Having a planner for your wedding can make a huge impact on your photography outcome. And just to be clear, a venue coordinator is not a planner… As a photographer, I always discuss with my couples a timeline specifically for photography in addition to all aspects of the day that directly affect photos. But there is so much more to a wedding day then just photography. You need someone that is involved in all aspects of the day and has your best interests at heart (and not just the venue’s interests as a venue coordinator would). When you don’t have to be worried about all the moving parts of your wedding, you won’t be stressed! And as a result, you’ll look your absolute best in photos because of it :)
Today I’ve teamed up with A Touch of Southern Events, one of the most wonderful planning teams here in North Carolina. They opened the doors in 2014 and have now grown to a team of 4 planners, 2 associate planners, and 2 interns. Building lasting relationships with clients is their personal priority and it makes their hearts melt when they get to help clients plan for some of the greatest moments in life.
From Amanda, the founder and one of the lead planners at A Touch of Southern Events–
What do you do at A Touch of Southern Events?
We are a full-service event planning and design team with a heart for helping others celebrate life’s special moments. Our specialty is weddings, but we also plan any other type of celebration. North Carolina is where we call home, but we will travel wherever the event takes us. Our mission at ATOS is to do all that we can to make sure our client’s special day is all that they dreamed it would be and more! From weddings and corporate events to showers and parties, we use our southern charm to help celebrate life’s special moments both big and small.
How does A Touch of Southern Events elevate a couples wedding day experience?
Our clients invest time, energy, and money into their wedding, so it is our goal to take on the stress of planning and ALL of the logistics on the day of. This is so that our couples can actually enjoy the moment rather than worrying about the details. We work with our clients to make sure we understand their wants, needs, and vision for the day, and make sure that the plan is carried out from start to finish. We are also the problem solvers. If any unforeseen issues arise (there is always at LEAST one), our team is able to jump in and handle the problems without putting any unneeded stress on bridal party, family or friends. We want the focus to be on the couple during such a memorable day. We take care of the logistics so that all our couples have to worry about is soaking up the beauty of the day.
What specific things do you do to help enhance your client’s wedding day photos?
Wedding day photos are so important to us, because having those amazing photos from one of the most memorable days of your life is invaluable. You will be able to relive the day for the rest of your life! The photographer is the professional when it comes to taking the perfect photos for the couple, so we work closely with the photographer throughout the planning process to create a schedule together. It is important to ensure that there is ample time on wedding day to get all of the must needed and wanted shots. We also work with our couples to make a list of “must have” photos to share with the photographer prior to wedding day. We encourage our clients to have all of their “detail” photos items in a central location so that they photographer can get those photos upon arrival. On wedding day, our team makes sure that everyone is where they need to be for the photos so that the time throughout the day is used efficiently.
I’m so grateful to planners on a wedding day. They made events run so smoothly so that the couple, their family, and even their guests, can truly be a part of day and not have to worry about a single thing. Amanda from ATOS put it like this- “We always encourage potential clients to hire a PROFESSIONAL (even if it isn’t our team) to coordinate their wedding. This person is the eyes, ears, hands, and voice on the day of and will play such an important and necessary role to enhance a wedding day experience.” I couldn’t agree more! If having a stress-free wedding day is important to you, then hire a professional planner!