I confess, I'm actually writing this on Sunday evening as it's the first time I've stopped and put my feet up all week!

After a fortnight of last minute preparation - no disasters mainly due to one of the most fantastically organised brides I've ever worked with - the sun shone brightly over Norfolk on Saturday and the wedding was perfect! There were a couple of things that happened before the bride & groom arrived that we had to deal with but it's at times like that that the value of using a wedding planner for On The Day wedding co-ordination is really obvious!

The bride didn't need to worry that the caterer's supplier had sent the wrong plates or that the luxury toilets were locked with no sign of a key because I was there to make sure the right plates were located and delivered and the key was found - crisis averted!

These incidents do highlight that, even with fabulous planning (and this particular bride's planning was faultless), someone other than the couple getting married needs to take responsibility for making things happen on the day itself. You can't force a supplier to read an email sent months before the wedding but you can ensure someone is there on the day itself, and in the days before, to make sure that they all deliver the day you want - not the one that is easiest for them to do, or the one that they've done for every other couple.

That's why I always leave every wedding I work at with a smile on my face because I know that I really have made a difference to that bride and groom's enjoyment of their wedding day and that is worth its weight in gold.

For those of you coming to the end of your wedding plans, I just wanted to mention how important it is to set yourself a list of outstanding planning tasks at this stage and divide the responsibility for them between the two of you. Whilst you might have booked all your suppliers, sorted your outfits and planned your honeymoon, have you confirmed menus with the caterer, briefed the DJ on the songs you love/hate and how you want him to introduce you for your first dance, decided when you're going to sit down and work out your table plan, or thought about the actual timings of your day?

Don't take anything for granted until you've confirmed it - sounds simple doesn't it but it's the little things that you realise you've assumed along the way that will wake you up in the middle of the night in the weeks before your wedding day. Don't let your suppliers fob you off with vague deadlines - just because they've got lots on doesn't mean that you shouldn't demand (in the nicest possible way!) the attention you deserve, and are paying for.

Be forceful, make appointments to see the suppliers you need to see, and tie others down to agreed times on the telephone to discuss the specifics of your booking. It's your day but unless you make time to talk to all your suppliers closer to your wedding day and tell them what you want, you can't really expect them to deliver you your dream day, can you?

This approach might not come naturally to you so think about asking a friend to help you make some calls, or delegate it to your partner. Whatever happens, do make these calls so you can sleep soundly - sleep is the best, and cheapest, beauty treatment there is, so the more of that you have before you step in front of the cameras, the better!

Until next week,