If you’re here, you’re either a Wedding Planner (hello, welcome, I hope you’re resting) or someone who knows and loves a Wedding Planner (please for the love of everything don’t ask your Planner loved ones to do ANYTHING right now, they are burnt to a crisp from the last two years. Just buy them something nice. Which is exactly what we’re doing here.)
All of the items mentioned here are my absolute favorites. You know I never recommend something that I don’t know and love and use myself.
(A few of these links are affiliate links, which means I make a teeny tiny commission if you buy through my link, at no additional cost to you. Everyone wins!)
Self-Care Gifts
The last two years have been the ABSOLUTE MOST, and so the best thing you can do for the Wedding Planners in your life is to give them the gift of self-care. Which isn’t necessarily just a spa day. (I mean, a spa day is still a great gift, but we can do a little better, go a little deeper.)
The Oura Ring is a sleep, activity tracker, heart rate monitor, and my daily obsession for the last three months. Do you know how much actual sleep you’re getting every night? Not just the amount of time you’re in bed…but how many hours of actual sleep – light, deep, and REM sleep? I bet it’s way less than you think! That’s what was true for me, and this little gold ring has transformed my habits and increased my overall health and wellness. Plus, every morning it gives me a “sleep score” which is right up my enneagram 3 alley. If you don’t believe me, look at Jenny An below. Even she has one!
Use this link to get $50 off and 6 months free Oura membership.
A Year of Positive Thinking by Cyndie Spiegel
I’m not entirely sure I would have made it through the pandemic without Cyndie’s book. I kept it on my desk (and then eventually on my nightstand) and I would read the daily affirmations every single morning. Do yourself a favor and get it too. Amazon has it and it can be in your hands by tomorrow.
If the person you share a bed with snores, you know the pain of an interrupted night’s sleep. (Can you tell I’m on a bit of a “Renee needs more sleep” mission this year?) My partner SNORES. We have tried everything from Smart Nora to mouth guards to actual surgery and nothing works. So unless I want a separate bedroom (I don’t) there didn’t seem to be any relief for my lack of sleep. Until these magic earbuds from Bose. I was highly skeptical but invested anyway, and now I cannot go to bed without them. They are so comfortable (and come with a selection of sizes so you can get a more custom fit), they really are very noise-canceling – working with the Bose Sleep App to give you a variety of soothing sleep noises, and best of all, there’s a built-in alarm that chimes gently in your ear, so you can wake up without waking up the whole house. I cannot recommend these enough! A total lifesaver for you if you sleep with a snorer!
The High 5 Habit: Take Control of Your Life with One Simple Habit by Mel Robbins
Yes, I am recommending another book. But! This one is an easy read or Audible listen and so actionable and impactful. Also, it’s brand new. Like, just came out last week. And I predict in a few weeks’ time it will be on everyone’s lips. From the publisher: “Don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t a book about high-fiving everyone else in your life. You’re already doing that. Cheering for your favorite teams. Celebrating your friends. Supporting the people you love as they go after what they want in life. Imagine if you gave that same love and encouragement to yourself. Or even better, you made it a daily habit. You’d be unstoppable.“
In this book, Mel teaches you how to start high fiving the most important person in your life, the one who is staring back at you in the mirror: YOURSELF.
Just go right to Amazon and gift yourself. Trust me.
If you love a Wedding Planner, and that Wedding Planner is also the person in their household responsible for feeding all the other humans in said household, get them a Blue Apron gift card for their stocking. Even if you’re thinking “Dinner is so easy for them, they don’t need this.” I need you to hear me when I say this: it’s not easy, and it’s the last thing they want to do after spending 7 hours a day answering emails and phone calls about other people’s needs. Get dinner handled for those weeks when time is short…or any week at all, for that matter.
We get 2 meals per week through Blue Apron, it’s a game-changer.
If you know me IRL, you know that pre-pandemic, I was at my local DryBar at least once a week. Yes, I know that seems like a lot but I have long curly hair that I wear straight and I need help. Plus, while they do my hair, I can work. Whether it’s a once-in-a-while treat or a regular part of your Wedding Planners life via a DryBar Barfly Membership (like me!), you cannot go wrong with a DryBar gift card.
Things That Make Work Better
Every Wedding Planner has a “tech stack”, systems and tools that we use and love like Honeybook, Aisle Planner, Merri, Asana, Rock Paper Coin, etc. This list won’t cover those. These are my tried and true “other things” that make work and life easier. The gift that keeps on giving!
If you’re like me, and you love to take notes with pen and paper – but then you invariably lose the paper you took notes on – or never get your notes into digital form so your team can help you – the Remarkable tablet is the answer.
It feels like paper, you can take notes directly on PDFs, it integrates with Dropbox and Google, and it even works if you’re left-handed! This is a fantastic tool that will increase your organization and productivity. Plus, it’s a super cool-looking gift. Bonus.
Cole Haan Zerogrand Grand Ambition Slip-on Sneakers
After years of proclaiming that there is no perfect wedding day shoe, I’m ready to admit that I was wrong. This is the perfect wedding day shoe. I have them in black and gold, and they are both the most comfortable, most stylish, and easy to care for shoes. Totally worth the price, I’m obsessed.
Note: I still wear sneakers for set up and Birkenstocks for the strike. But now my feet are happy for the rest of the night too.
