Beccy & James: Christian's at The Beauchief

Beccy & James: 21st May 2011: Outsourcing Service

There were only 3 weeks to go before her wedding when I first met Beccy and on realising that the Events Coordinator she had been dealing with had left, she promptly burst in to tears .... Not a great start I thought! (One of the things that I would always recommend to venues is that when a key member of their planning staff leaves, they need to inform all the couples who that person had been dealing with, to prevent & manage some of the shock!).

I had to work quickly & calmly to ensure that I re-gained Beccy's trust & eliminated any doubts or stress, so near to her big day.

I started by covering a run through of her day and produced an itinerary, detailing everything that needed to happen & at what time. I don't mind admitting (after the event of course), that at this stage, there were some gaps in the plan! There was no white linen, there were definitely not 100 Martini Glasses for the cocktails .... neither was there a clear plan for the marquee required to house the additional guests on the outside terrace.

The point is, by producing the plan & walking through the day, it was easy to identify what was still left to do, what needed ordering & what staff needed to be involved on the day. Beccy & her husband James, were having the works .. a cocktail hour & casino in the bar & VIP area, a sit down wedding breakfast for over 120 people in The Ballroom & marquee & a large evening reception... This meant that at some stage of the celebrations, most of the downstairs areas at Christian's would be used, so this became a team effort.

Well..at the risk of being boring & saying the same thing, it's only by having the plan in place, that everyone is clear (including the couple), what needs to happen to make their dreams come to true on their Wedding Day.

Come the big day, I can honestly say that they had a ball & that Beccy will be remembered as one of the happiest brides that I've ever seen. I had a lovely message afterwards to say thank-you & that their day had been absolutely perfect...

The last 2 posts have been my first weddings using my Outsourcing Service. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them.

I also hope that from a couples perspective, it gives you confidence that with the right people in place, everything can be pulled together... even at short notice. From a venue's perspective, it hopefully gives you an insight as to how sometimes, outside help can be extremely valuable & that having external support, doesn't always mean someone working on the outside of your team

With thanks to Mike Leng for the photography @ http://www.mike-leng.co.uk

Jenny & Jonny: Christian's at The Beauchief

Jenny & Jonny:14th May 2011: My first outsourcing service wedding !

Well, following on from my last post, this was the first chance that I had to put the idea of providing an outsourcing service to a venue, in to action & I couldn't have asked for a nicer couple to work with!

I first met Jenny & Jonny less than 2 weeks before their big day & to say they were nervous of having a new person to manage their wedding at such a late stage would be an understatement! It's such an emotional time for couples, especially in the last few weeks ... (another reason to have a planner that is with you from beginning to end!).

I started by going through with Jenny & Jonny, step by step, how their day was going to run. We covered what suppliers had been booked, what was happening at what time & from the first meeting, I produced a plan of the day, so they were confident that I had everything in hand. Having a detailed plan not only allows the venue to coordinate the whole wedding, it also allows couples to see exactly what they can expect. They can then work through everything & make sure they actually do want things at a certain time or in a certain way! ... Sometimes, it's only by seeing everything in black & white, before the event, that they are able to really think about the flow of their day & question whether it is what you they are trying to achieve.

As I was also working with a completely new team @ Christian's, the pre-planning meetings, utilising the day plan, really enabled them to pull together, with everyone understanding what part they had to play. From a venue's perspective, successful weddings are made by lots of individuals, from all the teams involved, understanding what's needed, being prepared & giving a seamless service on the day...

The end result is that the couple get a fantastic service all round, whether it be from the bar, the kitchen or the coordinator ...

Everyone worked together to ensure that Jenny & Jonny's wedding was a great success & in their own words, in the thank-you that they sent ..Their whole day ran smoothly from start to finish & they couldn't have wished for a better day... :-)

Thanks to Deborah Stone Photography @ http://www.deborahstone.co.uk/ for the images & fabulous album Christian's now has to showcase their weddings & to Kate from Pretty Chairs @ http://www.prettychairs.co.uk/ for the venue styling.

Venue Outsourcing: An Additional Service from Unique

So What is Venue Outsourcing?

The background to my decision to offer a outsourcing service through Unique, lies in the fact that I've spent my entire working life in the customer service industry & for the last eleven years of my career I was head of operations in a large contact centre. As part of my role, I looked after the relationship between the business & it's customers & was responsible for making sure not only that we were delivering excellent customer service, but that everything was done with maximum efficiency.

Well......in that environment, it's hard to be efficient when the phone isn't constantly ringing & you have staff who, with the best will in the world, aren't occupied 100% of the time. To fill this time, most places will "outsource" their services to other companies to plug the gaps, answering the phone on their behalf. So... when I was initially approached by Christian's @ The Beauchief a couple of months ago, to help them grow their events & manage their existing weddings, it made perfect sense to incorporate this in to my business, working it around my existing commitments..

For more Unique venues that haven't got weddings every weekend of the year, it doesn't make sense for them to have someone employed full-time, but they still need a person they can rely on to show couples around the venue & manage the actual wedding day on their behalf. There are also the occasions where a venue will need someone in to cover sickness / holidays & ensure the bridal party gets a seamless service.

It's a win/ win for both parties, as the venue gets a wedding professional with experience, on a very ad-hoc basis which will suit their needs & I get to fit this around my current commitments, ensuring that I am occupied for 100% of my time...which I LOVE!! Alongside all the Unique weddings & The Wedding Planning College..I have plenty to keep me occupied. It also makes my work less seasonal, as it gives me the opportunity to work all the year round, focussing on Christmas events, once the wedding season has passed.

I've already had a conversation with a very prestigious venue about extending this service...so watch this space..!!

Thanks to Mark Tierney @ http://www.tierneyphotography.co.uk/ & Deborah Stone @ http://www.deborahstone.co.uk/ for the images...