1 00:00:24,345 --> 00:00:29,625 Welcome back to the Wedding Lounge podcast. This week we are talking about 2 00:00:29,625 --> 00:00:35,385 a week of your wedding. Think that the week of your wedding it's a really funny one because it feels 3 00:00:35,385 --> 00:00:41,385 like it drags for a really long time. But it's really it's so full of anticipation and excitement. 4 00:00:41,385 --> 00:00:44,425 What did you do the week of your wedding just like dressing ever so slightly? 5 00:00:44,425 --> 00:00:51,705 So our marquee went up on the Tuesday and it was kind of like a slow rolling process. 6 00:00:51,705 --> 00:00:56,025 But you let off work and around? Yeah yeah I was. I mean I worked with my parents at the time. 7 00:00:56,025 --> 00:01:02,905 So it was quite lenient. Yes it was. Press worked up until the Friday and I think he might have 8 00:01:02,905 --> 00:01:09,545 just taken the Friday afternoon on work off work. But we did things like we used quite a lot of 9 00:01:09,545 --> 00:01:17,305 the fridges around the house so we were moving fridges. I had bought Ribbon that had said Mr and 10 00:01:17,305 --> 00:01:23,145 Mrs on it that I wanted all the napkins tied in. So you were doing so we were tying the napkins. 11 00:01:23,145 --> 00:01:30,185 We were you know moving the tables. I was doing spreadsheets for the florist. So on each table 12 00:01:30,185 --> 00:01:40,185 we had a different we had like an array of quite large lanterns and rots and vessels and vases 13 00:01:40,185 --> 00:01:46,585 and things. And rather than me just going here's all the stuff I've bought Kenny do what you want 14 00:01:46,585 --> 00:01:51,545 with the idea of him as a spreadsheet of what was going on what table which for him was a godsend 15 00:01:51,545 --> 00:01:56,585 yeah because he had never. Because you'd rather get it right and then do it and exactly. So I had 16 00:01:56,585 --> 00:02:02,425 pre planned all of that we'd set it all up. So it was kind of just lots of flitting about Thursday, 17 00:02:02,425 --> 00:02:07,945 nails, hair. You know with both your parents. You know with my parents yeah so Nick and Pip my 18 00:02:07,945 --> 00:02:12,505 in laws had come down on the Thursday we went out for dinner with them. Friday we'd obviously 19 00:02:12,505 --> 00:02:18,905 finished a lot of the set up but it was kind of like a whole week long event the marquee took two days 20 00:02:18,905 --> 00:02:24,585 to park. I think that's the main difference. I mean I got married in venues so we only had access 21 00:02:24,585 --> 00:02:30,025 the day before so the prep is slightly different. So I actually worked I think I worked on the Thursday. 22 00:02:30,025 --> 00:02:36,505 I remember one of my colleagues at the time who is somehow still a friend and laughing at me because 23 00:02:36,505 --> 00:02:40,105 she was like oh yeah going home on Thursday she should not get married till Saturday and I was 24 00:02:40,105 --> 00:02:45,625 like well we're setting up the venue tomorrow. So yeah I worked on the Thursday then I think I'd 25 00:02:45,625 --> 00:02:49,465 had everything packed up ready because we were in Kent and driving back to Sussex. I think I had 26 00:02:49,465 --> 00:02:54,105 everything organized ready. We didn't have children so I had like everything in that spare room or 27 00:02:54,105 --> 00:02:59,865 boxed up labeled ready to go. We went out for dinner just Jamie and I on the Thursday and then the 28 00:02:59,865 --> 00:03:05,865 Friday morning I drove over early to my mum's and one of my bridesmaids was down from Wales. We had 29 00:03:05,865 --> 00:03:09,865 our nails done at my mum's like had a lady come in and do those and then we went and helped set the 30 00:03:09,865 --> 00:03:15,945 venue and had like the church rehearsal. And Jamie what I retracted and he bails and things like 31 00:03:15,945 --> 00:03:20,505 that from Kent so we did sort of slightly different things on the Friday and then yeah Saturday so it 32 00:03:20,505 --> 00:03:25,625 was a lot sort of prep at the venue because obviously you only have a venue for a certain amount 33 00:03:25,625 --> 00:03:30,585 of time. It's a bit of a whirlwind experience. There's so much you can do before