My entire team made the switch to belt bags (or fanny packs if you’re Gen X like me) this season, in an effort to streamline our look. It’s been a success, and my team is currently using Kate Spade belt bags that are no longer for sale. Since I’m extra, I like to have 2 belt bags, so I added this deep rectangular bag from Amanda Uprichard and I love it. It’s spacious, chic, comfortable, AND they offer it in plus size as well, which fits up to a size 22. Thank you, Amanda, for the size inclusivity! The whole team is getting these for next season!
Blueenjoy Copper Compression Socks
This is the least sexy suggestion on this list, but at least I found ones with cute patterns. Seriously, I resisted wearing compression socks on wedding days for years, and I’m here to tell you: that was a mistake.
Compression socks are magic. Your wedding hangover feet will thank you. Click here to buy these from Amazon.
Macpherson Sunnies from DL Eyewear
My internet boyfriend, Dan Levy, has his own eyewear line, and I own four pairs at this point. My favorite frames are these Macphersons: an oversized, vintage-inspired frame that offers big coverage and high glamour for all of your outdoor weddings. Plus, the lenses are dark enough to cover any potential eye rolls you may have to throw during the day. I truly think this frame looks great on everyone! Perfect for gifts. You can find all the colors of Macpherson here.
Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lipstick: aka lipstick that stays put even under your mask
First of all, if you don’t know Lisa Eldridge, you need to get to know her. She’s a tremendously talented makeup artist from the UK, and her YouTube channel will teach you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about makeup. She also has a (new-ish) makeup line, and I’m obsessed. Her iconic True Velvet line is matte lipstick revolutionized with a saturated technicolor formulation and a creamy texture with a slight sheen that’s 3-D and luscious, not a flat matte. I can apply this in the AM, wear a mask all day, eat a meal, and at the end of the night, it’s still on. Amazing! I’m a big fan of Velvet Muse (a smoky rosewood), Velvet Myth (a vivid blackberry), and Velvet Jazz (a muted, earthy deep red). Also, get the matching lipliner. And the Seamless Foundation. Just get everything. Or a gift card.
Things to Make Traveling Suck Less
I travel a lot. During the height of pandemic lockdown, I was grounded, of course. But now that I’m vaccinated and speaking engagements are back, I’ve been on the road quite a bit. In June and July 2021, I was away from home at least 3 days a week! Seattle to Scottsdale to Vegas to Omaha to Miami to Vegas. I really do love travel, but one of the reasons I love it is because I go out of my way to make it easier. These things help it suck less.
I treated myself to a new set of Away luggage right before the pandemic, and now that I’ve been traveling with it this year, I can say: it’s a gamechanger. I know it was trendy on IG for a bit, which makes people skeptical, but I love my luggage, and I’ve never said that before. Have you?
I have the Bigger Carry-on, The Medium, and The Everywhere Bag. I got my monogram on both pieces of luggage because of course, I did. The whole set is a dream – easy to pack, has a built-in compression panel, super easy to wheel around the airport, doesn’t get damaged when you have to check them (I’m not a light packer), and easy to clean and store when you get home. The luggage is made to be stored in one another, so simple and space-saving!
Use this link to get $20 off any luggage or bag.
If you travel even a little bit, I want you to get CLEAR. CLEAR is a biometric identity verification platform you can use to skip the line to have your I.D. looked over. The program is available at over 30 airports (and over 20 stadiums) around the U.S. To join, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident 18 years of age or older with a valid form of I.D
In plain speak, this means you will rarely (if ever) have to wait on a security line again. As someone who once missed a flight from Rome to Venice because I was stuck behind 50 nuns (no, this isn’t a joke) in the security line, I would do anything to not have that happen again.
Pandemic travel has been bananas and shows no sign of getting easier. And really, don’t you have better things to do than wait in line? You do.
Use this link to get 2 months free!
SLIM memobottle: The flat water bottle that fits in your bag
This flat water bottle is a revelation. I travel with this (empty) in my carry-on and fill it at water stations at every airport – I save so much money, and never get stuck without water! I mean, look. We’ve all done the thing where we spend $15 on a bottle of water at the airport and feel like that $15 could have gone to something way more fun. Grab this very practical BPA-FREE 15oz conversation starter, and call it a day. Note: This bottle fits perfectly in my Away Everywhere carry-on bag. A perfect gift for any travel-bug!
Something For Your Brain, Something For Your Body
For your brain: I was going to call this a shameless plug, but I’m not at all ashamed of adding my annual goal-setting workshop to the gift guide. 🤷🏻♀️ It’s an awesome deep dive into the year that was, the year to come, and an action plan on how to get what you want in 2022. ✨ It’s 6 live-taught calls with me (3 in January, and then one at the end of each quarter), a workbook, a Facebook group for accountability, and new this year: quarterly interviews with amazing wedding pros to keep you motivated and on target! Learn more here.
We’re Highly Caffeinated and Doing Our Best T’s and Stickers
I made you a tee shirt. And a laptop sticker.
After seeing one too many posts on IG about how we wish our clients understood how BANANAS this year has been, I decided to wear my thoughts on my shirt. And now you can too.
(And then do a little photo sesh to let your clients know what’s up. Listen, you’ll likely inspire them to send you a Starbucks card, so it’s really a win-win.)
I hope, more than any physical gift you can give yourself, you give yourself some grace, some peace, and some rest this season.
And if you need help with rest, please check out Jordan Maney‘s powerful work on this topic. It’s so very needed right now.
I wish you peace, love, inbox zero, and all the best for 2022!
