Planning wedding without planner

Question

my reception is at a local hall and they do not set up. how do i make sure everything is the way its sopposed to be? they only let you set up 2 hours in advance. and the ceremony will take up one hour of that time. and i will be getting reay so i cant over look it.

Answer 1

Do you have any friends or relatives whom you consider to be super-organized and together?  You may want to ask them to help oversee the set-up of the reception venue while you get ready.  Also, many wedding-planning firms hae coordinators you can hire just for the day of the wedding, to oversee everything and make sure it all comes together without actually having a hand in planning it.

Answer 2

You know all those friends and relatives who are dying to be a part of your wedding and you don't have a job for them? This is the job for them. Enlist the help of a few good pals and relatives. Designate ONE person as the "go to"person for this. Be sure that person knows everything that needs to be done. You'll want to coordinate with that person in advance so he/she is confident on the day of the wedding as to what needs to be done.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

your caterer will be setting up since they arrange all the place-settings anyways. usually you can give them any extra goodies to put out.

at the wedding we were just at, my husband and i were drafted to help put out the favors and trinkets and fine-tune any minor details at each table. it wasn't a big deal and kept us busy while we were waiting for everyone else to arrive (the wedding/reception was on a yacht and we got there WAY early).

see if there is a close friend or family member who can do this. otherwise, ask your caterer.

Answer 4

You can either hire this done, or have friends do it for you.  Obviously, whoever you have set up will not be able to attend the wedding, which will eliminate close friends and family.  If you attend a church, this is the kind of thing that ladies at church do all the time, so that's the first place I would check.  

I would also check with the venue you've rented and ask about paying more money to be able to set up sooner.  If you've got it booked from 4pm until midnight, see about booking it for all day, starting at 8am.  That way you can get in there in the morning, and set up with friends and family.  

Good luck!

Answer 5

Delegate . . .

Assign a definite, responsible person to be in charge of set up.  Do you have perhaps an aunt, cousin, or other relative who would be willing to handle that for you?

Give her a couple of assistants, and you are set.

Answer 6

Then you get friend that you know to do this for you, pretty much let them know what you want.  You don't need a planner, I did my own wedding and it turned out great, you just need friends.  

Answer 7

Assign the task to some close friends that you can trust to do it right, or maybe some family members. Or maybe see if they will let you rent it an hour earlier for more setup time.  

Answer 8

Get friends and family to help you. Plan very sinple decorations that won't take long to set up. Talk with the reception hall people about changing the time they can let you in to set up.  Most places allow longer that that. If they won't change the time, maybe you could tell them that your reception is starting earlier than it actually is. (If you want to start at 7PM, tell them you are starting at 5PM, so they will let you in by 3.

Answer 9

appoint some trusted friends or family to help out

Answer 10

My solution to this problem was easy, considering my in-laws hosted our wedding in their backyard.  I made a list (well, a dozen lists, but I'm just talking about the tables here).  On the list, each table consisted of: table name, name of each person assigned, how many chairs, how many table settings, how many wine glasses (because 1/3 of my guests don't drink, so they just had regular glasses), each decoration, each favor for the child who would sit there, etc.  It was super-detailed so that you could go from table to table.  I also had all the plastic tableware in labeled bags and ready to go.  My sisters (and whoever else wanted to help) were given the list and went to town.  We also hired 4 local high school students to set-up, serve, and clean-up at the end.  They're cheap.  We went through the high school work program (Y.E.S. it's called here) so that they were referenced and reliable.  

Oh, and have simple decorations.  Nobody cares much about the decor anyway, right?