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Chapter 7
Production Tips and Checklists
By now, hopefully you are feeling a lot better than when you first picked up this book. Maybe it was a day, a week or a month ago when you were full of doubts about whether you would be able to have an elegant and extraordinary wedding reception that you could be proud of. But now, your head is full of dreams. Better yet, by following along with the exercises in this Workbook, you have turned your dreams into a clear set of plans and instructions. Congratulations! You are now ready to take action to turn your Final Designs into the elegant wedding reception you have been dreaming about. And I am going to help!
This chapter is divided into two parts: In the first part we will discuss some general strategies and guidelines for how to keep yourself and your Producers organized and on-task, so the work goes more easily and you can all enjoy yourselves. In the second part, you will develop your instructions and checklists to make it easy for your Producers and Helpers to meet all of your expectations. Along the way, I will share with you some benefits of my own experience. My advice will help you stay focused so you can look back at this experience years from now and feel confidently, marvelously, remarkably, extraordinarily, amazingly, fabulously impressed and proud of yourself!
Pre-Production Producers
“Please come to Sloane’s Pre-Production Party to help her produce her dream wedding reception.”
Several months before your wedding, plan an informal Pre-Production party. This party should be after you have finished all of your Bride’s Final designs, and after you have purchased all your materials. Invite people who regularly do crafts to come to the party. You should prepare a mock-up of each of the Amuses depicted in your Final Design sketches.
By choosing the right people and giving them an obviously well thought-out plan, on paper, you will get a good result. I suggest you have prepared a folder for each member of your Pre-Production team with her or his name on it. Inside include copies of all your Final Designs as well as the Pre-Production Checklist and a copy of the Contact List so everyone can stay in touch and feel connected. It may also be a good idea to keep this book out on the table to help you explain your ideas and add to your credibility.
Janyce’s personal advice to remember long after your wedding: “Do not disown your thoughts and feelings, because doing so breeds disappointment, resentment, a negative self-image, and most important it doesn’t permit your dreams to come true.”
After you have thanked everyone for coming and explained what you want to accomplish, ask for recommendations for better craftsmanship, easier ways to create the same effect, and of course for volunteers. Listen to all suggestions with an open mind but not so open so as to allow your own ideas and personal style to be displaced. In my experience too many women, in an attempt to be sweet or nice, end up only being frustrated and disappointed because they fold under a little pressure, even if it’s well-meant pressure. Trying to design one’s life, business, home or even just a napkin ring by committee is the road to a bad place. I am not advocating that you become rigid and close your mind to the good ideas you may hear suggested. But under no circumstances are you to ask everyone at the party what they think you should do. You will only end up in frustration.
Be a Big Girl and take ownership of your own ideas, opinions and decisions. . . and be a lady by finding a way for everyone to feel like their contributions were valued and appreciated, even if not implemented.
If you cannot come up with a great design for any of your Amuses, before this party, seek the input of a single person whose design sense you respect. If you think this person can do a better job than you, or even if you just need help because of limitations on your time, it may be a smart compromise to ask that single person to propose a design for you to consider. Present the finished design as a “Bride’s Final Design” giving credit where credit is due, of course. And be sure to thank all of these Producers a million times because assembling 100 napkin rings yourself is a pretty daunting task. Asking 5 Producers to each assemble 20 rings is not. Ditto nut cups, wrapped favors etc.
For my Daughter Sloane’s wedding (the veterinarian) we invited her future Mother-in-Law Rosalie, her future Sister-in-Law Gina, Sloane’s Maid of Honor, some of her more crafty Bridesmaids and my Sister-in-Law Debbie. In the process we all became better acquainted and created a wonderful memory we still cherish.
These close friends and dear family members are the “the manufacturers” (aka Pre- Production Producers ) of your wedding reception. They will create all of the building blocks that your Set-Up Producers will use to make your dreams come true the day of the event. With proper organization and instructions, your Pre-Production Producers will help you create an elegant and glamorous presentation that will make your wedding reception extraordinary and decidedly your own.1
To make it easier for the members of your Pre-Production team, prepare tool kits for each of your volunteers to take home. Be sure to include all the appropriate supplies and tools, lots of glue, a glue gun, some chocolate and anything else you can think of to help make their job easier so they can stay on-schedule per your Pre-Production Checklist.
