A city measured in drive time, not distance
A Johannesburg wedding often involves a ceremony on one side of the city and a reception on the other, or a venue that sits well outside the built-up area altogether. A planner who knows the city builds the day around drive time rather than distance on a map, and asks early where the bridal party, the guests and the suppliers are actually coming from before setting a schedule.
Planning around the storm hour
Between roughly October and March, a Johannesburg afternoon can turn from clear to stormy within the space of an hour, usually mid to late afternoon. A planner who has worked through a Highveld summer treats a weather contingency as standard practice rather than an afterthought, and will already have asked the venue what its indoor fallback actually looks like.
Load-shedding at the venue
Power interruptions are a fact of planning a wedding here, and a planner's job includes finding out, before the contract is signed, what a venue's own backup arrangement actually covers: lighting, sound, the kitchen, and how quickly it switches over. This is worth confirming with the venue directly as well as through the planner, since capacity is not guaranteed and should never be assumed.
The December shutdown
Many South African businesses close for part of December and January, and Johannesburg wedding suppliers are no exception. A planner working a wedding in that window needs to confirm availability and lock in deposits well ahead of the date, since a supplier who is reachable in June may simply be away in early January.
Checklist
- Ask what drive times the planner has actually built the day schedule around, not just distances on a map.
- Confirm the venue's backup power arrangement directly with the venue, not only through the planner.
- Get the wet-weather plan in writing, including who makes the call and by when.
- If the wedding falls in December or January, confirm every supplier's availability and deposit early.
- Ask how the planner communicates on the day: one point of contact, not several.
- Get cancellation and postponement terms in writing before paying a deposit.
Questions to ask in Johannesburg
- How many weddings have you actually run in Johannesburg, and can I speak to a couple from the last year?
- What is your plan if a storm rolls in during the ceremony or the reception?
- What happens at the venue if there is a power cut: what stays on, and for how long?
- What is included in your fee, and what is billed separately?
- If our date falls in December or January, when do you need deposits confirmed by?
