FOR MY WEDDING VENUE + FLORAL DESIGN BUSINESS

This blog post is for the wedding vendors, business owners, or hobbyists hoping one day their dream becomes a reality. As I plan ahead for 2024, I want to share my favorite business tools so if you’re like me and looking to level-up your business next year, you can make it easier on yourself. When I first started my business, I worked way more than I should’ve because I didn’t have the systems and processes in place to make my life easier and my business better. 

I was able to take a 10 week maternity leave this year thanks to my team, and also thanks to my systems. My client experience didn’t fall short of what it should be. If you’re looking for a maternity leave, longer time away from your business than a week long vacation, or even hoping to work less than 24/7 on your business that you quit you’re 8-5 for, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started! 

Dubsado (my all-time favorite)

I don’t know how I ran my business for more than two years without this software. I was losing leads in my inbox, failing to check in with brides who weren’t asking me questions first, and quite honestly, burnt out on the organizational side of business. Dubsado has my contact forms, leads neatly organized, reminders to follow up with certain clients at certain times, contracts, invoices, and so much more. Also, the email templates 👏 I used to save common responses to emails in the email signatures on my Mail app. I didn’t know software like this existed, but I’m so glad it does. 

Use my code “hawksnestweddings” when you sign up to save 20% off your first month or year. I recommend the yearly subscription to save money! 

Fanny pack (honorable runner up!)

I truly live out of my fanny pack on wedding days. Here’s my list of what I always keep inside:

• Scissors
• Balloon ties
• Zip ties
• Post it notes
• Pen
• Sharpie
• Phone

If you’re a wedding coordinator who doesn’t use one yet — get a fanny pack. It will change your 2024!

Showit

Want to change your website to something that’s beautiful and easy to operate and make changes to? You need to try Showit. Tons of free templates, even more paid templates that set you up in a great place to get started on a website. I made the switch in 2022 and I’m so glad I did! 

Get a month free to try it out by clicking here.

Homebase

Leading a team can be a challenge, especially when you operate seasonally like we do at the venue and team members often change from year to year. That’s why I love Homebase. I can easily invite new team members to join, put in open shifts and let people pick them up as they’re able to work. Of course, our main team has already claimed wedding days, but for parking shifts especially, this is a huge time saver for me. The entire schedule can be viewed and edited online or on their mobile app so I can make changes anywhere and team members can review their schedule anytime, anywhere. 

Calendly

Tired of the back and forth emails trying to figure out a time when everyone’s available to schedule a meeting? I’ve found that it provides so much clarity when I can put in my availability, send out my schedule, and then let clients see it all so they can pick the best time that works for them. You can use it with one event free, but I also love that on the paid feature you can have multiple event types. 

I even use this for ticketed events and Calendly integrates with Stripe when I am taking payment for classes we host. Highly recommend using this if you’re not using it already!

FloDesk

Needing to email all of your clients at once but don’t know how to keep that ever-growing list organized? Get an email platform. FloDesk helps me create beautiful, professional looking emails that actually get opened to my clients. 

Get 50% off your first year (yes, year!!!) of FloDesk by clicking here.

Canva

I love graphic design and studied marketing in college but use Canva allllllll the time. It’s easy, quick, and makes professional graphics for me. I also used it to design Joyful Floral Co.’s logo earlier this year. Canva can do it all! 

Hokas

If you’re in the wedding industry, you know how important a good pair of shoes can be to your day. I’m not a fan of the look of Hokas but the comfort is worth it. I wear these all morning and afternoon for setup until I change an hour before the ceremony. I can’t say my feet don’t hurt at the end of the day, but we average 14 hour wedding days… the fact that I was pregnant and still functioned at the end of a wedding day was partly attributed to my Hokas. 

I hope this list was helpful for you. Whether you’re looking ahead to 2024 with overwhelm, excitement, burnout, or a mix of all three, we’re cheering you on! It’s an honor to serve clients together.