- Hello, and welcome to this week's episode
of the Wedding Lounge podcast.
This week, we are talking about our shits bags.
- Yay, you.
- No, you might be wondering all what a kit bag is,
but as a wedding planner or coordinator,
we bring things with us on the day
to help us deal with any issues that may arise
or just things that we need throughout the day, really,
to help people's celebrations go for that hitch.
- Exactly, and it's not something that you necessarily need,
but hopefully, if we let you know what's in us
and there might be something you think,
oh, it'll be good to have that in the background,
just in case, definitely.
And I don't know about you Natasha,
but I've found that every event I've gone to,
I maybe haven't got, you're like, oh, actually,
that would be really handy
so I added into my kit the next time.
- Yeah, yeah, I agree.
And then I found that my kit bags were juiced over the years.
Like, the more recent years,
there's been less that I've needed to bring,
and I think that's to do with the scale of the events
that I'm now entering. - Yeah, I agree.
- I think past the stuff in my kit,
I've had someone who started, and I don't need,
like, I actually have in their spare table numbers,
I have never ever used them.
Because all of my clients, we obviously plan well in advance,
and they often don't have numbers.
They've got names. - Thanks.
- So things like that,
I'd probably need to have a good clear out and get rid of.
- Yeah, I think it's one of those things as well.
I do it every, for every season.
- I like them.
- It's to your my kit box,
out, re-sort it, re-jig it,
because obviously, things get just taken out
and thrown back in each time.
So by the end of the season,
it doesn't look anywhere near as tidy as it does at the beginning.
But what do you have your kit box in?
- Mine is just in a big box, literally.
- Yes.
- Yours is very neat, and all my makeup trolley.
- You do, and I love that.
But I've just not found one I like enough.
- Yeah, to be fair, I've got mine,
it is quite well organized.
I definitely have the top bit,
which I just throw things in.
But I do think that there's whole sections that I don't use.
I mean, I did once actually have to use my example speech cards
for a groom.
I have it just little small cards
and I have to write a few bullet points for a groom.
- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah, that was an interesting one.
It's quite nice though,
and it's something that's on our list.
Is those speech cards,
even if someone's just got them written down on a piece of paper,
or even if they're using their phone,
just to have something nice for it to be in front of you.
I think makes such a difference to everyone else
watching rather than standing there with your phone.
- I personally really cannot get on board with,
like it just looks so much nicer,
but even then, if they just had a name for a piece of paper,
but they had something that's just nice behind you,
it just is much more aesthetically pleasing in the photos.
- Definitely, definitely.
What do you think is one of the most used things in your kit bag?
- Oh, my screwdriver.
- Yes.
I've got one of those multi-way screwdrivers
that has all the bits in the handle.
- Yes.
- Well, I think that is one of my most used items.
That are my steamer.
- Yes, and lighters.
- Yes, lighters.
- Yes, lighters are used to every wedding of celebration.
- I think, what else do I use quite a bit, that?
- Scissors.
I find like surprises are after scissors and all.
- Or like a pen.
- Yes, pens, scissors, and I have spare buttonhole pins.
- Yes, me too.
- Yeah. - So handy.
- Because there's always that one buttonhole,
you go and try and put it through in the wrong place
and the buttonhole's too thick
and you're not spending the pin there.
- Or ribbons.
- Yeah, three time things.
- Yeah, and string.
I added fish in wire to my kit this summer,
or last summer I should say.
- That can be really handy to hang things
and it's like invisible.
- Yes.
- One of my favorite things,
which I haven't actually had to use,
but when I first started out,
I was assisting another wedding planner
that we both know, really.
And we had a much, beautiful marquee wedding,
but it was really windy and it was at someone's home.
During the speeches, the sides of the marquee
started actually blowing up
and we had nothing to pin the pace into the ground with.
- Oh my God.
- Because the father of the bride was doing his speech.
So as soon as he was finished talking,
we got him to get the mallet out of his shed,
but I now have a robber mallet.
- Yeah, I hit him on him.
- Yeah, as well.
- I mean, that was my first year
and I was like, I'm buying a mallet.