you reach that 34 00:03:30,585 --> 00:03:38,025 and to make sure you can blow in and be as efficient as possible. Place names is one of my favourite 35 00:03:38,025 --> 00:03:44,105 things to make sure I can do an advance is organising your place names so they are in order per table 36 00:03:44,105 --> 00:03:50,345 and so you can literally just go plonk plonk plonk was persons in seat one seat two seat three seat four 37 00:03:50,345 --> 00:03:55,545 yeah organising them with the table knife as well. Just make everything easier for whoever 38 00:03:55,545 --> 00:04:00,825 are setting up. Yeah, ironing table linen. Yeah I hate that one. I know I hate that one too but it 39 00:04:00,825 --> 00:04:05,865 looks so much better. It is so worth it. If you are able to get access to the table linen 40 00:04:05,865 --> 00:04:11,945 beforehand and you can spend a couple of hours doing that it's quite therapeutic when you get in 41 00:04:11,945 --> 00:04:16,505 the swing of it. You're just going to have the right space and a clean space to do that. I also think 42 00:04:16,505 --> 00:04:22,025 it's quite important not to change up your routine too much so when we were talking to Patrick a 43 00:04:22,025 --> 00:04:26,985 couple of weeks ago he said he went for a wet shave on the morning of his jacket and I was like 44 00:04:26,985 --> 00:04:33,945 that is a bold move because if you have sensitive skin I mean not had a wet shave before you could end 45 00:04:33,945 --> 00:04:38,985 up with a big old rash on your face. I think it's quite important. Those things are nice to do but 46 00:04:38,985 --> 00:04:45,385 maybe have a trial for you before you had to do something like that. I'm the same with ladies 47 00:04:45,385 --> 00:04:51,705 and facial nails. Yeah. Don't go and have a facial the week of your wedding because unless it's 48 00:04:51,705 --> 00:04:56,505 like a specific one that's not going to cause you to necessarily break out you don't want spots 49 00:04:56,505 --> 00:04:59,865 clearing on your wedding day because you've got to have a lovely facial thinking that your skin 50 00:04:59,865 --> 00:05:03,865 is going to be all lovely and glowy. So it's good to not pamper yourself and as you say get your 51 00:05:03,865 --> 00:05:07,705 nails done and things but just be a bit mindful about how you might react to something that you've 52 00:05:07,705 --> 00:05:13,305 not done before. And again I remember planning quite carefully with my hairdress that when I should 53 00:05:13,305 --> 00:05:18,025 wash my hair before my wedding. Yeah she told me do not wash it the morning of. Now you see this has 54 00:05:18,025 --> 00:05:24,425 changed a lot over the years. Do you think? Yeah because now people are advised to wash their hair. 55 00:05:24,425 --> 00:05:29,945 Well mine just so it just doesn't do anything. No. So like it needed to be because it's so fine and 56 00:05:29,945 --> 00:05:36,265 fly away. I'm literally stroking my hair here. It needed to be a little bit like dirty so it's 57 00:05:36,265 --> 00:05:41,065 stay in position because it's so focused straight and heavy. Then again your hairdresser might advise 58 00:05:41,065 --> 00:05:45,465 differently if you've got a different style of hair. But it's a conversation you want to have with 59 00:05:45,465 --> 00:05:50,825 your hairdresser. We're saying with your makeup artist and your skincare routine. And I would just 60 00:05:50,825 --> 00:05:56,185 spend the time in the evenings making sure you've got everything and in a sensible place 61 00:05:56,185 --> 00:06:02,745 work. Yes. Rather than feeling your rushing round on that Friday evening before you've got to get 62 00:06:02,745 --> 00:06:09,145 ready for your wedding on Saturday morning. Yeah. Just have everything ready to take the stress out. 63 00:06:09,145 --> 00:06:14,105 It is worth being prepared. And just do a little bit. You know the couple of weeks before just start 64 00:06:14,105 --> 00:06:19,545 doing a little bit of half an hour to order the names of the place cards. Yeah pending on number of 65 00:06:19,545 --> 00:06:25,465 guests that saves the mountain of time on the day. Yeah. You know just you could be watching TV and just 66 00:06:25,465 --> 00:06:32,825 sitting and doing it together. It's just doing doing the prep little bits by little bit like in advance 67 00:06:32,825 --> 00:06:37,945 and so that you're not stressed on the day. I think the first thing I would do is I was to do it all 68 00:06:37,945 --> 00:06:44,345 over again. It's right a big checklist. Yeah. And then break it down in today seeming you didn't have 69 00:06:44,345 --> 00:06:51,145 a checklist. I had 500 checklists but not one big yeah. I think like like all those little 70 00:06:51,145 --> 00:06:57,225 bits and bobs just having it all written down that you could tick off as you go in one place. 71 00:06:57,225 --> 00:07:01,785 That's just me telling that to me like every day life. I think but for most it's not. 72 00:07:01,785 --> 00:07:08,265 Yeah. Like we obviously do it because we do it at every wedding we go to things I write on my 73 00:07:08,265 --> 00:07:14,825 fridge planner. I like ridiculous. Like way the dog. Way the dog. Yeah just to make sure she's 74 00:07:14,825 --> 00:07:19,065 got to maintain her weights every Thursday every two weeks. I write way the dog on this. I remember 75 00:07:19,065 --> 00:07:23,865 the way her and make a note of it for the beds. I write all sorts on there like remember to upload my 76 00:07:23,865 --> 00:07:28,985 real synth gram. I do that like or remember to get the meat out of the freezer for the next day. 77 00:07:28,985 --> 00:07:33,545 All of that goes on my it's not like a diary. It's like my wall. It's a brain dump. It's a brain dump. 78 00:07:33,545 --> 00:07:39,465 Yeah. So have a wedding brain dump exactly. And then you just know it's all going to go through it. 79 00:07:39,465 --> 00:07:42,745 Yeah and you know it's all going to be done. And if you're stressing someone else could look at that 80 00:07:42,745 --> 00:07:47,865 list and I was just about to say the onus and isn't all on you to remember everything. 81 00:07:47,865 --> 00:07:53,145 Things like trying your wedding shoes on and breaking them in. You partner can't do that for you 82 00:07:53,145 --> 00:07:56,345 but they should be doing that if they're shoes as well. They should be doing that with their shoes. 83 00:07:56,345 --> 00:08:01,545 Things like if you're planning on giving any thank you cards to people writing those in a 84 00:08:01,545 --> 00:08:08,025 plants, checking over your speeches, rewriting your speeches neatly or printing them off on nice 85 00:08:08,025 --> 00:08:12,665 flashcards and things like that so that it looks good when you're standing there holding it. 86 00:08:12,665 --> 00:08:16,105 Yeah. I always think it looks nice or printed than standing up with a file. 87 00:08:16,105 --> 00:08:21,545 100% even if it is on just a plain A4 sheet to explain and also then holding a phone 88 00:08:21,545 --> 00:08:25,705 because it looks like you're just googling it. Yeah. You've written down confirm all your supplies. 89 00:08:25,705 --> 00:08:29,225 I don't think that's a week before a job. I think that's several weeks before a job. 90 00:08:29,225 --> 00:08:33,145 I mean it would be a several weeks before a job but if you haven't confirm all your 91 00:08:33,145 --> 00:08:37,465 supplies. Make sure they are confirmed. Because as a planner, I guess like the week of when you're 92 00:08:37,465 --> 00:08:42,665 setting up a marquee, things are constantly changing. So I am constantly reconferming suppliers. 93 00:08:42,665 --> 00:08:46,585 For example, not everything might have been done with the marquee on one day. So they come back 94 00:08:46,585 --> 00:08:50,265 or then the florists actually have them on Thursday to set up this. So I have less to do Friday. 95 00:08:50,265 --> 00:08:55,625 So I feel like if you've got a marquee, sometimes there are more moving parts and that set up 96 00:08:55,625 --> 00:09:00,745 changes. For example, you'll have toilets are being delivered on Tuesday. But then on Monday, 97 00:09:00,745 --> 00:09:06,505 they'll ring and say, right, it's Tuesday between one and three. So like as me, I am updating. 