Set-Up Producers
Your Set-Up Producers will assemble the building blocks that the Pre-Production team created in the weeks leading up to your wedding reception. After you have completed all the exercises in the workbook and are ready to unveil a complete sample place setting (including an example of each of the Amuses your Pre-Production team is working on) you need to schedule an appointment for your Set-Up Producers. This meeting should take place at the facility, at least two weeks before the date of the wedding.
Ask high-energy and compatible family and friends to participate as Set-Up Producers, to help in the setting and dressing of your dining and accessory tables, on the day of the event. I’m telling you that when your Set-Up team is finished, they are going to be so proud and excited to have produced your gorgeous plan they won’t want to break away to go home and get dressed! If you ask the right people your Set-Up Producers will have a great time and they will come away from the experience with precious new bonds of friendship. But again, this only happens if the job is organized, communicated and your vision is shared in detail ahead-of-time. Leave nothing to chance or open to misinterpretation.
Keep everything organized and make it as easy as possible for your Set-Up team to understand your vision and produce a professional result. It has been my experience that it is a good idea to appoint a “Lead” Set-Up Producer. This person will have a lot of responsibilities the day of the event and will benefit greatly from the detailed instructions you provide to the entire Set-Up Production team.
Whether it is to be your Lead Set-Up Producer or your professional Wedding Planner, someone must be charged with the responsibility of making sure the other Set-Up Producers have a clear understanding of your diagrams and instructions. This person also needs to supervise the Helpers.
To ensure that all of your Set-Up Producers understand how their contribution fits into the big picture, and that they each know exactly what they need to accomplish on the day of your wedding, I suggest you have prepared a folder for each member of your Set-Up team with their name on it. Inside, include copies of all your Final Designs as well as the Set-Up Checklist and a copy of the Contact List so everyone can stay in touch and feel connected. It may also be a good idea to equip your Lead Set-Up Producer with this book to help them explain your ideas and add to their credibility.
Helpers
Review and customize the Helpers Instructions you will find later in this Workbook. Then after your Helpers have been hired, you need to meet with them to explain exactly what their job is. Under no circumstances are you to assume or accept assurances from your Helpers that they know what they are doing. If possible the Lead Set-Up Producer or your Professional Wedding Planner should attend this meeting. Also tell them that they will need to wear black pants, black shoes and a white blouse (and bring an extra white blouse in case of spills).
Helpers will work under the supervision of either the Lead Set-Up Producer or a Wedding Planner to accomplish these five specific jobs:
1. Assembly with garnish and placement of your bread & butter plates on the dining tables.
2. Assembly with garnish and placement of First Plate in time for guests to arrive at their seats.
3. Removal of the First Plate when Guests get up to go to the dinner Buffet.
4. Pouring and keeping glasses filled as budget permits.
5. Clean-up.
The best way to manage your Helpers is by choosing people with integrity, personal references and then doing a thorough “role-play” when you meet to train them for their jobs. Ideally, you should do this role-play where the reception will actually take place so you can point out where all the facilities are and help them appreciate the pace that will be required to get the job done. Helpers should also get their own folders containing your Final Designs for First Plate, Fancy Butter, Place Setting and Floor Plan, and of course, a set of the Helpers Instructions you will find later in this Workbook.
Note: It has been my experience managing employees, family and friends that two people each working on their own separate job will get more accomplished than two people sharing the same two jobs.
Pre-Production Instructions and Checklist
First study my designs throughout this book, read magazines, look at decorating books, shop high-end department stores, do internet searches. Get all the inspiration you can, and then put to paper your Bride’s Final Designs for each of the Amuses you decide to use. With your designs on paper, go to craft stores and floral supply companies (they usually have an open-to-the public day) and buy the ribbons and supplies that excite you. Don’t forget glue guns, lots of glue and extension cords.