- So how should we do this?
Should we just list off each item
and explain why we have it in our kits?
- Well, let's have a talk about some of the things
and some things won't be relevant
for people if they're getting married in a venue.
Obviously, we have specialised in marquees.
You won't need a mallet if you're getting married
in a non-study home?
- Exactly, exactly.
Well, I'll let you start.
- So gas lighters, we already discussed lighting candles,
lighting the ovens in the kitchen as well,
like if, and I have about six.
- Yeah, I kick back.
- Because the more people that can light candles
and things like that, the better.
In my opinion, you just want to get them all lit
and all going.
And if one goes wrong, you'll be back up.
So yeah, I have about six of those.
And it's quite a handy thing just to have there as well,
like especially for your caterers.
If you can have open flames or naked flames,
or you have candles in vases or vessels.
If you've given a couple to your caterers in advance,
it'll help you and get everything done so much quicker as well.
- Definitely.
And I always make sure that I top mine up for every event.
- Yes, let's regast them.
- Yeah. - You can get USB chargeable ones now.
- You can't.
- That's very clever.
- Yeah, definitely.
You need those to light.
- Yeah.
- Although I tend to find that mine go missing in the winter.
My husband takes that and uses them around the house.
- And then I get to the summer,
which why I have a big thought out before this game
was outscore.
- Because they've all disappeared
and they're just dotted around the house.
- Yeah, I do check my kit for the summer,
but I'm not very good at things.
I don't.
- I'm always like a...
- Oh, but if I need this.
- Just in case.
- Yeah.
- We've mentioned button hold pins as well.
- Yeah, I have.
- Under sewing kit.
- Yeah.
- I mean, you have had the ultimate experience
of needing to sew up a...
- Yes.
- Direct.
- Yeah, I did sew in kit as I was having to sew up.
- Yeah, I mean, obviously you don't have every thread,
but just the basic color.
- The basic color.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, just a travel sewing kit is really handy.
And as well, I found I use the un-picker.
- Yes.
- So old rooms never think to un-pick the pockets
or undo the back of the suits.
- So you've got that cross-tekariki nice and straight.
- So forever on doing those?
- Yes, definitely.
That's really handy.
And another thing that's sort of related is crochet hook.
- We do.
- If you've got covered buttons
and you've got a little bit elastic.
- Remember, when I got mine, the pantas bride told my mum
to have a crochet hook on the wedding day.
- You know, it's a very clever.
- So I use that, but to be honest, it's a godsend.
Every time you wash a car seat,
you need to get a car seat, you can cover back on a car seat.
The crochet hook's like poke on the back of a kid.
They're really handy, a metal crochet hook.
It's a really handy thing to have.
- Hairspray?
- Yes, yeah.
- And I just think it's one of those things
that I think most rides or those grooms
who are very conscious of their hair
would have hairspray on them for their wedding day.
And it's just one of those things
to definitely have their little bags
and whatever you can go back and respray your hair.
- With tights.
- Yes.
- Yep.
- And I've got clear nail polish in my kit.
- Yep.
- To tights and tights.
- It loads of beauty products.
So I have things like sun tan lotion,
just in case someone's, you know,
or even like my cream, need it.
Like anti-san, I've definitely given anti-san
to caterers and to the guest before when they need it.
Yeah, paratha or sesame oil.
Although you've got to be careful, obviously,
about handing medicines out.
- Yes.
- I was tempted to put a form into my kit
and got people to sign that they'd had paracetamol,
just to be sure it's purposes.
But you tend to just say, like, you're not liable.
That things sort of bog standard medicines
that people might need.
- I always think sanitary products as well.
- Yes.
- And nappies.
- Yes.
- I've had a couple of occasions where a nappie
has been required in an emergency situation.
So just having a couple of nappies and sanitary products.
- Yeah.
- It's always been a very handy thing to have.
- Wet wipes, wet wipes, wet leather wet wipes.
- Yeah, and related to a nappie, it's like sanitary bag.
- Yes.
- To pick up dog poo at a venue before
where someone's dog had pooed on the lawn.
