Wedding Coordinators Spill The Tea!
We LOVE Wedding Coordinators!
At The Wildflower 301 we truly love wedding coordinators because we know they are VITAL to producing an extraordinary wedding! We have an amazing on-site coordinator at The Wildflower 301: Nicole Moore Dawkins. Additionally, we have 3 onsite coordinators at our sister wedding venue in New Smyrna Beach, FL, The Grand Ol’ Barn, who we asked to join in on the fun with Nicole! We asked all of our Adventure Together Wedding Venue coordinators to answer all the questions you WANT to ask a wedding coordinator!
We couldn’t squeeze everything into 1 blog post, therefore, make sure you check back with us next week to read the rest of this blog post and to learn MORE about Nicole Moore Dawkins, The Wildflower 301’s Lead Coordinator!
Meet Our Adventure Together Wedding Venue Coordinators:
The Wildflower 301 + Grand Ol’ Barn Wedding Coordinators
Nicole Moore Dawkins (NMD) of the Wildflower 301 (sister wedding venue in Greensboro, GA)! Nicole is the lead coordinator at The Wildflower 301 and the owner of Always and Forever Weddings and Events , which was created in 2019. Nicole joins us from the Atlanta area!
Melinda Sabina (MS) of the Grand Ol' Barn! Melinda has been with the Grand Ol' Barn since the beginning and has coordinated 40+ Grand Ol' Barn weddings.
Ashley Barksdale (AS) of The Grand Ol' Barn! Ashley has 11+ years in the wedding industry and hails from Saint Augustine, Florida!
Jamie O'Connell (JO) of The Grand Ol' Barn! Jamie has been a wedding planner for 10+ years and comes to us from our very own backyard, Volusia County! Jamie is the owner of: Jamie O'Connell Events !
Spilling The Wedding Tea:
Q +A's with Wedding Coordinators!
1.)What's your top 3 best tips when it comes to wedding planning in general, whether it has to do with time of year, the type of venue, how to begin +/or wedding planning specifics?
Nicole
Always begin with a budget (even if its a loose one). Hire your planner/coordinator FIRST. A planner/coordinator can help make sure you are staying within your budget & direct to venues & vendors that work for your specific needs, style & budget, ultimately saving you both time & money. Lastly, skip all the things you don't care about. It's your day! If you don't like cake, don't spend hundreds on cake. If you don't like the idea of a garter toss/ bouquet toss GREAT, that gives us more time to party! -NMD
Ashley
The time of year here in Florida plays a big factor in wanting an outdoor ceremony. The first thing to do is find your venue. This helps determine the style of your dress, floral, & colors of your wedding. Always ask the venue for rates before touring and if they have any specials going on.- AB
Jamie
Try to be flexible with your wedding date. Hire a planner. Discuss & decide your budget before you do anything else. It is a hard conversation, but will save so much stress & grief during the entire planning process to have those in place. - JO
Melinda
(1)As much as I love inspo boards & things like that, it's so important you cultivate the vision inside your head. Who says you can't mix elegant with some fun disco balls? If you love it, GO FOR IT. It's your wedding day after all.
(2)After you book your venue I highly suggest booking your officiant. There's so many couples & so limited wedding weekend dates. Remember, officiants book up quickly!
(3)Have a private last dance. It's so special to take that moment with it's dirty tables, messy dancefloor, and falling hair to really enjoy the stillness of the moment before we ramp right back up for your fun exit. -MS
2.) For venues specifically, as a wedding planner, what is it you want to remind your brides + grooms to be on the lookout for when it comes to deciding on a venue?
Definitely check to see what's included, inclusions are where you save! Time slot, do you have the venue exclusively for the entire day. Many venues have more than 1 wedding per day or limit your time onsite. Is there a bar or catering minimum? - NMD
Make sure you know the guest capacity of the venue, if they have getting ready rooms/suites, and access time on your wedding day. - AB
On site staffing, weather /back up space, requirements of licensed and insured vendors. - JO
Make sure the venue you're visiting has enough restroom accommodations. I usually suggest one bathroom for every 20-25 guests, especially if there's an open bar for obvious reasons. - MS
3.) You've all coordinated at other venues, what makes the Adventure Together wedding venues: The Wildflower 301 in Greensboro, GA + The Grand Ol’ Barn in New Smyrna Beach, FL stand out from the rest? What's your favorite Wildflower 301 or Grand Ol’ Barn wedd venue perk?