98 00:09:06,505 --> 00:09:12,185 When I have my week of set up schedule, I basically re-print it every night because I'm updating 99 00:09:12,185 --> 00:09:16,105 it. So if you've got a marquee, you might have more of that. But I do agree. Yeah, you should 100 00:09:16,105 --> 00:09:22,665 have obviously confirmed with your supplies well in advance. It's also worth noting that we do have 101 00:09:22,665 --> 00:09:28,905 a medical document that you can download, which has all your supplier information and their 102 00:09:28,905 --> 00:09:35,465 arrival times and all of that info that you can have in one space. Yes. That makes it really 103 00:09:35,465 --> 00:09:40,025 easy for you. So we'll put a link to that in the show notes. Definitely. Because that also 104 00:09:40,025 --> 00:09:44,665 directly links on to my next point, which was make sure that you're on the day contact is fully 105 00:09:44,665 --> 00:09:49,545 aware of all the supply details. I'm trying to order. Because things might change like the week of, 106 00:09:49,545 --> 00:09:54,505 you might have someone drop out, someone's ill, so you have to rearrange like your seating plan and 107 00:09:54,505 --> 00:09:59,785 things. But make sure obviously you're planner or the person who's being that on the day contact. 108 00:09:59,785 --> 00:10:04,585 Then you coordinate as well. Yeah. Is aware. Or if it's a maid of honour who is just keeping an 109 00:10:04,585 --> 00:10:11,225 on things on the day, but you don't have a venue or a planner to help coordinate, then they're aware 110 00:10:11,225 --> 00:10:18,105 of everything. I think it's also worth hacking your bags in advance. So if you're staying somewhere 111 00:10:18,105 --> 00:10:23,145 different the night before the wedding and the night of the wedding, so making sure you've got those 112 00:10:23,145 --> 00:10:30,185 bags packed and labeled as well. So you know if someone else is collecting that bag for you, 113 00:10:31,065 --> 00:10:35,145 they'll know which bag they need to pick up and the same with your partner as well. Make sure they 114 00:10:35,145 --> 00:10:39,785 have exactly the same thing going on. Because if you two are staying together, you're glamping say the 115 00:10:39,785 --> 00:10:45,305 night of your wedding somewhere. That bag and that stuff has to be either somewhere at the venue 116 00:10:45,305 --> 00:10:51,145 for you to take away with you or it needs to have gone in advance. So you just want to have that 117 00:10:51,145 --> 00:10:56,345 cleared. Definitely. And I do this when I'm packing for holiday. I have like duplicates of things. 118 00:10:57,225 --> 00:11:07,305 You're packing for holiday, honestly, makes my heart so happy. It's just the most bananas, bonkness 119 00:11:07,305 --> 00:11:13,705 thing. I think I've ever witnessed in my life, but it's so organised. Five spreadsheets, but I hate 120 00:11:13,705 --> 00:11:17,465 leaving. You know, like if you're going to the slide in the morning, you know, oh God, I've got packed 121 00:11:17,465 --> 00:11:21,465 two brushes and two face. I'm like, do you know what? Put a spare toothbrush in, put a spare two 122 00:11:21,465 --> 00:11:25,225 face in. And then obviously when you're back from holiday, you'll just have another toothpaste. 123 00:11:25,225 --> 00:11:30,985 You always have a spare in the cup anyway. I'm sort of person and when one, when I take my spare, 124 00:11:30,985 --> 00:11:35,705 by new ones, I always have a spare. Yeah. Oh, I personally, if I was going to spend my wedding 125 00:11:35,705 --> 00:11:39,065 night at the night, four different places, and I had two separate bags, I would just chuck a two 126 00:11:39,065 --> 00:11:43,545 toothbrush and a toothpaste in both bags. I agree, I do. So you don't have to think about it. 127 00:11:43,545 --> 00:11:47,625 You don't want to be moving things. No. I mean, obviously you can't duplicate some things. 