The Knot Chicago Weddings Spring Summer 2020_downmagaz.com

STYLE + PLANNING
PREP FOR EVERY BASH
While your actual wedding day is
probably your main focus, don’t
forget there are some pretty
fabulous parties happening
alongside it. If hosting a
destination wedding or a
weekend-long event, you’ll
want to put some thought into
shepherding guests to and from
events like your rehearsal dinner,
after-party and brunch. The more
transportation you can arrange ahead of
time (budget permitting, of course), the
easier it’ll be on everyone—and the fewer
questions you’ll be fielding along the way.
PREPARE FOR DELAYS
While we’ve got our fingers crossed that
your day goes flawlessly, it’s probably
best to have a backup plan in place in
case something goes south. Traffic is
unpredictable, so if the plan involves a lot
of traveling (say, among a getting-ready
location, ceremony spot, photo backdrop
and reception venue), you’re definitely
going to want to build an extra hour or so
into your schedule to be safe. You’re the
couple of the hour, so everyone will wait
for you—but with the right schedule in
place, they won’t have to.
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DO A ROLL CALL
Whether your wedding party clocks in
at 3 or 30, you’re going to want to make
sure everyone is accounted for before
important pictures start or your ceremony
kicks off. Avoid a stranded bridesmaid,
ring bearer or groomsman with a roll call
for every vehicle. Task a responsible
wedding party member as the “head” of
each car, then trust that they’ll make sure
everyone in your crew is accounted for
before you leave each location. There’s
nothing worse than realizing you left your
BFF behind in the church bathroom when
you’ve already arrived at your reception
venue. Yikes.
MAKE ROOM FOR EXTRAS
You hired a car big enough to fit you and
all your bridesmaids, so you’re done,
right? Wrong. It’s not just your wedding
party you have to make room for—it’s
all their stuff too. Each person will likely
have a bag, bouquet and extra clothes to
account for. And that doesn’t even
factor in additions like bubbly to pop
on they way to the chapel, a tray of
sandwiches to hold everyone over in
between photos or the killer sequined
jumpsuit you plan on changing into that
practically needs a seat of its own. When
booking transportation, it’s best to
overestimate how much space you’ll need,
rather than try and cram everyone (and
everything) in. Plus, depending on the
rules surrounding your reception space,
you may be responsible for bringing home
things like presents, decorations, extra
blooms and even leftover cake that night.
Trust us, you’ll be happy you budgeted for
that extra room.
PLAN FOR PARKING
Even if you’re providing transportation,
there’s bound to be a portion of your
guests that will drive themselves,
especially if your wedding is local. Talk to
your reception site manager or planner
and find out what your parking options
are on-premises and whether staff (like
parking attendants and valets) will be
provided to you. Keep in mind, a fullservice
valet team (who will park guests’
cars and retrieve them at the end of the
night) is only necessary if parking is
scarce or if the assigned lot is far away.
Otherwise, just plan to put signs around
to help direct guests to the venue’s
designated parking zones and trust that
they can handle it from there.
FANCY UP YOUR FAREWELL
Your first farewell as newlyweds
should be pretty epic, so why not
end your celebration with a wedding
grand exit that practically screams
#newlywedgoals? Mix your chariot of
choice (think: a horse-drawn carriage
or twin Vespas) with sparklers, streamers
or even fireworks for ride that will have
all your guests reaching for their
Instagrams as you wave your new bling.
JADE + MATTHEW TAKE PICTURES
Find your wedding ride at THEKNOT.COM/MARKETPLACE