Once you have all of your final designs for the Amuses you have decided to use and have bought all of the supplies you will need, it is time to have your first Pre-Production meeting. Invite everyone you have asked to help with the pre-production of your Wedding Reception. This does not have to be a stuffy meeting. It should be fun and with a festive atmosphere. However you must have an organized agenda so you can accomplish everything on your list that you need to get done during that meeting. Keep the group focused, find a pleasant way to keep the meeting from getting bogged-down or side-tracked and whatever you do... never fold!
In preparation for this meeting you should have assembled all of the supplies, copies of your Bride’s Final Designs, a rough mock-up of each of the amuses the group will produce and copies of the Pre-Production Checklist from later in this Chapter.
I suggest you plan to open the meeting by passing around this book, with any photos that inspired you paper-clipped, in order to let me help you communicate your vision. Since your final designs are already decided and set to paper, this is now the right time to solicit input from your Pre-Production Producers. Make it clear by the questions you ask that you are interested in knowing their ideas and suggestions for how to make your ideas easier to produce or better, but not different. Then go around the room and ask who wants to take responsibility for which items. Be sure to give everyone a deadline at least two weeks before your wedding, because if you cut it any closer you will get stressed-out and will not have enough time to handle any problems that come up. Remember to use the calendar in your online workbook to schedule regular check-up calls and e-mail reminders for yourself and any of your Pre-Production Producers who use e-mail.
Set-Up Production Instructions and Checklist
After you have decided what accessory tables you will be using, designed your place settings, Amuses & Table Art and with your floor-plan complete, schedule a meeting of your Set-Up Producers at the facility where the Reception will be held.
At this meeting you and your Set-Up Producers will walk the entire facility to coordinate where everything goes. Be sure everyone knows the location of the bathrooms, trash, electrical outlets, what time the facility will become available on the day of the wedding, how to get the air conditioning or heat turned-on, rules for unloading supplies, etc.
At the meeting have a place setting on display. And if possible, one Accessory table dressed. If you don’t have your actual place setting available or any examples of your finished Amuses, then use mock-ups so your Set-Up Producers can see all the place setting elements correctly placed. Another idea is to take a photograph of your complete Place Setting and give each Producer a copy to refer to later.
In addition to the Set-Up Producers’ folders with Brides’ Final Designs and contact numbers, be sure to bring a tape measure and camera. Also bring this book so I can help you share your vision and show your Set-Up Producers what an amazing event they are going to help you produce.
Since you probably will not be able to make this “walk through” meeting quite as festive as when you met with your Pre-Production Producers, plan to go out for pizza together afterwards so all of your Set-Up Producers can get to know one another.
Choosing a “Lead” Set-Up Producer
Your “Lead” Set-Up Producer is going to have a lot of responsibilities and not a lot of time on the day of your Wedding. Choose someone who is smart, organized and with a proven history of good time management skills. This is the most important job of your Wedding Reception and you will benefit if your Lead Set-Up Producer has a “take charge” personality. Decide with your head, not your heart, so you do not end up hurt and disappointed.
Working with the Lead Set-Up Producer
It is critical that you meet with your Lead Set-Up Producer separately before and at least once again after the meeting with all of your Set-Up Producers. These meetings can take place in your house if the Facility is not easily accessible. The goal of this meeting is to show your Set-Up Producer an actual dressed Accessory table and full Place Setting, with examples of all the Amuses in place. You probably will not have a finished centerpiece, especially if you are using fresh flowers. But you need to show your Lead Set-Up Producer where the candles and other items will go so they have a clear understanding of what the finished table should look like.
Note: If you will not have a professional wedding planner, additional areas of responsibility for your Lead Set-Up Producer are to cue:
1. The invitation for Guests to enter the Dining Room (Best Man)
2. Removal of First Plate (Helpers)
3. Removal of Dinner Plates in preparation of Cake Ceremony (Helpers)
More Things You Need To Think About
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I cannot emphasize this enough: You must make sure your Helpers understand they must not pour anything into a glass that is on a dining table. All glasses must be removed and held over the floor before anything is poured into it. This goes for any kind of liquid. NO SPILLS!!!
