It became a bit of a running joke among all involved in helping out on our wedding day. I admit maybe it was a bit over the top, but for a J-personality type* like me, but hey, it was as much for my own sanity as it was for helping everyone else know where to be and when. That’s right- I created a 15-page “Wedding Weekend Packet” for all involved! It took me probably a full three days straight (with little sleep) to really get everything right, but I did it and sent it out to everyone about four days before the wedding!
Now what could possibly take up 15 pages you ask? Here’s a glimpse into my pride and joy…
We began with a cover letter introducing the packet to our friends and family. The contents were as follows:
Logistics overview
Overview of weekend events
Detailed wedding day schedule
Map, directions, and travel
Contact list
Description of roles
The Logistics Overview. A list of key wedding day contacts (aka people to call if you have absolutely no clue what is going on), key locations and their addresses, and a list of the key events taking place over the course of the week.
Overview of Weekend Events. A three-page list of all the key events taking place over the next few days, including a pre-wedding family celebration dinner, our rehearsal, our rehearsal dinner, and more, all the way through to our afterparty. Under each event, I provided the date and time, location, point person(s) to contact, who was required to attend, and a brief description of the event.
Detailed Wedding Day Schedule. This was probably what may have been a little overwhelming for some at first, but I sincerely believe it was the reason why our wedding day went so incredibly smoothly! It was a two-page schedule listing the main activities, underneath which we broke out specific activities by 15-minute increments. It listed each activity next to the time and the parties involved. Here’s a glimpse…
Map, Directions, and Travel. Pretty self-explanatory. This was a two-page section that included a map of LA (which I created using Wedding Mapper and then just taking a screen-shot of the image), directions from the airport to the hotel, hotel to the church, church to the rehearsal dinner site, and the church to the reception site. We also included travel tips for our out-of-town guests, including travel options and approximate rates.
Contact List. A full contact list of about 50 people, including their names, phone numbers, emails, and role of each person involved in helping out with the wedding.
Description of Roles. This section was five pages long, the longest section. It was for a good reason though, as we detailed out the specific responsibilities of different people involved, preempting any last minute wedding day confusion. We included what activities they needed to be present for, what time to arrive, and what they were on point for. Of course, people didn’t have to read all five pages - All they had to do was jump to their section (i.e. bridesmaids, or scripture readers, or attendants, etc.). Again, another key reason why our wedding day ran so smoothly! A huge thanks to Mr. D for helping me with this section and with the contact list…This seriously took me forever.
That about sums up “The Packet”! I wanted to post up the template, but it has way too much personal information in there right now, with names and phone numbers of people everywhere.
But yeah, this was what we sent to our friends and families (vendors got something different, which I will share in a future post!). You wouldn’t believe how much crap I got from some people , ranging from our friends jokingly saying every time “Well, let me refer to my 15-page wedding packet…” all the way to some adults (who will remain nameless) saying “What a waste of time…who would ever read 15 pages!”
In the end, I do hope everyone appreciated it! But if nothing else, going through the process of creating this at least gave me peace of mind, allowing me to relax and enjoy my own wedding day…which was reason enough for me!
*I am referring to the Myers-Briggs personality types. A “J” personality tends to approach the world with a plan, prefers to be organized and prepared, and has a tendency toward closure and completion (as opposed to taking a more adaptive go-with-the-flow approach). If you get a strange sense of joy in crossing items off your to-do lists, creating itineraries and schedules, etc., you are probably a “J” personality type too .
EDIT: Thanks for the enthusiastic response!
I wanted to add that after my original post, several people who had helped out with our wedding called me to let me know that, indeed, the packet had been extremely helpful and was really key to our uber smooth wedding day…which made me super happy to hear of course! And above is a pic to prove it! So hopefully, this (or something similar) will come in handy on your wedding day too!
Thanks for your patience as I made all the edits. Happy planning!
As promised, here is a sample of our wedding weekend packet, tailored just for the hive.
OMG I feel like Carrie Bradshaw when she is walking with Samantha and passes an amazing pair of shoes and says, "Hello Lover!!!". This is stupendous! Thanks so much!!!
It became a bit of a running joke among all involved in helping out on our wedding day. I admit maybe it was a bit over the top, but for a J-personality type* like me, but hey, it was as much for my own sanity as it was for helping everyone else know where to be and when. That’s right- I created a 15-page “Wedding Weekend Packet” for all involved! It took me probably a full three days straight (with little sleep) to really get everything right, but I did it and sent it out to everyone about four days before the wedding!
