Did you decorate yourself!?

CassandraPKendall

Did you decorate your own wedding reception, or did you have a wedding planner?  After meeting with a rude wedding planner, I am thinking I might have to do the decorating/wedding planning solo.  Can I take this on?!  Any advice- the reception hall is my main concern!

random4180

If you can get into the venue the day before, I'd definitely say so! We did something similar and since we were getting married across the street from the hall, we wound up having a rehearsal dinner/decorating party the night before the wedding. Everything was pretty much set by the time we left, with the exception of centerpieces and our gift table (our caterer was also in charge of the tables and chairs, which weren't set up the night before.) We left instructions for those arrangements after confirming with the caterer that it was okay to do so. 

If you have to do it the same day as your wedding, it could get tricky and you'd have to be pretty good at delegating because you most likely won't have time to be filling vases or lighting candles. 

gailpete

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the wedding planner you met with.  If it is in your budget, keep looking and find another day of coordinator to take care of the decorating for you.  You will appreciate not having to worry about anything other than getting yourself ready and to the church on your wedding day.

Good luck.

rlavach

It all depends on your situation. We weren’t allowed into our reception hall until 2h before the cocktail hour which is exactly when I was getting married! So I obviously couldn’t do it myself. My florist, who is also a friend, would’ve done it, but since she was a guest at the wedding, that wouldn’t work either. We ended up getting a DOC for that exact purpose. We had no one to set up the décor. She ended up being invaluable in so many other ways that it was totally worth it.

 

Honestly, if you’re able to get in there the night before & have a lot of friends/family who have volunteered to help & most importantly, it’s a simple design…then go for it. If not, then don’t give yourself the headache of all of that. It’s a lot of work & you don’t need to be that stressed. Let someone else take care of it.

Miss_2010

We hired a decorator for ours, I would never tackle that

rbmojo1

Where I got married they had a staff that took care of stuff like this.  Well...they decorated one particular way and if we wanted anything different we had to make arrangements for that.  Does your place do anything like that?  If they do, I'd see what they offer and then try to make the most out of that.  If they don't, do you have any cousins or family friends that would be willing to pick up the job?  Is it something you'd feel comfortable letting the men (groom & his attendants) take care of the mornign of the wedding? There is NO WAY I would have wanted to decorate the day or night before my wedding.  That's a night for you to mingle with your guests and relax.

alithebride

decorate as far as what? our florist put all of our cpieces together and put them on the tables, the venue employees put out our table #s, cards, etc... what else would you have to do?

akrysl22

We have a totally blank space, so we are doing it all!  Tables, chairs set up to stringing lights for the ceiling.  Luckily, we are able to get in a few days prior.  Our goal is to start on Wed, finish Thursday night, and final touches the day of.  That way, we have Friday to enjoy with our guests (or finish last minute stuff!).  I realize this is unique since we could get it for these extra days.
But, if you have help, do it yourself.  Then, you can make sure it's how you want it and you'll save money on a DOC.  Plus, it gives you more time to be with your family and friends!

ZeroOrchestra

We had a DOC. I was in a wedding where the bride had no coordinator and the decorating was left to us BMs last minute. No one had notified us and we found ourselves in an empty reception room 2 hours prior to the ceremony, in our dresses with hair and make up already done. Whatever you do, don't do that!