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It is very important that you inspect all of your Amuses and Divine Disposables, before they are delivered to your Set-Up Producers. Be sure everything is in perfect condition. The time to discover something is broken or missing is NOT the day of your wedding.
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I recommend you buy about 10 % extra of all table-top supplies (Glasses, Plates, Cutlery, Etc.) in case of breakage. And get at least two extra table covers, just in case.
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There Will Be No Unsightly Trash Cans In The Dining Room Of An Elegant Extravaganza! Unlike at a “straight buffet”, where the dining room ends up littered with dirty plates and Guests have to navigate around unsightly trash cans, at a Plated Buffet with Helpers everything remains elegant, beautiful and…surprise…less expensive.
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Plan a schedule that will allow your Set-Up Producers to be finished at least 2 hours before they need to be at your Wedding Ceremony so that everyone has enough time to get home and arrive looking gorgeous.
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Consider that with two people working together, it takes about 20 minutes to set one Dining Table for 10 completely.
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To set a dozen Dining tables for 10 completely, with four people working, budget about two hours.
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Budget about 15 minutes to set up and dress each accessory table.
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Even though all the Divine table covers you see in this book are 100% Disposable, they come folded like linen and should be ironed. Budget about 5 minutes per table cover for ironing and whoever does he ironing, needs to begin at least 15 minutes before the table-setters do.
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If you hire 5 Helpers, plan on only 4 showing-up.
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If I were producing an event for 100 Guests and expecting to invite them into the dining room at 8pm, I would have 4 Helpers meeting my Set-Up Leader no later than 5:30 (2 ˝ hours ahead of time) In my experience the first 15 minutes will usually be spent getting personally organized, going to the bathroom, etc. The next 15 minutes would be spent demonstrating the production of an actual sample First Plate and an actual sample Fancy Butter & Bread Plate. For the next 90 minutes I would divide the Helpers into two teams: First Plate and Fancy Butter. If they work at a fast pace, both teams should get done 30 minutes before Guests will be invited in. They can then reunite as one team to place pre-poured glasses of iced water on dining tables just before the doors to the dining room are opened and Guests invited in. As the doors are opened the First Plates, Fancy Butter and iced water all in-place. The reunited team of Helpers should then begin popping the corks and pouring champagne (or wine) while Guests make their way to their seats.
In life there’s nothing worth doing that does not cause some stress. If we never do anything because it will be stressful we can never hope to do our best . . . and that, ladies, causes the worst kind of stress!
Tool Kit
Ironing board
Iron and 2 long extension cords
Water in bottles
Fruit, cheese and crackers ( maybe some chocolate )
CD player (and selection of inoffensive music )
Glue guns ( 2) and extension cords (2) and lots of glue
Scissors (3-4 pair)
Scotch Tape
Pens and Stick-ems
Staple gun and staples
Masking tape
Band-aids, antibiotic cream and a headache remedy
Camera
Dear Brides,
When we began this journey together you might have been doubtful that you had the creativity, the courage and the skills to make your dreams come true. I’ve done my best to give you the tools you will need and hopefully empowered you to make it happen.
Now it’s time for you to be a Big Girl. Just Do It! I Can Help!
Here’s what I mean. . .
If you have not done so already, please be sure to log onto my website at www.DivineDisposables.com to set up your own private online workbook to help you keep yourself and all of your Producers and Professionals organized and on-schedule. And don’t you dare hesitate to send me an e-mail if you have any questions. I want you to look back at this experience years from now and feel confidently, marvelously, remarkably, extraordinarily, amazingly, fabulously impressed and proud of yourself!
Janyce
p.s. When you get back from your Honeymoon, please send me some pictures from the Wedding Reception Of Your Dreams Using Divine Disposables. If you want, we’ll even add them to our online photo album and enter you into one of the contests we run from time to time for Janyce’s Brides. |
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