Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between wedding planning and wedding management?
Full wedding planning typically involves all the step-by-step details of wedding planning. Your wedding planner will help you with each element - from choosing your venue, catering, entertainment, colors, flowers, or florist, and all the fine details along the way. They will help manage your budget, and schedule and even interface with your vendors on your behalf. They will meet with you frequently to ensure that every detail is managed. On the day of the wedding, they are typically on-site beginning to the end of the day ensuring that everything goes according to the plan.
Wedding Management typically begins a month or so prior to your wedding date - you will do a majority of the planning on your own. Then a coordinator will gather those details from you in our initial meeting and help make sure everything is organized for the big day. They will be on-site beginning to the end of your event. With Cake and Champagne, this means that we will contact your vendors leading up to the date, confirm the details we discussed (such as who is bringing chargers or that meals meet dietary requirements), we will put together your timeline and manage your day.
Cake and Champagne also offers a middle ground - Partial Planning! For this you will have a professional to reach out to for ideas, suggestions, or help. We will meet more frequently through your planning to make sure that you are staying within budget, on schedule and that nothing is missed. We will be happy to help design centerpiece arrangements, find the perfect shade of napkins or walk through bar options with you. It is more hands-on than simply a day of coordinator, but we will also be there on the day to take on that role as well!
Why do I need a planner or coordinator?
A modern wedding is a huge undertaking with a lot of moving parts. If you are looking at our page, you have probably already considered these questions: Who is going to make sure my DJ arrives on time? Who is going to ensure the room is set as discussed? Who is going to tell the officiant its time to begin the ceremony? The truth is, you COULD do those things - but you should be with your wedding party, relaxing and enjoying your day, not making sure the napkins are folded correctly.
What if I change my date or need to cancel?
We understand that things happen and sometimes you need to move your date or cancel altogether. In the event that you move dates we will make every effort to accommodate your new date and transfer your contract and payments. Please know that this may mean switching lead planners based on the schedule. If you need to cancel your event altogether, please note we do not offer refunds but will help you to cancel the event by reaching out to other vendors to help with their cancellations.
Do you travel?
We happily cover all of the greater Kansas City area, within a 45 minute drive from downtown Kansas City. We are willing to travel outside of that with an added charge for mileage at the current federal mileage rate. For safety reasons, we do require a hotel for venues located over 1 hour from Kansas City. These will be discussed and agreed upon prior to signing the contract and will be included in your invoice.
Are you two sisters?
Nope! We are cousins! Our moms are sisters and we grew up surrounded by laughter, crafting and THEMED PARTIES when we were together. Our moms were Pinterest moms before Pinterest was a thing!
What could be an added cost?
The quote you receive from us generally includes your planner and an assistant, but as professionals, we have found that there are times when we might need an extra hand. In the interest of transparency, we want to let you know ahead of time that we will not risk your wedding day by over-extending ourselves. For this reason, we may approach you to hire an extra set of hands - we have a network of assistants we have vetted and trained that we can call on to lend a hand for a scheduled amount of time. We charge $50/hr per assistant for this and that cost would be discussed with you and invoiced separately prior to the wedding day.
Another example is lead planners v. assistants. When you hire us, we will let you know who to expect on-site the day of your event. Typically it will be one of our lead planners, Heidi or Megan, and 1 assistant. In the event that the needs of your event will warrant 2 lead planners, the pricing would be quoted as such and included in your contract.
Occasionally there will also be travel fees: see Travel question below.
How would you handle unforeseen challenges?
Our goal is to always anticipate challenges ahead of time. Processes like contacting all vendors the week prior to review details, having a detailed timeline and contacts easily accessible throughout the day added with several years of experience helps prevent many problems. But on the day of your event, we ask you to put your trust in us to handle anything that arises with a decisive action that will be in your best interest. Did a bridesmaid rip her dress? We will sew it up. The cake didn’t arrive? We will get it on site for you or get a cake to your venue in time for cake cutting.
We are working with humans and things do happen, but we will do everything in our power to correct the situation without worrying you about the details. Don’t worry, we will all laugh about it later.
Do you have any preferred vendors?
We have worked closely with a great number of vendors in this city. We have our favorites, but our goal is to match you with vendors that are best suited to your specific event, based on style and budget. We don't work with any vendors where we get kick-backs because we feel that would unfairly influence the decision. If a vendor offers us a discount we will pass the savings on to you.
Do you do payment plans?
We do set up a payment plan for you! We require 10% of your total as an initial payment for services and then will set up a payment plan, typically 3 payments of 30% of your total, to be fully paid 60 days from the date of your event. However, this may be adjusted based on the time leading up to your event. For example, we can spread it out over 12 months if you have time or we may ask for payment due in full if your event is within 60 days.