The supplier run sheet: what it should contain, and when to send it

There are two ways to get a run sheet wrong. The first: not doing one, and counting on months of email threads. The second, more common: sending everyone the same four-page PDF, which nobody reads in full, and whose version 3 is still circulating when you’re on version 5.

A good run sheet answers three questions for a given supplier: where am I going, what time, and what’s expected of me. The rest is noise, and noise is what makes people miss the important information.

The essential information

• The exact address, and above all delivery access: which gate, which car park, what time to unload
• Arrival time, the time everything must be ready, and the finish or pack-down time
• Your number, and that of whoever is backing you up: never the couple’s
• The timeline of the day, reduced to the moments that concern them
• Instructions specific to their job: power, set-up position, noise limit, dress code
• The supplier meal: time, place, and who it’s for
• The wet-weather plan, and what it changes for them

One version per supplier

The florist doesn’t need to know when the first dance is. The DJ doesn’t need the hair salon’s address. Every line that doesn’t concern them is a line they have to read to find the ones that do, and the chance of missing one rises accordingly.

1. The catererDelivery time, kitchen access, service times for the reception and the meal, number of covers per dietary requirement, speech times that shift service, supplier meals.
2. The photographer and videographerWhere the preparations are, key moments not to miss, the list of group photos with names, the contact of someone who knows both families.
3. The DJ or bandSet-up and soundcheck time, position and sockets, the noise limit and finishing time, requested songs, the moments when the music must stop.
4. The florist and stylistAccess time to the rooms, who opens up, where to unload, the time everything must be in place, and the time for pack-down or collection.

When to send it

1. 30 days beforeCollect what you’re missing: each supplier’s preferred arrival time, technical needs, how many people in their team.
2. 10 days beforeSend each supplier their run sheet with an explicit request for confirmation: “Could you confirm everything works for you?”
3. 3 days beforeA reminder with the last changes: final times, weather, wet-weather plan on or off. This is the version that counts.
4. On the dayNothing more is sent. Changes are made face to face, by you, on site.

The problem with versions

This is the real risk: a PDF run sheet emailed, corrected, re-sent, corrected again. Three days before the wedding, the photographer has version 2, the caterer version 4, and the DJ has version 3 printed in the van. On the day, two suppliers have different times for the same thing.

The fix is to have a single version, at an address that doesn’t change. One link per supplier, which you update yourself: it always shows the latest version, with no files to re-send and no wondering who has what. Suppliers open it on their phone, in the van, without an app.

What makes the difference on the day

A run sheet isn’t just a logistics document: it’s what makes a supplier remember you as someone who’s easy to work with, and recommend you. Clear times, a meal planned, a contact who answers, a parking space. They’re details, and they’re what bring recommendations back.