Job Posting - Day Of Assistant Planner

Madeline Hockley Weddings

Company: 

Madeline Hockley Weddings was created in 2016 and is a wedding planning company located in Gravenhurst ON. We service 40+ weddings every year around the Simcoe-Muskoka area. We offer full, partial and event management planning packages. 

Madeline Hockley Weddings is a boutique planning company compromised of our CEO, Office Manager, Lead Planners and Assistant (Day-of) Planners. Our goal is to continue to grow and serve the Simcoe-Muskoka area with excellence.

Our Mission:

We believe weddings should be FUN. We believe you deserve to be CELEBRATED. We are hospitality-obsessed. Our “secret sauce” and what sets us apart from other planning companies is the warm, kind, and excellent customer service we provide. We believe clients and guests forget the logistics but they’ll never forget how we made them feel. From our CEO to day-of-assistants we revolve around making our clients feel seen, loved, and encouraged in their planning process.

The copy below is from our website. It is extremely important that anyone applying for the lead planner position must fully agree with it. 

“At our core we love people. We believe you are worthy and your love story is worth celebrating no matter your design style, guest count, or venue choice. This desire to honour you fuels every decision and interaction we have. It’s how we stand out from other planning companies. Not only are we logistics experts and can design amazing tablescapes, we also care about you, your family, and friends and want nothing more than for you to adore your wedding day. Our team is trained to ask ourselves constantly “How can we serve you? How can we serve your guests? How will we go above and beyond for this couple?” When guests approach us our first response is “How can we help?” and it’s not a facade, we genuinely can’t wait to help! We take on the stress and inevitable interruptions that occur because we desire that you look back on your wedding day with fondness, knowing your planning team really wanted the best for you!”

We believe from the moment the client signs the contract to their wedding day, they will experience an unmatched level of hospitality and care. The lead planner will work directly with clients, bringing their vision to life.

Location: 

Muskoka, Ontario

• We service Simcoe-Muskoka

• We tend to work within an hours drive from Gravenhurst ON and expect our staff to be able to get there

• Common venues are in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Port Carling, Rosseau and Huntsville

• Must have own transportation to get to and from the venue

Job Description:

Our job as planners is to take on the stress, interruptions and anything that goes wrong on the wedding day so the couple and their guests are able to enjoy and be present. This is a lot mentally as weddings are extremely stressful. Couples + guests say things and expect things on a wedding day that differs from other events. Aka - we can't mess up someone's wedding day, a day that they will remember forever so the pressure is on for us to deliver what they want, within reason. We do the one million tasks on the wedding day so that the couple can enjoy it. They are investing in planners to do the work, so they don't have to - that is the service we provide and sell. Most times, no one sees the tasks we do behind the scenes. However, if they aren't done the wedding may be disrupted and might not even happen! Our job is critical to making the wedding day happen smoothly, and they have trusted us to work hard for them. So are wedding days glamorous? Not really! Planners are moving everything! Chairs, ice, candles, lugging decor, etc. for the entire shift. Weather is always a factor and we are often sweating or standing in the rain as we move chairs or hold umbrellas to ensure the guests are cool and dry. Our job is to solve all the problems that come up, even though when we step into a wedding day, we have no idea what those problems will be!

This role is right for you if you are selfless, love to serve others and thrive on high stress situations. If you think quickly on your feet and can problem solve while remaining calm you will excel at this position.

High stress = high reward and there is nothing more thrilling to us than to see the couple enjoy themselves on their wedding day. If you want to make people feel celebrated and loved - we want you to work for us!

Below are tasks assistants have done in the past to give you a better idea of a workday, but every wedding is unique and your tasks will change drastically from wedding to wedding:

Primary Responsibilities:

• Setting up ceremony (chairs, signing table, decor)

• Setting up cocktail (welcome table, seating charts, statement displays etc.)

• Setting up reception (stationery is huge - you'll set up place-cards, double check place-cards with seating chart, menu cards, fold and place napkins, set up candles on each table, favours, other centrepiece decor, if private property set table (glassware, flatware, plates, chargers etc)

• Ceremony Execution - signalling with lead planner when wedding party needs to walk - often with the bride, moments before she walks

• "Flipping from the ceremony to reception" (moving chairs from ceremony to reception, lighting all the candles, moving and repurposing florals, helping with extended family photos, getting the couple drinks + their appetizers, helping collect gifts, welcoming guests to cocktail hour)

• Troubleshooting all client and guest problems (toilets are clogged, someone got sick, someone missed the shuttle to get here, getting Grandma a chair so she can sit, dealing with all weather problems - guests are hot, we will bring cold water, it's raining, we will get umbrellas -open up reception space earlier etc.)

• Troubleshooting all vendor problems (hair and makeup running late, cake didn't show up, DJ is blowing a fuse with power issues, catering is running behind, bartenders need more ice, photographer needs assistance)

• Private property we act not only as the wedding planners but venue coordinators so we are all knowing on the property (helping guests on and off the shuttles, know where more alcohol is for bartenders, where the catering needs to set up, where every vendor needs to go and greet them)

• Clean Up - we are constantly ensuring the space looks flawless- never pass an empty drink, ready with a container to put the sparklers in once they are finished etc. When the ceremony is over we will clean it up. Cocktail hour complete - tidy it up. Dancing begins - we clean up the napkins, charger plates etc. for minimal clean up later. We pride ourselves in being one step ahead

• We are team players - if any vendor needs us and we aren't doing something extremely time sensitive we will help.

• When the couple or guests approach us we smile and ask, "How can I help?" That is the posture of a planner - if we don't know the answer, we assure them we will find out and report back or do the task. For example: if someone from table nine says they need more water, you take the pitcher and go to catering to fill it (private property, you would most likely do this yourself) and then bring it back to table nine. When they say thank you, we always respond with "my pleasure" or "it's a pleasure."

Average Shifts

• You will always report to a lead planner.

• Shifts for assistant planners will be based on needs (main thing is: can we set up Friday or does everything have to be done on the Saturday - that changes the start time drastically).

• The general shifts are from 10am-6pm. This allows you to set the tables/rooms, coordinate ceremony + cocktail and normally depart once reception begins.

• Should the shift be 12 hours - these do happen when we flip from dinner to dance etc. we will communicate that ahead of time.

Compensation:

• $25/hr

• You will work as a contractor and send an invoice to Madeline Hockley Weddings for your work completed on the Monday after each completed wedding. Payment will be sent within 4 days.

• You can claim your mileage as an expense on your taxes, so we recommend keeping a mileage log.

Commitment Prior:

On the week of the wedding you will receive: timelines, schedules and layouts that you will need to read. You will be connected with the lead planner, who will update you on any details, answer any questions, explain where to park + confirm your start and end time.

Questions?

We are an open book and would love to chat through the pros and cons and answer all your questions. Please don't hesitate to reach out.

Next Steps

• Send us your resume to office@madelinehockley.com and confirm you have read and understood the details of this position

• We will reach out if it’s a great fit to schedule a google meet 15 minute interview