Now what could possibly take up 15 pages you ask? Here’s a glimpse into my pride and joy…
We began with a cover letter introducing the packet to our friends and family. The contents were as follows:
The Logistics Overview. A list of key wedding day contacts (aka people to call if you have absolutely no clue what is going on), key locations and their addresses, and a list of the key events taking place over the course of the week.
Overview of Weekend Events. A three-page list of all the key events taking place over the next few days, including a pre-wedding family celebration dinner, our rehearsal, our rehearsal dinner, and more, all the way through to our afterparty. Under each event, I provided the date and time, location, point person(s) to contact, who was required to attend, and a brief description of the event.
Detailed Wedding Day Schedule. This was probably what may have been a little overwhelming for some at first, but I sincerely believe it was the reason why our wedding day went so incredibly smoothly! It was a two-page schedule listing the main activities, underneath which we broke out specific activities by 15-minute increments. It listed each activity next to the time and the parties involved. Here’s a glimpse…
Map, Directions, and Travel. Pretty self-explanatory. This was a two-page section that included a map of LA (which I created using Wedding Mapper and then just taking a screen-shot of the image), directions from the airport to the hotel, hotel to the church, church to the rehearsal dinner site, and the church to the reception site. We also included travel tips for our out-of-town guests, including travel options and approximate rates.
Contact List. A full contact list of about 50 people, including their names, phone numbers, emails, and role of each person involved in helping out with the wedding.
Description of Roles. This section was five pages long, the longest section. It was for a good reason though, as we detailed out the specific responsibilities of different people involved, preempting any last minute wedding day confusion. We included what activities they needed to be present for, what time to arrive, and what they were on point for. Of course, people didn’t have to read all five pages - All they had to do was jump to their section (i.e. bridesmaids, or scripture readers, or attendants, etc.). Again, another key reason why our wedding day ran so smoothly! A huge thanks to Mr. D for helping me with this section and with the contact list…This seriously took me forever.
That about sums up “The Packet”! I wanted to post up the template, but it has way too much personal information in there right now, with names and phone numbers of people everywhere.
But yeah, this was what we sent to our friends and families (vendors got something different, which I will share in a future post!). You wouldn’t believe how much crap I got from some people
, ranging from our friends jokingly saying every time “Well, let me refer to my 15-page wedding packet…” all the way to some adults (who will remain nameless) saying “What a waste of time…who would ever read 15 pages!”
In the end, I do hope everyone appreciated it! But if nothing else, going through the process of creating this at least gave me peace of mind, allowing me to relax and enjoy my own wedding day…which was reason enough for me!
*I am referring to the Myers-Briggs personality types. A “J” personality tends to approach the world with a plan, prefers to be organized and prepared, and has a tendency toward closure and completion (as opposed to taking a more adaptive go-with-the-flow approach). If you get a strange sense of joy in crossing items off your to-do lists, creating itineraries and schedules, etc., you are probably a “J” personality type too
.
EDIT: Thanks for the enthusiastic response!
I wanted to add that after my original post, several people who had helped out with our wedding called me to let me know that, indeed, the packet had been extremely helpful and was really key to our uber smooth wedding day…which made me super happy to hear of course! And above is a pic to prove it!
So hopefully, this (or something similar) will come in handy on your wedding day too!
Thanks for your patience as I made all the edits. Happy planning!
As promised, here is a sample of our wedding weekend packet, tailored just for the hive.
To read the original post, click HERE.
Attachments
what a labor of love! Thanks so much for sharing!
posted by Mrs. Bee 4 years agoWOW!!!
Thanks
posted by cszlaien 4 years agoThis is brilliant!
posted by 365 4 years agoLOVE IT!! As an "ENFJ" I totally get it. I'm using this for sure. Thanks so much for sharing!
posted by rjs1223 4 years agoFantastic! Thanks so much :)
posted by athreatt 4 years agothanks!!
posted by Miss Bianca 3 years agothis is amazing.. I had every intention of making one for my wedding sept 2010.. This will be a wonderful help!! Thank you Thank you!
posted by ashybee 3 years agoAmazing! You're a lifesaver.
posted by littlered131 3 years agoOMG I feel like Carrie Bradshaw when she is walking with Samantha and passes an amazing pair of shoes and says, "Hello Lover!!!". This is stupendous! Thanks so much!!!
posted by mebless 3 years agoThis is officially saved in my giant wedding folder on my computer! THANK YOU!!!!!
posted by FutureGulick 3 years agoOMG..thatnk you so much!! This will be very helpful!!
posted by jingle96 3 years ago