Jodie, Jodie, Jodie.. I don’t even know where to begin. She was more than I could’ve ever asked for in a wedding planner, and she has become a dear friend. If you are even slightly considering hiring a planner/coordinator, you need to meet Jodi...e and get her on board.
When I started searching the knot for a planner, I felt a little bit like crazy Fran in the movie The Wedding Planner. Because really, who needs to spend more money on planner when they’re the one who has to make all the decisions anyway? I had no idea how essential a planner is to creating your PERFECT day, and I feel blessed to have found such a professional, knowledgeable, and just overall damn amazing planner as Jodie.
A few things Jodie does that, without, we may have just eloped!
1. Planning calendar! Jodie creates a calendar with a specific task to complete each month. For example, one month might be the month to find your perfect photographer. Jodie contacts photographers to get availability, and then she’ll give you 5-10 photographer options of all different photography styles. She gives you tips and recommendations to guide your decision, and then, with her, you interview your top 2 or 3. Once you’ve made the choice, Jodie is the point of contact for the vendor so you don’t need to answer 1000 emails leading up to your day with little questions. Jodie also keeps all contracts located in one place (her planning software that you have access to), and she keeps a calendar with all important dates as to when $$$ is due to each respective vendor.
2. She advocates for you, no matter what! We ran into a really big issue with our first venue, to the point that 87 days out from our wedding day, we needed to find a new venue that could accommodate 400 people in the COVID era, after we had already booked all of our other vendors. While I was a little stress ball (to say the least), Jodie handled the situation with grace. She was patient with me, answered my frantic phone calls late at night, and made sure that everything worked out for the better.. And it really did!
3. Wedding day—I will say it over and over again. You NEED to have Jodie there for your wedding day. Coordinating timeline, vendors (so. many. vendors.), guests, handling day of issues, setting up, breaking down, the list goes on and on. I don’t think anyone will realize how incredibly valuable it is to have someone like Jodie until the day of the wedding. Our day ran so smoothly. It was truly a wedding out of a magazine. And that was 100% thanks to Jodie.
Jodie, if and when you see this, I adore you more than I will ever be able to put into words. A thank you note, a review.. None of it will ever suffice to express my gratitude for you. I love you. Thank you for being born and being so damn amazing at what you do ❤️