First Planning Meeting
When you’re ready to begin planning
This is where we begin building the foundation of your wedding day.
Your First Planning Meeting is a chance for your planner to get to know you, your priorities, and the celebration you’re imagining. We’ll talk through the big-picture details, answer questions, review what you’ve already started working on, and begin building a customized wedding-day timeline together.
You do not need to have everything figured out before we meet. If the answer to a question is “we don’t know yet,” that’s completely okay. Many of the decisions we discuss can continue to evolve throughout the planning process.
Before We Meet
If you’d like to do a little thinking ahead of time, these are the most helpful places to start. Nothing here needs to be finalized.
First Planning Meeting Worksheet
Optional Preparation
Use this as a place to jot down ideas, questions, or details you’ve already decided. You can also simply follow along with it during your meeting.
VIEW WORKSHEET →
Think about your priorities
What are the things you care about most on your wedding day?
Maybe it’s photography, spending time with guests, incredible food, design, dancing, or keeping the entire day relaxed. Knowing what matters most to you helps your planner advocate for those priorities as the rest of the wedding takes shape.
Gather a little inspiration
If you’ve started saving photos, colors, or ideas, bring them with you. You do not need a finished mood board or perfectly defined aesthetic yet. At this stage, we’re simply getting a feel for what you love.
What we'll talk about
You & Your Wedding
First, we want to know a little about you!
We’ll talk about the overall feel you’re envisioning, what you love about your venue, your wedding party, ceremony ideas, and the things you most want to prioritize.
Food & Beverage
We’ll begin talking about how you envision dinner, any dietary needs you personally have, dessert plans, and some of the food and beverage options available for your celebration. These are early conversations, not necessarily final selections.
Helpful resources: Food & Beverage
Your Vendors
We’ll review which vendors you’ve already booked, what you may still need, and any questions you have along the way.
Our Preferred Vendors are a great place to start, and your planner can make personalized recommendations based on your priorities and the style of celebration you’re planning.
A reminder: your DJ must be selected from Trademark’s Preferred Vendor List.
Your Wedding-Day Timeline
One of the biggest things we’ll accomplish together is beginning your custom wedding-day timeline.
We’ll work through the flow of the day, including venue and vendor access, getting ready, your ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, dinner, formalities, dancing, and the end of the evening. Your planner starts with an established framework and adjusts it around your celebration as you talk through the day together.
Want a preview before we meet? Take a look at our Sample Wedding Timeline.
A Few Details We May Ask About
You don’t need answers to all of these yet, but it can be helpful to start thinking about:
Wedding Party
Who will be standing beside you?
Ceremony
Where are you picturing the ceremony taking place?
Food
Have you thought about your preferred dinner service style or dessert?
Vendors
Who have you already booked?
Your People
Is there a trusted friend or family member who may be able to help with your personal belongings at the end of the night? Your planner may eventually ask you to identify a décor contact for things like cards, gifts, and loading personal items after the celebration.
Again, ideas are enough.
What Happens After the Meeting?
You’ll leave your First Planning Meeting with a much clearer picture of how your wedding day can flow, what decisions are coming next, and where to focus your attention.
Your planner will update your wedding details, follow up on any unanswered questions or recommendations, and remain available if something comes up between meetings.
Your next major milestone will be the Design & Décor Meeting, when we’ll start taking the foundation we’ve created here and designing the celebration from ceremony through reception.
If you want to keep the momentum going: