedding budget? Visit my blog post Why Wedding Budget Calculators are Misleading at https://verveeventco.com/budgetcalculator. When putting together your budget, ask yourselves, "What are our priorities?" Some couples really value aesthetics, such as stationery, the tabletop, and decor. Others prioritize having a really good live band. It all comes down to what has the greatest impact for you and structuring the budget around that. If you think about it, when you go out for a nice meal, how much are you spending per person with alcohol? Think of your wedding as a nice meal, but you have to pay for the venue, invitations, and even the flowers, tables, and chairs. The costs quickly begin to add up. For more tips on putting together a wedding budget, visit my post "6 Steps to a Better Wedding Budget" at  https://verveeventco.com/weddingbudget/.According to The Knot, 45% of couples spend more on their budget than they originally planned by $7,000. The best way to avoid this kind of budget creep is to have realistic expectations about your wedding budget - and that doesn't mean using a wedding budget calculator on a website like The Knot or Wedding Wire. In the next set of tips, I'm going to expose the lies behind wedding budget calculators. Like Lie #1, A Magical calculator can predict how much you should spend on your wedding. I don't care how good their algorithm is or whatever they use to calculate your budget. An online calculator can't accurately predict how much you should spend on each item. There's no one-size fits all. It just doesn't exist. To find out more on what's a better predictor of your wedding budget, visit my blog post Why Wedding Budget Calculators are Misleading at https://verveeventco.com/budgetcalculator. If you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/STOP WONDERING IF YOU'RE ON BUDGET AND START MAKING A SPENDING PLAN. Grab my WEDDING BUDGET BUNDLE!  This wedding budget bundle maps out your budget per category, and also tracks who you need to pay and when. These spreadsheets are designed to help you get what you want, at a price you can afford. Know exactly how much you've paid and how much you still owe at a quick glance! 

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineToday’s topic is a BTS in how I stay organized with mine and my couple’s to-do list. I use Trello to both communicate with my couples and track all of our tasks. I like Trello because the basic version is free so anyone can use it, and it has a lot of features that make project management and organization fun and super easy. You could also do a lot of this with other project management tools like Asana, which I use in my business, or a Google spreadsheet. But after you listen to this episode, I think you’re really going to want to switch to Trello. Why Trello Beats Spreadsheets to Organize Your Wedding To-Do List1. STREAMLINED2. INTERACTIVE & COLLABORATE3. COLOR CODING BY TASKS OR CATEGORIES4. SETTING DUE DATES AND REMINDERS5. CHECKLISTS6. DEPOSITORY FOR ALL THE THINGS7. PLAN FROM ANYWHERE - MOBILE OR DESKTOPAnd, if you want to make your life SUPER EASY, you can visit my new Resources shop and purchase the Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist, which lists out everything you need to be doing month by month. And when I say everything, I mean everything. That planner you bought off Amazon or the one you’re using from The Knot has NOTHING on this checklist. I even have sub-checklists in some of the tasks with even more little pointers to help you keep track of your to-do’s. But now I’m getting ahead of myself. You can find the checklist at https://shop.verveeventco.com.As always, if you’re driving or working out, you can get the show notes at verveeventco.com/25 for the highlights or to hear the replay.If you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/. And if want to learn more about planning a wedding, send me a DM on Instagram at @asktheplannerpodcast

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineNOTES:On average, my couples hire 12-15 service providers, depending on their venue and the level of specialization. These vendors can include the planner, venue, caterer, photographer, hair & makeup, stationer, florist, tabletop rentals, videographer, lighting designer, transportation, entertainment, officiant, cocktail hour musician, ceremony musicians. Some people hire live entertainment acts, food trucks, and even people just to provide ice. That's a lot of coordinating!If you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/Enjoy access to a list of ALL of the initial emails I recommend for wedding vendors so that you never miss an important question you didn't know you should ask. Plus, I include quick tips that I wish I knew when I first started wedding planning. Please make sure you check out my WEDDING VENDOR EMAIL TEMPLATES AND INTERVIEW QUESTIONS in the Resource Shop at shop.verveeventco.com. 

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineTODAY we’re talking about booking basic wedding dessert knowledge that all couples need to know.This is such a great topic because dessert really rounds out the guest’s culinary experience at the wedding, and is going to be one of their last memories of your wedding, but a lot of couples think it’s just about tasting cake and that’s it.Read the episode show notes at verveeventco.com/23And, if you want to make your life SUPER EASY, you can visit my new Resources shop and purchase my wedding budget bundle, which takes SO MUCH out of the guesswork of budget creation. I’ve had people tell me already that it’s pointed out expenses they didn’t even think of. You can find the resource shop at shop.verveeventco.comIf you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/. And if want to learn more about planning a wedding, send me a DM on Instagram at @asktheplannerpodcast

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineNOTES:Did you know that most weddings have an average of 12 wedding vendors, but many of mine hire 30 or more. And then, each vendor breaks up their payments into at least 2 or 3 different installments. That’s easily 24-30 different payments you need to keep track of. In today’s episode, I give you some quick tips on how to make sure you don’t miss any of those payments and you send the right amount to the correct vendor. And if you want more wedding budget and payment tracking help, make sure you check out my wedding budget bundle in the Resource Shop at shop.verveeventco.com. 