So we didn't have a poo bag or a sanitary bag.
- So yeah, well, that's a very good thing to have.
I mean, a poo bag kind of covers all those situations.
- Yeah.
- It should be a proper thick poo bag.
- Same removers.
- Yes.
- Oh my God, the best thing since sliced bread
is to take stain removers from you.
You can get that dry cleaning fluid that's very good.
There's that new talon ash.
I keep getting advertised there.
Have you seen this?
- No.
- It's like a stain remover pen,
which takes out, you know, makeup, loads of things.
- I mean, I find a baby wipe is really good at getting stains out.
- It should get something quickly.
- Yeah, quick, quick enough.
- But a stain remover pen is a bit of a godsend on any shirt.
- Yeah.
- Like that,
especially if you're planning on doing your speeches later on.
- Yeah.
- Or having photographs later on,
and you need to let you need to look clean and resentful.
You want to be able to get those stains out,
don't you?
Just in case I have a big bit of chalk as well,
because people said you can like chalk over a stain.
- Well, that's interesting.
- Like a big wipe bit of chalk.
- Yeah, I've never used it on someone's clothing before.
- And maybe test that.
- Yeah.
- But I guess on a wipe dress, just to put a bit of white on
to cover up any stains.
Now, you all that you won't need to necessarily think
of all of these things,
that some of these things you might be like, actually,
I'm prone to spilling red wine on me.
- Yeah.
- I might take a special shirt.
- Or you can just, especially if you're in a dry, higher venue,
have a box that you take with you of stuff
that someone else can use as well.
- Yeah, exactly.
- Like just in case of an emergency situation,
you don't want to be running around in your suit or dress.
- And a lot of this people tend to put in toiletries,
like the sort of hair stuff, the sanitary products,
and guns and things, and suntan motions,
and runnys and paracetamol in like a little basket.
- In the loose, yeah.
- So that people have them,
which is also really helps your guest, doesn't it?
- Now, something I know couples probably won't think about,
but the most used product out of your kit bag
when you've assisted me, oh my god,
is your Bissell, which is essentially a brush
for carpets.
- Yeah, it's like a little manual hoover.
- Yeah, you don't need to plug it in.
- Oh, I've actually bought one.
- Have you?
- Yeah, I bought one for the season.
- Susie, who we had on recently.
- She mentioned one years ago, and I was like,
I'm gonna get one.
- Yeah, it's absolutely genius.
- Yeah, and you don't need power.
- Yeah, you don't need power.
And just those little bits in the corner
or whatever, you can just quickly always them up,
and it's not a problem at all.
- No, I actually have a few spare tablecloths.
- And that's not because.
- That's not because I bought them specifically
for it.
I had them for Savannah's first birthday,
and they're wiped, they're from next,
wiped, and they have like small little pom-poms,
like tiny little pom-poms on them.
And I just thought I've got them sat at home.
I just chucked them in my car for those
just in case moments.
- Yeah.
- And one of my first coordinating jobs, actually,
they hadn't got enough linen,
the cage was when I thought I'd have linen.
- The cage table.
- Oh, so I had to put it on.
- It would be like the cage table or a bar table.
- For something like that.
- Like a gift table, tables that you don't necessarily
when carved, eagerly, when you think of your,
everyone dangling.
Just have a few, or if you're ordering linen
for your own wedding, just order a few spare.
- Yeah.
- Umbrellas?
- Yes.
- Do you have Umbrellas?
- I don't.
No, but I always have an Umbrellat in the boot of my car.
- Yeah.
- And I sort of just leave it there,
but I tend to find that people will look at the weather
and they are fairly well prepared when it comes to Umbrellas,
unless there's like a sudden outpouring rain.
And usually it's kind of like a case where people embrace it.
- Yeah, I've not actually had to get it out.
My first ever wedding,
which we've spoken about on a previous episode,
where the field flooded.
- Yeah.
- For us was actually attending the wedding as a guest.
And I rung him up and I went,
this is ridiculous.
The heavens have just opened.
When you go home, please get all of Umbrellas.
