What To Expect Coordinating a Wedding at a Private Residence

Happy Monday, friends! This past weekend I was able to check off a wedding that I have been planning for the last 16+ months! This was a special wedding for so many reasons – one of which being the bride is the daughter of a former manager that I absolutely adore and the second was it was gave me the opportunity to check off a huge to do for my wedding planner resume – executing a wedding a private residence! There is so much more that goes into planning a wedding at a private residence – from the bathroom situation to police detail and neighbors to consider.

The first thing to consider is the logistics of vendor drop offs. For example, this was a tented wedding, with catering a luxury loo, rentals & florals that needed to be delivered prior to Saturday! Since this is a private residence, you have far more leeway with drop of times during the week so the tent was set up mid-week. The rental deliveries were staggered for the rental companies on Friday so that there would be less set up on Saturday.

There was a little hiccup on Saturday with the catering and band arriving at the same time (early) which is a good thing, but it left for a little backup in the driveway and not enough room for both to unload so there was a half hour delay, but not enough to do anything for the timeline to be affected – thankfully!

When you’re coordinating a wedding at a venue – there is a lot of staff to take care of the tiny things so that we focus on the bigger picture of managing all the vendor setups and time, but with a wedding like this, we get down into the details and do everything from move tables to actually cutting the fresh rosemary for each place setting – it’s all about the tiny details! We actually went back and forth for a solid 15 minutes on the way we wanted the napkins to be folded so that the beautiful plate would be visible as well as where to place each menu. Something I’m sure only a handful of guests even noticed, but this is really all about the details!

It’s always important for the all the vendors to know who you are, especially as questions come up, which is why I always introduce myself right away when they arrive. I work pretty closely with the on-site catering manager for proper execution as well, since so much of the timeline relies on food service. Every coordinator is different, but I always share my departure time and what’s left on the agenda for the evening, which is typically just dancing and dessert! It’s important for me to stay through the speeches and dinner service – after that it’s smooth sailing and all the fun so there is really nothing to help manage from our end.

The property itself is absolutely incredible with plenty of space for nearly 200 guests to wander and roam without feeling like sardines packed on the dance floor. The ceremony was overlooking the water, the cocktail hour was actually in the driveway and had a very laidback cocktail vibe with the comfiest loungers and then of course the reception was in a beautiful sail tent. There is also a pizza kitchen outside that the caterer was able to utilize for late night bites.

Overall, this was one of the most fun weddings that I have been lucky to be part of. It was a labor of love not only by the hosts that have prepared their property for over a year, but also the entire team of vendors that came together to execute the couples’ vision.

Vendors for this incredible wedding include:

• Tent – Magni-fa-tent
• Florist – Floristika Studio
• Catering – Lavishly Dunn
• Band – Pink Talking Fish
• Photographer – Julia Kathryn Photography
• Hair & Makeup – Danielle Keefe Artistry
• Wedding Planners – Bespoke Boston Weddings & Events
• Rentals – PEAK Rentals & Party Rental Limited