In this episode of our "12 Steps from Engaged to I Do" series, we’re focusing on Booking Your Key Vendors First. We’re diving into why you need to book key vendors like caterers, celebrants, photographers, and videographers early in the planning process. Since many of these vendors only handle one wedding per day, locking them in ahead of time ensures you secure your preferred team for the big day.

Catering can be one of the larger expenses, especially if your venue doesn’t include it, and the type of catering you choose will impact your budget significantly. Similarly, finding the right celebrant is crucial, not only to make your wedding official but also to ensure your ceremony feels meaningful. When it comes to capturing memories, photographers are a must-have, and their unique style is something to consider carefully. Videographers, though often overlooked, add an extra layer by capturing the emotion and motion of your day, allowing you to relive those moments over and over.

When reaching out to vendors, doing a little research first will save time and help you find the right match. Review their work online, check price guides to ensure they fit your budget, and provide detailed information in your initial enquiry to receive a more accurate quote. Also, be patient while waiting for responses, and don’t hesitate to ask about package flexibility if needed. If you choose not to move forward with a vendor, letting them know is a polite and appreciated gesture.

To wrap things up, booking your key vendors early will set the stage for a smooth wedding day. In the next episode, we’ll discuss other important vendors and offer more tips for making the planning process stress-free. Thanks for listening!

Other Episodes Mentioned:
The Role and Value of a Celebrant: A Conversation with Marry Us Mich
https://www.cutthecakepodcast.com.au/episodes/marry-us-mich

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

In this engaging episode of "Cut the Cake," we dive into the crucial step of sending out save the dates for weddings.

Step three in our Wedding Planning Series highlights the importance and perfect timing for this essential pre-invitation. We explore how save the dates give guests a heads-up on your wedding date and location, especially for those traveling from afar, helping make the planning process smoother for everyone.

We share tips on designing save the dates and discuss the pros and cons of physical versus digital formats. Save the dates are such a fun way to set the tone for your big day while playing a key role in guest management.

From nailing down the timeline and budget to making sure you’ve got a backup plan in case the guest list changes, we’ve got you covered. Plus, we offer practical tips like using CRM systems for email save the dates and ordering extra physical ones just in case!

Resources mentioned:
The Event Wanderer Co. Guest Planning Spreadsheet: https://eventwandererco.com.au/pages/planning

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

In this episode of The Wedding Planning Series, we’re diving into one of the biggest steps in wedding planning – finding the perfect venue!

Whether you're dreaming of a rustic barn or a chic city warehouse, the right venue sets the tone for your big day.

We’ll break down the process into four simple steps, from creating your vision and checklist to visiting venues and making the final decision.

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

In this episode of the The Wedding Planning Series, we dive into two of the most pivotal aspects of planning a wedding: creating a budget and organising the guest list. Starting with a light-hearted chat about hot chocolate preferences and some personal stories, our easy-going banter sets the tone for an informative session.

We cover the critical first steps of wedding planning, stressing the importance of setting a clear budget and prioritising the non-negotiables. We explain the tedious but essential task of researching vendor costs and putting together a detailed spreadsheet to visualise expenses. We also tackle the tricky dynamics of guest lists, offering practical advice on managing family expectations and categorising potential guests. This episode is packed with useful tips, ensuring listeners are well-prepared to kick off their wedding planning on the right foot.

Key Takeaways:

• Assessing Finances: Figure out where your wedding funds are coming from, whether it’s personal savings, family contributions, or loans. Clear communication about financial expectations helps prevent future conflicts.
• Prioritise Must-Haves: Identify and list the non-negotiable elements for your wedding day. This could be certain vendors, the venue’s look and feel, or specific services.
• Research Vendor Costs: Reach out to multiple vendors to get an idea of pricing. Use spreadsheets to compare and consolidate this information, helping to create a realistic wedding budget.
• Guest List Strategy: Make an initial list of potential guests, then categorise them using a traffic light system (Green for yes, Orange for maybe, Red for no). Be mindful of capacity and budget constraints.
• Family Contributions: If family contributions affect the guest list, be clear and set boundaries on how many guests they can invite.
  