128 00:11:47,625 --> 00:11:51,145 Some things will need to be moved like your bra, for example. But if you could chuck one bra in 129 00:11:51,145 --> 00:11:55,625 ready for the Sunday in one place. Actually, maybe you only got one bra. Oh, but I mean, if you're wearing 130 00:11:55,625 --> 00:12:02,105 the same teeth as that, I'd definitely own more than one bra. I'm like, cut this, cut it out. 131 00:12:02,105 --> 00:12:08,185 Please don't. But you know what I mean? Like, if you've just got a bra that you're going to wear saturday, 132 00:12:08,185 --> 00:12:13,865 like Friday evening, it's your favourite bra, isn't it? Yeah. But like, say you've got a Friday evening 133 00:12:13,865 --> 00:12:19,305 to wear for your dinner with your bridesmaids, and then that's going to be overnight, in your overnight 134 00:12:19,305 --> 00:12:24,345 bag from the Friday, but on the Saturday night, you've got your bag with your husband to be somewhere else. 135 00:12:24,345 --> 00:12:29,385 Make sure you put another bra in there for the Sunday, so that you're not on the wedding day going, 136 00:12:29,385 --> 00:12:34,665 "Well, gosh, I need to remember to take my bra from here today." Yeah, just like, "Cack, double." 137 00:12:34,665 --> 00:12:37,385 Goodness, weren't you going to love it? See, they're going, "Oh, wait." 138 00:12:37,385 --> 00:12:47,305 But I think the more you can do in advance and that week coming up to it, there is so much you 139 00:12:47,305 --> 00:12:54,825 can do to make sure everything is prepared, to make that short space of time where you have to set 140 00:12:54,825 --> 00:12:59,945 up the venue, when you have to prepare yourself for the wedding. The more you've done in advance, 141 00:12:59,945 --> 00:13:07,065 where everything's just neatly arranged, the easier and the less stressed you will be. Yeah, 142 00:13:07,065 --> 00:13:13,385 it's your favourite phrase. Fail to plan, plan to fail. It's failed to prepare, prepare to fail. 143 00:13:14,025 --> 00:13:23,785 But it's so true, though, and I think that's 99% of what wedding planning is all about, is 144 00:13:23,785 --> 00:13:29,225 planning for the day. Yeah. Those things should be accounted for when you're planning for your 145 00:13:29,225 --> 00:13:32,825 wedding day. Definitely, and the more prep that you do in advance, then the more 146 00:13:32,825 --> 00:13:38,345 relaxing the setup will be, and the more time you'll have to have your nails done and to 147 00:13:38,985 --> 00:13:45,945 sit and chill and just soak up your moment as well. What do you think about just tips like sleeping, 148 00:13:45,945 --> 00:13:51,225 drinking lots of water? How important do you think they are the week of the wedding? I think 149 00:13:51,225 --> 00:13:57,785 they're quite important, but the hard thing is the excitement. Yes. And the nerves and the feeling. 150 00:13:57,785 --> 00:14:02,985 I think you should make sure you try to get yourself in a good sleep routine. Yeah. 151 00:14:03,705 --> 00:14:08,025 So try, you know, sit yourself in a alarm, like I don't know about anyone else, but I get a little 152 00:14:08,025 --> 00:14:13,305 notification at half past nine every night that I need to go to bed in half an hour. Set that up. Yeah, 153 00:14:13,305 --> 00:14:18,905 so that you've got a half an hour. Don't laugh at me. Let me know in bed by nine roast nights. 154 00:14:18,905 --> 00:14:26,185 But then the notification makes you laugh. So set those things up to try and give yourself as much 155 00:14:26,185 --> 00:14:32,185 notice as possible. And if you know that you need something to help you sleep and you're somewhere 156 00:14:32,185 --> 00:14:35,865 else the night before your wedding, make sure, I think you said this in our night before episode. 157 00:14:35,865 --> 00:14:41,225 Yeah. Make sure you have that thing with you. I'm a firm believer that when I get anxious or nervous, 158 00:14:41,225 --> 00:14:45,945 I always have lavender. It's nice on a tissue. It's got me through the early stages of labor, 159 00:14:45,945 --> 00:14:51,225 everything. I think on the wedding day, I had a rescue remedy. I remember taking rescue remedy before 160 00:14:51,225 --> 00:14:57,465 my French and German speaking GCSEs and feeling like really giggly during, I don't know whether it was 161 00:14:57,465 --> 00:15:02,585 the nerves or whether, but I was calm. That's now, it really fun. It's just the notes I'm just 162 00:15:02,585 --> 00:15:07,945 trying to find those, yeah, those petrifying together as a speaking exam. But yeah, just make sure 163 00:15:07,945 --> 00:15:12,745 you think about these things in advance and have, you know, don't send a go, oh my gosh, I'm in a