Weddings are one of the most beautiful, crazy, stressful, fun, energetic, romantic days of your life. And hopefully, if you’re lucky, you’ll just have one in your lifetime. Which means that if you spend the entire time trying to decorate and plan and coordinate and make sure everything is happening on time, you will miss it. You will blink and it will be over. 

I’ve always believed in the idea that everything in life is temporary. The current fashions, where we live, work, our hobbies, interests, and even people who come in and out when we least expect it. I believe this for weddings as well. 24 hours is 24 hours no matter if you are traveling across the world, giving birth to a child, taking the biggest test of your life or laying by the pool suntanning. The time is going to pass by no matter what. It’s how we choose to spend our time that is most important. And I have seen it all. I’ve seen the person who is so stressed they need to take a xanax the day of, the person who can’t stop pointing out all the flaws in the decorations 2 minutes before they’re about to say i do, the one who is trying to tell the dj what to do when she should actually be focusing on walking down the aisle, or the one who is telling the caterer where to put things and misses half of her childhood’s best friend speech written just for them. 

Which is why, ultimately, the most important job a planner has is to ensure their couple is calm, happy and enjoying their day being present with their families and friends. That is truly what the day should be. Everything else, the speeches, the florals, the custom bar signage, the rsvps, the invitations, the band cues, that should all be taken care of by a professional who can handle high stress situations. Because whether you send the day stressed out or relaxed is a choice. And we vote relaxed!

Being a bride or groom is an amazing thing. If being a bride or groom was a job description it would be to look your best in your favorite outfit that makes you feel confident when you walk in it, pick an amazing squad of friends and family to hang out with while you are getting ready, and smile and enjoy the day with your beloved. On your wedding day YOU are the celebrity. YOU are the one who everyone wants to say hi to and congratulate. Think of it like it’s your Oscar day! Do you think Julia Roberts was worried about how the lighting on the stage was getting set up? Absolutely not. Her job was to be beautiful, calm and enjoy one of the best days of her life. I don’t know Julia Roberts personally but I’d like to think she had a great team the day of and had a great time.

Now, given that this is what the bride or groom’s role is, you might be asking ok.. So what does a planner do? I’m glad you asked! As I mentioned before, a great planner’s main focus is to create a beautiful day for the happy couple and their friends and family, where when they look back, everything was perfect, even better than they imagined, and so much fun. In order to reach that goal, a planner puts together your wedding team. A planner is like the conductor of an orchestra, and it’s about finding the vendors and venues to fill the seats and figuring out how to make all of them work together in effortless harmony. Your wedding to us is a beautiful symphony. 

We are able to take all of your hopes and dreams and wishes and put them together in a way that works harmoniously, is within budget, and exceeds your expectations. We think of things that you wouldn’t necessarily have even known to ask. Like rain plans, limited indoor space for venues, av requirements for the ceremony, transportation plans if people are driving from far away, flow of the actual event so it feels smooth and logical, enough bathrooms, and the list is truly endless. 

By picking a planner at the beginning, you get to make sure you are getting the best team for your wedding you can. Because we will set deadlines and create timelines to make sure you get your A Squad. With Jacqueline Denise Productions, we don’t do B squads ever. Period! This includes your venue, photographer, videographer, caterer, florist, hair and makeup, musicians and stationary. Within your first three months you have the biggest pieces confirmed and completed already! I know! It was that easy!

Then you get to focus on the fun stuff! Like colors for the invitations, custom dog designs for the welcome sign, signature cocktail recipes, cake flavors. All the pretty and cute things! We do the research for you and give you recommendations based on your taste and goals and then all you have to do is point and say yes.

On wedding day, you get to wake up to JD herself bringing you your custom coffee order, have breakfast catered and slip on comfy slippers as you get ready. We ensure there is plenty of time to relax and get ready and take all the fun before wedding photos, and then send you on your way to get married and do the dang thang! Once you say I do we have cocktails in your hand, snacks at the ready for you, and show you your gorgeous reception space all complete. One bride when she saw her reception literally said “when I die this better be heaven.” She loved it that much. We handle all the speeches, first dances, cake cutting, and only get you as needed for photo opp items. If someone is talking to you too long and you need a break we come get you and whisk you away. We help you bustle dresses, keep flowers fresh, get cards and gifts home safely, and at the end of night send you to your honeymoon suite, overjoyed, happy and wanting to do it all over again!

If you try to plan your wedding, or even bring in someone in the last month, this won’t be your experience. You will be overwhelmed, not know how to answer the millions of questions that will keep coming up, freak out over the mistakes that always happen beforehand and be completely drained by all the family questions. You’ll be over the wedding even before you get to the month of, nevermind the day of!

And we, at JDP, think every couple deserves their perfect wedding day.