WEDDING PLANNER Q&A SERIES: Heather Fier

We reached out to some wedding planners, and friends of Generation Tux, to get their advice on how couples can keep planning for their wedding during an uncertain time. In our third Q&A, we talked to Heather Fier; founder of The Wedding Hacker in San Diego, CA.

What are some ways couples can continue planning during this time?

Pour yourself a drink, snuggle up with your love on the couch, and dive into these aspects of your wedding plans:

1) Review and tighten up your wedding budget

There is too much uncertainty in the world to layout deposits and make large financial decisions, but you can still make progress toward your dream day. If your financial situation has changed due to the crisis, this step isn’t negotiable… you really need to make adjustments to your wedding plans. That said, there are many ways to stretch a wedding budget, so don’t panic. The key to planning on a leaner budget is focusing on your priorities. While math and budgets may not sound like the sexiest date night, I promise that facing the real numbers and developing a realistic plan will make you feel better.

Here is an overview of how to create a wedding budget that you can actually stick to.

Sort out the real numbers, so you can move forward confidently.

2) Develop your DIY skills

With wedding planning the options on the table often take an investment of money or time. Well, we all have a little more time in our day at the moment, so this is a great time to build up to develop those crafting skills you’ve been neglecting. There are so many online courses and tutorials for everything from florals, calligraphy, to creating balloon arches. Flex that creativity and have some fun. Whether you decide to work on the graphic design for escort cards or make homemade marmalades as wedding favors, these DIY projects will often save a bundle and will definitely provide for some quarantine entertainment.

3) Prepare for a successful marriage

Think beyond the wedding day and take some time to prepare for married life. The relationship and personal finance experts at this virtual wedding expo discuss how to strengthen your relationship, outline your five-year plan together, and prepare for merging your finances. You can join the Expo for FREE and learn from our amazing lineup of experts from your couch.

Watch the social media account of your favorite thought leaders as many folks are rolling out “challenges” and “virtual summits” to help empower couples at this time.

4) Leverage the web build out your wedding day style

You do not need to leave the house to nail your wedding day style. I wrote two articles to help you score an amazing and affordable wedding gown online.

1. The process
2. The online resources

And let’s not forget the gents… You can keep the momentum going from home with amazing resources like Generation Tux. You can explore the styles, fabrics and fit from the safety of your home by ordering swatches or a suit for a free home try-on.

How do you keep the wedding party engaged and keeping their wedding in their plans?

Just because we’re all social distancing doesn’t mean we need to be socially isolated. Keep communicating with your wedding VIPs. My clients have been holding virtual happy hours on Zoom, keeping communication flowing via Slack, and the laughs rolling with Houseparty. You can keep momentum going and friendship strong with all these modern tools. Worried about keeping your wedding party focused on their to-do list? I’m a big fan of Asana where you can assign out tasks with due dates. Generation Tux makes managing the suits simple with their online platform, so your crew can get their look locked in without leaving the house.

The couple has made the decision to postpone, what creative ways are they notifying guests and wedding party of the change?

Communicate clearly and promptly… digital is best for speed & cost-effectiveness. The wedding industry is stepping up here and many calligraphers and graphic designers are offering free postponement templates. Many online resources are offering free re-printing of invitations. In this unprecedented time, there aren’t “rules” to follow, so email, text, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram all work well to spread the word to your guests. It can be emotionally draining on the couple to field all the questions from guests and to have the same conversation dozens of times. Because of this, I have been suggesting to my couples that they ask their wedding VIPs to help with a “phone tree” to discuss details or note a specific point of contact or your wedding website address to handle the follow up (FAQs and updates) on your behalf. Lastly, it is totally okay to announce a postponement without a new date set in stone. Just keep an open dialogue with your guests as new plans firm up.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a couple reading this after making the decision to postpone?

Take your power back. It is natural to grieve the loss of the day you were planning. Feel those feelings and then keep pushing forward. Each couple will process this in their own way, but you will start to feel better once you focus on building excitement about the new plans. Staying in that powerless mode will not help you feel better and will keep you from making the most of the new wedding day you are planning. Look for the benefits of this new date and allow yourself to be excited about the new plan developing. There is likely some silver lining if you look for it.

For more information on how Generation Tux is helping couples plan during the COVID-19 situation,click here.

Heather Fier – Founder of the Wedding Hacker Club

Wedding Hacker Club

Website:https://theweddinghacker.com/

IG: @weddinghackerclub

Here are a few of Heather’s favorite Generation Tux images, see more inspiration a the Generation Tux gallery.