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineYour budget is your spending plan for the whole wedding. It’s an expression of your priorities. If you don’t talk about it and put together a solid budget early in the process, you’re either going to run out of money or spend more than you planned. This episode will be helpful no matter where you are in the wedding planning process. If you’re just starting out, it will help make sure you have a good plan for your spending. If you’ve booked a lot of your vendors already, it will still be helpful because it will help you prioritize what’s left of your budget. Here are the 5 Main Factors that Drive Your Wedding BudgetLocation Guest Count Design Personal Style Time of Day Read the episode show notes at verveeventco.com/21And, if you want to make your life SUPER EASY, you can visit my new Resources shop and purchase my wedding budget bundle, which takes SO MUCH out of the guesswork of budget creation. I’ve had people tell me already that it’s pointed out expenses they didn’t even think of. You can find the resource shop at https://shop.verveeventco.comIf you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/. And if want to learn more about planning a wedding, send me a DM on Instagram at @asktheplannerpodcast

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineNOTES:How’s that wedding budget going? In today’s Wedding tip Wednesday, I’m calling out 2 popular misconceptions about Wedding Budgets that need to be cleared up. And in case you missed it, The Ask the Planner Resources Shop is now open! One of the first products I made sure to include in the shop is a wedding budgeting bundle, which comes with both a wedding budget template and a wedding vendor payment tracker. Make sure you use code Launch20 to get 20% off everything in your cart until the end of this month. But be careful. This code is limited to 1 use per customer, so make sure you get everything that you want before using the code. You can visit the shop at shop.verveeventco.com And now, on to today’s episode.According to The Knot, 45% of couples spend more on their budget than they originally planned by $7,000. The best way to avoid this kind of budget creep is to have realistic expectations about your wedding budget - and that doesn't mean using a wedding budget calculator on a website like The Knot or Wedding Wire. In the next set of tips, I'm going to expose the lies behind wedding budget calculators. Like Lie #1, A Magical calculator can predict how much you should spend on your wedding. I don't care how good their algorithm is or whatever they use to calculate your budget. An online calculator can't accurately predict how much you should spend on each item. There's no one-size fits all. It just doesn't exist. To find out more on what's a better predictor of your wedding budget, visit my blog post Why Wedding Budget Calculators are Misleading at https://verveeventco.com/budgetcalculatorWedding Budget Lie #2: Every wedding vendor's price will fall between a specific range.Guys, there are a lot of items that will affect how much a vendor charges - that's the beauty of capitalism. You have a choice as to how much you want to pay and they have a choice as to how much they need to charge! A couple of things that will definitely affect this will be their level of experience, quality of work, location, and the specific services you book. To find out better predictors of how much your vendors will actually cost, visit my blog post Why Wedding Budget Calculators are Misleading at https://verveeventco.com/budgetcalculator. 

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineYour wedding day timeline is used by all of your vendors to understand the flow of the wedding. It also can make or break your day because if things fall behind, it has a domino effect and the rest of the day can get really off the rails if something goes wrong. So it’s important to spend time putting together a solid day-of timeline.  I’m going to break down the process for you in 7 simple stepsStep 1: Pick the Start time for your Reception and CeremonyStep 2: Choose Your Reception End TimeStep 3: Build in time for Photos  Step 4: Choose a Getting Ready Start Time Step 5: Plan Out Your Dinner Step 6: Build in Transition TimeStep 7: Add in Your Vendor Setup & Departure TimesRead the episode show notes at verveeventco.com/19And, if you want to make your life SUPER EASY, you can visit my new Resources shop to download pre-made timelines that are beautiful and all ready for you to tweak and personalize to your specific day. These timelines use the framework I use with my own clients and will make sure you don’t forget very important elements, like travel time and transition time between key events. You can find the resource shop at https://shop.verveeventco.comIf you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/. And if want to learn more about planning a wedding, send me a DM on Instagram at @asktheplannerpodcast

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineNOTES:I love Trello and that's what my clients and I use to communicate and track all of our tasks. It's a free app and available on your computer and mobile device, so you never have to wonder what you should be working on. You can also set calendar reminders so you never miss a vendor payment. For more on wedding planning organization, check out my blogpost "The #1 Tool You Need to Organize your Wedding Checklist" at verveeventco.com/weddingchecklistIf you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/

Text the Wedding Planning HotlineToday we’re talking about how to pick the right wedding photographer for you and what criteria you should be using to evaluate your prospective photographers. This is such a great topic because I know so many couples book their wedding photographer first after the venue and wedding planner. Sometimes even before their planner. But they don’t have a lot of experience booking a vendor at this point, so I think a lot of this will apply to booking other vendors, too. Read the episode show notes at  verveeventco.com/17.----If you liked this episode, please SUBSCRIBE and connect with me at  http://asktheplannerpodcast.com/. ----And if want to learn more about planning a wedding, send me a DM on Instagram at @verveeventco.-----For more about Zola and Honeyfund, visithttps://verveeventco.com/zola  and https://verveeventco.com/honeyfund.