To be completely honest, what is there not to LOVE about The Wildflower 301?! It is quite literally the most dreamy venue I've had the opportunity to work with! Everything was so well thought out & executed, from the Whiskey Room, to the White Room, to the Celebration House! The gardens are right out of a magazine, it's PERFECT! Just hire a planner (shameless plug!), weddings in general have too many potential disasters to count & as coordinators, it's our job to "fix them all", lol. - NMD
I love that we offer in house catering and onsite florals at the Grand Ol' Barn! - AB
I love that The Grand Ol' Barn (+the Wildflower 301) includes as much as they do: the centerpieces, the signage it all adds up quickly & it's so nice to not have to purchase them & then hope to sell them on various marketplaces & websites. - MS
The biggest wow factor for me when I came on board at Grand Ol’ Barn (+ this applies to our sister venue, The Wildflower 301) was all the décor & rental items that are INCLUDED in the venue rental! I am still in shock over it now! It really is a great value. I also think our barn is so amazingly versatile and The Wildflower 301 IS VERSATILE. - JO
The Wildflower 301 allows couples to enjoy the exclusive benefit of utilizing our wedding day decor as an inclusion of their wedding venue rental rate.
4.) What wedding day "oh no!" situation was YOUR PERSONAL hero story? In other words, a wedding where you were the coordinator and YOU saved the day? What happened, how did you fix it?
A panicking bride came to me 4 days before her wedding, because she could no longer hold her completely planned & designed wedding at the original venue due to policy changes. She lived out of state, therefore it was completely up to me to vet new venues at the last minute. Long story short, not only did I find her her dream venue, but I came in under budget & my husband (who is an event designer) redesigned her décor to fit the new location! She landed the day before her wedding & she was completely happy! - NMD
Leading up to one of my couples weddings their videographer went MIA weeks before their wedding. The big day was upon us. We expected him to show up the morning after finally hearing from him a week before the wedding. He didn't show & we couldn't get in touch with him. Thankfully we have great relationships with our local vendors & after many phone calls we were able to find 1 of our videographers in our little community who was available! He didn't charge my couple 1 dime & he was amazing! - AB
I had a wedding where a DJ didn't show after telling us "he was on the way" when we were minutes out from the ceremony. I personally held a speaker attached to my Bluetooth as I streamed Spotify & played their ceremony music having to time out song changes while queuing the wedding party. Having been in the service industry as a bartender for many years, I reached out to my contacts & had a DJ at the Grand Ol' Barn before we even opened the doors for reception, all without the bride knowing. "Incredible", if I do say so myself! - MS
I have so many of these stories, I could probably write a book, but 1 of the most memorable times was when a baker forgot about the wedding cake delivery! After she was about 15 minutes late I called to just get an ETA figuring she got held up in traffic, when she started screaming into the phone, “OH MY GOD! I have it down on my calendar wrong! I’m loading it up now & bringing it!”. Of course this created a major issue in the timing of all the events & having to have the baker bring it in while other things were happening that the actual set up itself was most definitely in the way. I quickly went into action & changed up a few things, & luckily it worked out! The baker was 2 hours late, however, to this day, the bride + groom have NO idea any of that happened. That is the best part for me. - JO
5.) What should brides keep in mind when it comes to wedding glam and/or wedding attire?
Always schedule a hair + makeup trial! This is where you really get a feel for the stylist & whether or not you like their work. Plus this is a good opportunity to schedule your engagement photos for the same day. - AB
When it comes to gowns, forget the rules. If you want to wear your Great Aunt Mildred's wedding dress from six decades ago, DO IT! If you want something modern & short, DO IT! This day is about you & you get ONE of them, so do it wearing what YOU want. - MS
Do what you want. It really is about you + your partner & the love you have for each other. - JO
Every detail is curated to perfection at The Wildflower 301!