  

Mellyrain Creative Freebie: Top 16 Wedding Costs Debunked -https://mellyraincreative.myflodesk.com/weddingcostsdebunked

Mellyrain Creative Freebie: Wedding Budget Template - https://mellyraincreative.myflodesk.com/wedding-budget-template

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

In our Wedding Planning Series: Twelve Steps from Engaged to I Do, we're setting the stage for a straightforward guide to help simplify the often overwhelming process of planning your wedding.

Over the next twelve weeks, we'll be taking you on a journey, offering practical, step-by-step advice to make wedding planning less daunting. We’ll dive into everything from creating your wedding budget to finding your perfect venue, booking key vendors, and so much more. This season of Cut the Cake is designed to be your ultimate wedding planning companion, so you can enjoy every moment leading up to your big day without unnecessary stress. If you're recently engaged and looking for expert guidance, this series is for you!

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

Weddings are days filled with joy, laughter, and sometimes a touch of regret. When a couple's wedding has been and gone, upon reflection there are sometimes regrets. In our time as wedding pros, we see that these regrets are usually the same for most couples. Things they didn’t do that they wish they had. Things they didn’t take into consideration when they probably should have. Putting way too much time into areas and didn’t mean diddly squat on the day. And even thinking “I don’t need to do that” to only look back and say “yep… I should have done that.

In this episode of Cut The Cake, we discuss with a special guest Miri from Married by Miri, 10 wedding day regrets we have found to be the most common in shaping a couples wedding experience.

But this episode isn’t about the doom and gloom of what you will regret when looking back on your wedding day. It’s about 3 experienced wedding pros having the most open discussion based on our couple experiences, and educating our listeners on what you might like to take into consideration when planning your wedding.

Not only do we dive into each regret, but we provide suggestions on how you could possibly avoid experiencing these regrets too. So with all of that said, let’s get into today’s episode.

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

This isn’t a regular episode but a quick public service announcement. We've been dropping new episodes every week for 36 weeks, and time has flown—it's already June! For those in Victoria, Australia, especially in the wedding industry, Winter is the off-season. Not many weddings happen, and many people, including vendors, take this time to recharge or travel.

So, here’s our announcement… drum roll, please. We're taking a short break over Winter! But don’t worry, we have epic plans for when we return. We’ll be back with more structured episodes and vendor insights—perfect for wedding planners. Mark your calendars for Season 2, launching on September 3rd, 2024. Until then, catch up on the 36 episodes we've released. Thanks for all your support, and we can’t wait to be back in September!

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact

In this episode of Cut The Cake we tackle more wedding planning questions you, our lovely listeners, have sent our way for not only advice. But for the honest truths to help you plan your wedding without any unnecessary stress.

Questions we discuss include whether florists take back wedding florals at the end of a wedding and if this is normal. Venue requirements for packing up styling pieces and how this differs from venue to venue. The feasibility of planning a winter wedding in Victoria. And probably the most common question we have been asked recently around upcoming trends for the 2024-2025 wedding season. So let's not delay. Here’s the answers you’re looking for.

About Melanie
Mel is a coffee-loving, too-loud laughing, Melbourne based wedding planner, stylist and coordinator bringing the #skillz approved by Sia to your open-air aisle, outside the city (yes sirly - she has worked with Sia!) Altering managing world-class events in sport and entertainment (think the Australian Open and Sir Paul McCartney), Melanie has rolled that experience in sunshine and hand-delivered it to couples for a personalised dream wedding experience *yes please* Mel's speciality is helping couples across Melbourne & Regional Victoria. She is a couples go-to and wedding day bestie so the whole wedding she-bang doesn’t become a second full-time job. #nothanks

instagram.com/mellyrain.creative
Contact Mel: mellyrain.com.au/contact

About Tania
Tania is an award nominated, coffee obsessed lover of love, and all round stationery nerd... & that is why she started the Event Wanderer Co. After years wrangling Ballkids at the Australian Open, she stepped into the world of weddings and turned her hand to design, combining a love of stationery with today's modern design and printing techniques to bring her biz baby to life. Tania's speciality is all things stationery and signage and also understanding the stress that event and wedding planning can bring and she's here to help you navigate the chaos of the journey.

instagram.com/eventwandererco/
Contact Tania: eventwandererco.com.au/pages/contact