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Macey
Dedicated May 2018

Decorating the day of

Macey, on February 27, 2018 at 11:24 AM Posted in Style and Décor 0 24
I know a lot of venues are probably like this but has anyone done all of the decorating for their wedding the day of the wedding? We can’t get in to our venue until 8:00 the morning of the wedding and our ceremony starts at 4. I don’t have a planner or anything, my mom and I have done everything by ourselves. I’m sure it will be fine and we will have the help of lots of close friends and family but it still makes me a little nervous! I plan on just being very organized and figuring out exactly where everything will go beforehand. Any other tips?

24 Comments

Latest activity by GoodMOB, on March 3, 2018 at 6:37 PM
  • LB
    Champion November 2016
    LB ·
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    Honestly, I would look into hiring a DOC that could help you set up things. You shouldn't ask your friends/family to set up your wedding. Also, if your ceremony is starting at 4, depending on how many BMs you have, you'll probably want to start getting ready by 10 or 11.

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  • R
    Expert September 2018
    R ·
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    I agree ^^^ Think about a DOC. Just someone to help keep you on track and your sanity.

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  • Mrs. Sponge
    Master April 2018
    Mrs. Sponge ·
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    I'm team hire a DOC. I wasn't going to originally and after almost cancelling our wedding because of the stress FH surprised me with a meeting with a DOC that still had our date available. We loved her and she is taking so much stress off of me. She will do the set up in the morning and the clean up after the reception is over.

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  • Anne
    Master April 2017
    Anne ·
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    DOC sounds like the right call for this. You will be busy getting ready and won't have a ton of time to decorate. We couldn't get into our venue until noon the day of so having a DOC was a lifesaver! Although we didn't have much much decorating to do ourselves anyways (venue and florist took care of most of it), just a bit of setup.

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  • N
    Devoted March 2018
    Norma ·
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    Honestly pay someone. I know that sounds crazy but that’s what we are doing. Our venue has a function in our room until 1. Our ceremony is at 5:30. I hired someone from my DJ company to set up. I didn’t want anyone to rush getting ready or set up all dressed up. If you can find it in your budget I truly suggest it.
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  • Mrs. Fall Bride
    Master October 2016
    Mrs. Fall Bride ·
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    Hire someone. You, or anyone else in your family/wedding party should not be working the day of your wedding.

    I dropped off all my stuff at the venue 2 days before, and my wedding planner and florist took care of everything for me.

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  • O
    Master October 2017
    O ·
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    Our vendors weren't allowed in the rooms to set up until 2 hours before the ceremony, that I had to fight for. They were only going to allow one hour tops. I hired an event coordinating company to set up the rooms. There was no feasible logical efficient way to set up the rooms, take photos, and get ready AND no way was I having my mom, MIL or family members setting up. I wanted them to not have a worry.
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  • FutureMrsW
    VIP March 2018
    FutureMrsW ·
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    Yeah, definitely hire someone. My venue comes with a coordinator who is going to set up everything for me, which is a huge relief. I still have to lay out on paper exactly what I want and where, but she'll set everything up with venue staff and then I'll come down and just check everything.

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  • Daria
    VIP January 2019
    Daria ·
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    Hire a DOC. They will take care of this, plus a million other things that you aren't going to want to deal with on the day. Somebody parked in the florists delivery spot? Bakery doesn't know which table to set the cake on? DJ is running late? I don't even want to know about, never mind try to solve these problems while I'm getting my hair and makeup done. It's not that much, and most BAM's I've read list this as their top advice and money well spent.

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  • MrsBanks
    Expert April 2018
    MrsBanks ·
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    I think it is perfectly acceptable to ask your bridal party to ask set up. Every wedding I've been I'm has done that. And every wedding I've been to has done that. Most people who are asked to be in wedding expect to help.
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  • MrsBanks
    Expert April 2018
    MrsBanks ·
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    Also... My venue doesn't allow us in until RIGHT before the wedding starts due to another wedding being before us. So all the groomsmen have jobs, the bridesmaids have a few jobs, and of course FH has a bunch of jobs to do very quickly before we get everything started. Should be fun lol. But we will get it done
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  • FutureMrsS
    Expert October 2018
    FutureMrsS ·
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    We hired a DOC. Lucky for us the venue is very laid back and are letting us have the reception area the entire day before! The actual ceremony will be on a golf course though and we can not set up for it until that morning, but they are letting us drop everything down at the club house the day before too.

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  • Luna to be
    Dedicated March 2018
    Luna to be ·
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    I also don't have access to my venue until 8 the morning of. Luckily my venue provides a DOC, but I imagine my mom, FMIL, and I will be helping to set up until it is time to get ready. I am a little more than two weeks out and I'm starting to plan exactly how I want everything to look so that if I need to start getting ready before we finish everything, I can easily let my mom and FMIL know what I want.

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  • Candace
    Expert April 2018
    Candace ·
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    We have a friend doing our DOC. We can only get in 3 hours beforehand. We've had friends and family ask how they can help, and most everyone looks excited to help the day of. I'm creating a document with step by step instructions, making a Google doc to sign up for before and after help. We're also giving people an extra gift for helping. If you have the funds hire someone, but if you can't afford it and people are asking to help then use the resources you have.
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  • AC
    Devoted September 2021
    AC ·
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    We hired a DOC last minute to avoid the stress. We can start decorating @ 9:00 and the cermony is at 5:00. My FH is doing the ceremony arch but other than that we want to have time to get teady and take pictures and not running around decorating and organizing.
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  • Marie
    Devoted March 2018
    Marie ·
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    I could not imagine doing all that needs to be done with myself and one other person! If you can't get a DOC, solicit family and friends just to take the pressure off you. Unless of course doing this is your zone. Thin in that case, I say go for it.
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  • 2d Bride
    Champion October 2009
    2d Bride ·
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    It depends on how elaborate your decorations are. We set up for the ceremony (which was at noon) ourselves. But the decorations were pretty basic--a chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy), the ketubah (formal Jewish wedding contract) on an easel, a table with a tablecloth in front, some pew bows, and sashes around the seats in the front row. And we didn't try to decorate at all for the reception.

    For more elaborate decorations, especially if the ceremony and reception are at different venues, it may be best to hire someone.

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  • Future Mrs M
    Super June 2018
    Future Mrs M ·
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    That is one of the many reasons we chose our venue. As long as no one has the venue that week, we can come in every evening as early as Wednesday. I would definitely hire someone so that everyone can enjoy your morning with you. I would hate to ask family/friends to be rushing around that morning.

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  • Rachel
    Expert September 2019
    Rachel ·
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    I'm also Team DOC...... we haven't booked a venue yet, but an onsite coordinator is one of the things I am most willing to pay for. It's going to save you soooooooo much stress. DOCs will even have answers and solutions ready to go for things you never even knew were a thing!

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  • Ashley
    VIP December 2018
    Ashley ·
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    I'm not having a DOC because they cost an arm and a leg (I understand why- it's totally justified). My venue is setting up the tables and my grandma and aunt (both designers/decorators) said they wanted to help setup, so they're helping my mom's friend (who is a wedding planner/coordinator) put up the centerpeices I made and aisle/gazebo decor. My mom's friend offered to do all this plus all the DOC traditional stuff for free, but I'm obviously going to pay her something. I can see why DOCs are necessary, but whatever my venue doesn't set up will be pretty simple so I'm not too worried.

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