And we seem to have at home a ridiculous stock of Umbrellas,
'cause I took them all from my parents.
That's after we lost my dad,
'cause for some reason I got sentimental of that look.
- So you have like 30 Umbrellas?
- Oh wow.
- I took them all.
I was just like, at least guests can get from the bus,
which couldn't get in the field anymore,
into the marquee.
So we had all these Umbrellas for all the guests.
I think by that point it had dried out, fortunately,
but I needed him to like run and grab them all immediately.
- I have a few white ones,
but it was someone who was packing up their wedding business,
kindly gave me their white Umbrellas.
To honest, I used them.
I had my team use them at my very wet 60th birthday party
last year.
And one meant me saying, 'cause I think they lent it to someone.
And yeah, because it was a farm and it was wet,
and they had been dust and brown as well.
I really clean them this winter.
But I don't find that they're often used to having them
in the car, but I never read them out.
- But it's better to have it that they're not happy yet.
- Yeah, that's one of those things, my thing.
- But I guess I'm not an Umbreller person either.
- No, I never found that a whole big weird thing.
- I don't think I heard up if it's raining.
- No, I also saw it, I'll just run across in the rain.
- What I do find very helpful, though,
is I have a stack of place cards and a few pens
in different colours, 'cause just occasionally
you'll have a last minute change, a last minute addition,
and just be able to write their place cards.
So they've been hitting, even if you can't change
a table plan or anything like that,
you'd say they have a place card in there.
- Yeah, I've got just, I know they're just white,
and they might not fit the aesthetic,
but at least it's something, isn't it?
So if you are ordering your own station,
you may be able to get a few spares.
- Yes.
- And leave them with your venue in a table place
with your coordinator or someone to have them put up.
- Now safety pins.
- We mentioned the sewing kit, didn't we?
- We mentioned the sewing kit earlier,
and our safety pins, they are the thing
that seem to get used and used time and time again.
- Yeah, safety pins are really handy,
and I've actually used super glue before, one wedding.
- Oh, yeah, I used super glue all the time.
- And I used it while medding,
and it was the wedding that I helped you with.
- Yeah, and the family friend had bought the cake down,
and the top I had broken in the past.
- Yeah, that's a stack of the ethics.
- Yeah, that's it.
And now that I've got super glue in my kit,
and you were like brilliant,
I'll leave you to deal with that one.
- Yeah.
- You were sort of something else.
- Yeah, but I've got the super glue,
the cakes, top it back together.
- I also randomly have an Aulks cables and Aulks cables.
- Yes, I think this is an Aulks cable.
- It's literally the one that goes from like,
sound input to, so it can literally go from phone
into speaker.
- Yeah, that, I mean, that is.
- And then it's been able to have,
- Do you always have headphones?
- No, it's not, it's now on a phone.
- No, they don't.
They just have a lightning socket, don't they?
- I have a power bank.
- Yes, I'm a phone charger.
That gets used quite quickly.
- Yeah, the power bank's always being used.
- And I have torch.
Oh, do you know what, I don't have a torch.
I should think that's genius.
And actually, I came across someone
who had a teeny tiny little torch
on their car keys the other day,
and I thought that was brilliant.
That is so good.
- And it was fantastic.
But just when you're wandering around the back of a tent,
which isn't always the best lit,
you're not going to, you're gesticulating about a head torch.
- Head torch, Jamie, Jamie has a head torch at home.
And so if I'm doing something,
like I was diving in the loft recently,
and loft, that's very American.
- Yeah, I was diving in the attic
and I had the head torch on, you know, look, like,
oh my God, what is it?
One of the kids had a splinter or something the other day.
And I needed, so I had the head torch on, pointing.
- But I did have a head torch, did you get it?
- Yeah, I never take it, right?
- By some mattresses present, can I have a head torch?
- Sure, my dad bought my mom a head torch once for Christmas.
How did that go down?
- Really well, it was a joke present for you.
My mom is notoriously good at guessing
what it is that she's in the bought.
So my dad just started buying her random presents.
