Toni's Tip of the Month - Getting Organized

Planning a wedding or event can be a long hard process so I’m here to provide you with a few tips to help keep your stress level low and style level high.

First thing I’d like to emphasize to everyone planning an event is that organization is key!  It’s really hard to plan an event when you have no set place for your papers, and whenever you have to refer back to an order or receipt, you have to spend twenty minutes searching and mumbling “I swear I just saw it here the other day!”.

If you want to plan a successful event then you need to have your information somewhere you can find it quickly and easily.  My favorite way to do this is by utilizing a binder with single or double pocket dividers.  At the front of your binder keep a copy of your budget and a schedule for the day of the event.  This is to help you control spending and have the appropriate times for your vendors to be on site right at your finger tips!  Try to always bring your binder with you whenever you have a meeting with a vendor so you can answer all of their questions as well as ask any questions you may have and record pertinent information.   It would help to keep some blank lined paper in the binder to write notes on.

You should ensure have a divider for each vendor, such as the rental company, caterer, venue, stationary, decorator, florist, etc.. In each section you can keep your reservations, the contact information for the company, receipts (you can put those in the pockets of your divider) and anything else related to those categories.  Now whenever you are trying to remember if you ordered the chicken or the fish, all you have to do is refer to the divider that says Caterer.

All the information required for planning your event is now in the palm of your hands!