Lori Draper, Wedding Planner, Instructs Students

"Remember there are no retakes in a wedding," Lori Draper explained to students in MGMT 401 Event Management on September 28, 2009. At the beginning of her career as a wedding planner, a San Francisco caterer told her this to remind her that details are important. Draper got her start in wedding planning when her children were in high school and college. "It's a conflict for my husband because most weddings are on the weekends." She has done around 213 weddings. Draper went into detail her process of navigating a wedding from beginning to end.

When she initially sits down with a couple she has many important questions concerning their special day. She must find out the personality of the bridge and groom to best cater to their wishes. "It's the coordinators job to figure out what can and can't happen," Draper explains that she has the groom and bride sit down and outline what they want their special day to look like. As in, how much time do they want to delegate for pictures after the wedding, or how long do they want cocktail hour to last. Also, if they want a wedding outside, a rain plan is a must. All of these intricate details make the day even more special for the couple.

Weddings have always been inherently expensive; however Draper encourages the couple or family to be reasonable in how much they spend. Some of the best weddings she's seen have been the small budget intimate weddings. She keeps a detailed list of everything she works on to give to the client. Typically she doesn't handle money and the bridal party is in direct contact for payment with vendors.

When planning the wedding she has a very detailed production schedule so that everyone knows when and where things are taking place in preparation for the big day. If possible, she advises meeting with vendors on-site before the day to address possible problems. She also makes a transportation schedule and stresses wedding planners be familiar with community events on that day.

The day of the wedding she makes a simple schedule for the bride and groom to follow. She also makes a schedule for herself with 2 copies. Draper ended her lecture by saying, "remember, a wedding should be fun."