2023 Workshop Day 3 Recap
Time to recap Planner Life Academy wedding planner workshop Day 3!
The grand finale, a day filled with so many fun topics, expert conversations and hands on learning. So excited to share with you the photos from Lorely Meza and to wrap the recap of the workshop day by day. Enjoy!
Day 3 is always bittersweet! Feeling of gratitude for our time together and everything learned and shared. But sadness it comes to an end today. Of course, huge thanks to the team who made it all happen!
Production Support & Educator @blissfullystyledevents
Photography & Styling @lorelymeza
PLA Assistant @leshiekeys PLA BTS & Content @cieramuscarella
Hair & makeup @designvisage #DVBreannaS, #DVSarah, #DVRachel, #DVMandy
Venue @therichlandoc & Dinner Catering @24carrotscatering
Floral Mock up & Cake @oakandtheowl
Specialty Rentals @foundrentalco @theonicollection @sigpartyrentals
Linens @bbjlatavola
Audio Visual @ambereventprod
Signage & Tags @delovelydetails
Speaker @norasheils @rockpapercoin
Speaker @ourprovenance
Educator & PLA Ambassador @forthegoodevents
Planner Life Academy Ambassadors @homerunevents @meganrose_events @huneventsla @radiantloveevents
Swag bags @plannerlifeacademy @24carrotscatering @delovelydetails @crownaffair @aislebeauty_ @oneskin.co @sundaymusedesign @itspapercliche
This year’s swag bags included women owned beauty brands that I love and was so excited to share with attendees. Products I use daily - hair towel by Crown Affair, my favorite face moisturizer by One Skin and then my go to lipstick from a fellow wedding planner and PLA grad - Aisle Beauty.
We started the day again with lips and lashes from Design Visage. Helping each planner get photo ready and feel confident for their new headshot mini session with Ashley Rae.
Day 3 is about best practices in the final weeks leading up to the wedding and the big day! We started off with a conversation with 24 Carrots Catering team about venues, tastings, working well with your catering team and more.
Next we chatted about through the 60 Day Checklist and step by step through the coordination process. For so many planners, this is a lightbuld moment on creating a process that ensures a great wedding day but actually requires less hours than previously spent on these final steps.
Next, we dive into the final timeline - the final details, vendors confirmations and more. The exact process I use to ensure the vendor team has the info they need for a successful wedding day.
Special thanks to Sarah from Mullberry & Moss who led us in a how to create a boutineire and then we practiced pinning the bouts. Such a simple but important skill for every planner to know!
Next Richel from For the Good Events shared more about her story and her business on Oahu. She shared about building a team and things to consider when breaking into destination weddings and specifically advice for Hawaii weddings.
Next Karen and I talked through a full wedding day and then dove into wedding day assistant do’s and dont’s. Having a strong wedding day team is such a key part of every wedding planner’s success. So many lessons we have learned over the years in terms of finding great support, setting the team up for success, pay, contracts and more.
Next up is one of my favorite hands on learning sessions- Cake cutting! I love sharing my history of cutting wedding cakes and teaching attendees how to easily and confidently cut the cake should you ever need to. We start with how you prep for cake cut, how you instruct the couple to cut for photos and video, then how you dissasemble and cut the cake. Giving attendees the option to cut a slice and then enjoy. Special thanks to Couture Cakery for the beautiful and delicious cake! And Oak and the Owl for the stunning florals.
Back to the desk for our final sessions of the workshop. Planners that were back at the workshop for a second time joined Karen on stage for an honest conversation about all that you learn hear and how to best take it and move forward toward your goals. It’s so special to see how far they’ve come and how attending agin was just as beneficial if not more in this next chapter of their careers.
We were so thrilled to have two partner speakers join us next. Steven the founder of Our Provenance. He shares his story and how Provence is an incredible tool for planners and couples. (In case you missed it, we dive deeper into his story and the tools of Provenance on the podcast in Episode 40.)
Next, Nora from Bridal Bliss and Rock Paper Coin joined me for a candid and honest conversation about process, pricing - specifically percentage based pricing and how the need for a better tool for invoicing and contracts led her to build Rock Paper Coin. (Listen to more about Nora and RPC on Episode 36 of the podcast!)
Last but not least, we had a conversation with my mentor, Lori Quinn about mentorship, my origin story and how so much of who I am and this mission of Planner Life Academy comes from the mentorship and support I received from her. It was an incredible full circle moment.
The workshop ends with a happy hour, lots of hugs and photos. Answering pending questions, discussing next steps and reminded planners that my support continues well beyond the walls of the workshop.
Insanely proud of this group of planners. They came in with open hearts and open minds. We share three incredible days and built relationships that last a lifetime!
Hear what the academy experience was like from Alexis about her experience at the workshop for a second time and her advice to planners considering attending , video by 618 Studios.
That’s a wrap on the 2023 workshop! Thank you again to everyone who helped make it possible!!
xo, Heather