hotel 164 00:15:12,745 --> 00:15:19,865 and I haven't got my favorite TV. Yeah, or some lavender oil to sniff or I haven't got my favorite 165 00:15:19,865 --> 00:15:26,665 pajamas or my own pillow or own pillow. My mom now travels everywhere in the UK with a fan 166 00:15:26,665 --> 00:15:31,625 when she goes to stay if it's in the summer, because she came to my graduation, donkeys years ago, 167 00:15:31,625 --> 00:15:37,145 and she booked the travel lodge and it was, they'd over booked the whole thing. So they'd, she'd 168 00:15:37,145 --> 00:15:43,865 driven four hours out of the stope and she then ended up getting put into a nice little hotel, 169 00:15:43,865 --> 00:15:48,345 which was like an old building, but she was on the top floor. The window didn't open and it was like 170 00:15:48,345 --> 00:15:53,145 July and it was sweltering, like I took my gown off halfway through my graduation, like it seemed 171 00:15:53,145 --> 00:15:57,705 to go outside. It was so hot. You've seen my mom now always travel somewhere with a fan because she's 172 00:15:57,705 --> 00:16:02,345 like, if you're going somewhere and you kind of in windows with their AC breaks or she only books 173 00:16:02,345 --> 00:16:07,065 places with air conditioning. Yeah, that's very sensible. Yeah. So just think about things like that, 174 00:16:07,065 --> 00:16:11,785 they're gonna, anything you can do to help yourself get the best flight food. And they're saying with 175 00:16:11,785 --> 00:16:19,545 eating, yeah, you want to get a fridge full of food or get some pre-prepared meals to simplify life 176 00:16:19,545 --> 00:16:23,785 for you that week. Yeah, that week. Don't eat anything you've not eaten before. Don't go experimenting 177 00:16:23,785 --> 00:16:28,345 with new foods or anything like that. Don't eat anything that's kind of not dodgy, but 178 00:16:28,345 --> 00:16:32,905 where food poisoning is a bit higher risk like shellfish or something like that. And don't eat 179 00:16:32,905 --> 00:16:37,385 anything that's going to blake you. Yeah. And loads of sweets and things like that. Because it's so 180 00:16:37,385 --> 00:16:44,185 easy to spend that time snacking on as you go. You want to be well fueled, but yeah, it's a 181 00:16:44,185 --> 00:16:48,505 chaotic week. Your stress levels are going to be high. You need to look after your body. If you need 182 00:16:48,505 --> 00:16:55,545 inside out, definitely. Don't drink too much either. Alcohol. Yeah. Stop to sleep for a start. 183 00:16:55,545 --> 00:17:01,065 Coffee. Coffee. Yeah. Oh, I find if I have like a Chinese takeaway, my stepmom asks them to take the 184 00:17:01,065 --> 00:17:06,425 MS. MSG. Yeah. But otherwise you're all puffy. That puffy eyes. So don't, you know, the night before, 185 00:17:06,425 --> 00:17:09,945 if you're going out for dinner, think about what you're having. I mean, a pizza the night before 186 00:17:09,945 --> 00:17:16,345 our wedding. That's not bloatiest meal. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's great though. It's worth considering. 187 00:17:16,345 --> 00:17:20,665 Yeah. It's important to consider these things as well, because you just want to make sure that week 188 00:17:20,665 --> 00:17:25,865 is as easy as yes. Just summarise what would be your top tip for our couples when it comes to that 189 00:17:25,865 --> 00:17:31,625 week of their wedding. I think definitely be prepared before the week. So you have a detailed list 190 00:17:31,625 --> 00:17:35,705 of what you need to do when who's doing what? Because sometimes you're managing other people. 191 00:17:35,705 --> 00:17:40,745 And do little bits of preparation throughout the week so that you're not stressed on the day or 192 00:17:40,745 --> 00:17:46,585 on the setup day. And also just look after yourself. Like we've said, look after you think about what 193 00:17:46,585 --> 00:17:51,865 you're eating, you're sleeping, and give yourself a chance to relax at some point just to help 194 00:17:51,865 --> 00:17:58,585 settle your nervous system, basically. Yeah, for yourself, anyway. Next week we have got a very, 195 00:17:58,585 --> 00:18:03,154 especially once joining us again, so we will speak to you then, stay tuned!