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How do you envision your first dance? Lights low, a beautiful song and the two of you twirling around the dance floor in blissful harmony…or is it you, by yourself, alone in the ladies trying to sort through the many layers of your chiffon wedding gown while your song plays out in the background?
I realize that this sounds absurd but sadly this was an actual reality for my business partner on her wedding day. She has a terrific sense of humor and chuckles about these moments now, and being the amazing woman she is she wanted to share them with our readers so no other poor soul has to endure these debacles on their wedding day.
“I had not hired a wedding day coordinator so to make sure the reception flowed properly, I made a detailed itinerary for everyone to follow. Admittedly, I must have been a bit Bridezilla and my family was more focused on maintaining my schedule then the actual flow of the evening so when the clock struck 830 they queued up the first dance while I was in the ladies. I could hear our song and all the ‘Where is She!’ commotion going on outside but my dress had so many layers and I was going nowhere fast. I made it out just in time for the last chords to finish and I will never forget that look on my husband’s face, standing there alone and confused on the dance floor or how embarrassing it was to have a whole room full of people laughing, as they acknowledged the fact that I enjoyed our first dance from the ladies room.
There was also an issue with our videographer. A friend of a friend had volunteered to film our wedding as a gift for us. Very sweet indeed except unfortunately that meant a significant amount of footage of their family and very little of us. In fact they completely checked out for the speeches, and in place of the beautiful words and kind sentiments from our loved ones, we have over 20 minutes of footage of baby Jane eating her mashed potatoes. You can slightly hear the speeches in the background but essentially that memory is lost.
And then there was The Money Dance. It is a special tradition in Filipino culture, and, as it sounds, guests offer money in return for a moments dance with the bride, the intent being that the happy couple will have funds for a honeymoon. Our guests were so generous and both my husband and I had a lot of money pinned to us by the songs end. And it still gives me heartache today, but I had forgotten to appoint someone to manage all that cash and more importantly to secure it in a safe place. We didn’t even have an envelope and instead found a makeshift box and then among the whirlwind that was our wedding day, the box got tossed or misplaced and we never did see the honeymoon cash ever again. Not the worst thing to happen, yes of course it is just money, but certainly unfortunate and like the other hiccups I’ve shared , a bit painful as it could have been prevented with better planning and someone to oversee all these details on my behalf”.
My partner is a powerhouse of a woman. Seriously, she can effortlessly manage any curve ball thrown at her but even she will admit that trying to coordinate her own wedding day was overwhelming and literally impossible. At Down the Aisle we believe that a wedding is a day to remember, and to truly be present for every beautiful moment means handing off that itinerary and quality control role to someone you can trust. We are honored when clients entrust us with that incredible responsibility and to ensure not a detail is missed we begin the hand off about a month out. This also gives them plenty of time to transition away from the planning phase and to start really savoring those last few weeks leading up to their special day.
We understand that hiring a Wedding Coordinator is an investment. To ensure our clients receive ample value for their spend, we tailor our services to their individual needs and requirements. We commit a team of 2 coordinators for the full duration of the event and can lend our expertise in a number of areas, for instance we can;
Oversee your event setup & post event tear down; act as point of contact for all your vendors, deliveries & service providers
Assist with chair ties, floral, tablescape & wedding décor; provide quality control to ensure all your details are on point and properly executed
Help plan the overall event timeline for optimal flow; manage your wedding itinerary and coordinate the schedule of events on your behalf
Act as concierge & host for all your guest inquiries during the ceremony & through to the reception, coordinate transportation where required
Liaise with and support your vendors to ensure the service standards are a top priority
Manage your guestbook, the gift table & seating chart for you; load cards, gifts and takeaways into your vehicle for an easy post event departure
If you are keen to learn more about us and our portfolio, or better yet are up for a coffee, we would be thrilled to organize a meet and greet - just shoot us an email at downtheaisleyyc@gmail.com or DM our instagram account @downtheaisleyyc and we will sort out the details … after all that is what we do :)