One was a head torch with a pair of earrings,
self-tape to the back of it.
So she couldn't guess that it was a pair of earrings
was the actual gift.
- Yes, her.
- Head torch.
- Oh, I love it.
I definitely think I need to add that.
I just remind my phone to be honest.
- Yeah, but then you're trying to carry something
or anything like that.
A head torch is definitely a way forward.
And the other thing I have in my kit bag
that is my most important thing is snacks.
- Oh, yes.
I think half my kit bag is made up of snacks.
- Will I take a separate hold back?
- Yeah, Luke, I mean, I have got to change this season
'cause I've been working with a nutritionist.
But last year, my snacks were myself,
like Maryland Cookies, Pepper Army,
Luke Zays, sausage rolls, like, I used to drink coffee
out of the lized coffee.
- You did out of the thing, just to get me through,
but I'm gonna try and be a bit more healthy this year, I think.
- That's it for my kit bag.
- I mean, I was trying to think about mine
and I've got different layers.
I've got like heel stoppers, pastas.
- Yeah, pastas are a handy one to have.
But again, people might be allergic to them,
so you can get in care for them.
- Yeah.
I mean, if you've got children attending your wedding,
you would have thought about this,
but I also have some crayons just in case
that there's a kid that needs entertaining, but I think a lot
of my kit I don't need and I don't use.
I have nail polish remover, get like glues
and yeah, the desive of things.
- Glossier. - Inner and cloth.
- Yeah. - Blue roll.
- I have cloth.
Yeah, I don't actually have blue roll.
I think I've pitched more, but I think
yeah, blue roll is a good one.
And I have a toolkit.
My dad's got me a pink toolkit.
- Which stays in my kit.
- I love it.
- Steamer, do we say steamer?
- I think we touched on the steamer at the beginning,
yes, but we did actually say that we use,
we said that's one of the most used things in our kit.
- I bet. - Yes.
- A steamer is one of those things
that I think it's really important to have.
- Yeah, especially in the morning.
And then having one on-site for like those edges
of tablecloths and can sometimes look a bit.
I mean, it depends where you are if you're in a venue
as to whether or not you can access it before,
but I always try and take the linen and iron it before.
So then it's just a case of steaming out the tiny little bits
rather than doing a full on thing.
- Yeah.
- Well, there's lots of things to think about.
And you won't, as we've said,
you won't have this all in your kit for your wedding day.
But it's just things to think about
that it might just be handy to have together.
- Contemplate where it is you're getting married
and what things they might not necessarily have there
that you might need going forward.
- So Natasha, what would your tip be for,
while listening is just on sort of a key thing to have?
- I would like have said,
think about where it is you're getting married,
think about what things might need thinking about
that a supply might not necessarily have thought of.
So things like, well, it's nice to prep some snacks
for your supplies.
- A mini sewing kit.
- Yeah, definitely mini sewing kit.
- I would, I think by the point that you might need them,
things like extra spepins for your buttonholes
might be a bit too late.
- Yeah.
- And things that you'd need in the morning
maybe don't take down to the venue.
But just have a little thing about with,
there's any last minute bits that might see picking up.
So yeah, lighters if you need them.
And I'd go with the big clicky ones
where you can put your finger through it
and click it rather than like a lighter
which you have to flick with your thumb.
- Yeah, nice.
- They're really tricky to use.
- By the time you've lit those candles,
things that you'll just really have.
- Scene removers, wipes,
and maybe a screwdriver or torch.
- Because most of your toiletries
you probably have out there.
- For your guests to use as well.
So you won't need to think about this.
- No, currently.
- I've just thought actually that when I got married,
shout out to the Pentals bride again,
as well as saying about the crochet hook.
They also, with the dress that I bought,
I got a little on the day kit.
So some thread in the colour, a few spare buttons
and things like that.
- Oh, that's a pain with a little kit
that I could just put in my clutch bag
or something on the day.
So you might find your dress shop just that.
- Yeah, that's really nice.
What do we do next week if you've got another guest up?
- We have, indeed, we've got a very special guest.
So tune in next week for that.
We will see you then.