Planning a wedding is a big undertaking! There are so many different moving parts: guests, food, drink, venues, gifts. And let’s face it… you’ve probably never done this before! 😉 When it comes to organizing something so intricate, we recommend hiring a wedding planner! Here are just a few of the many advantages.
Familiar with Vendors – An experienced wedding planner knows and has relationships with many of the local wedding vendors. That’s the caterers, the photographers, the videographers, the dressmakers, the venues, the florists, the cake makers, the DJs, the photo booth vendors, and more! Oh yeah – there are a lot of vendors. The Wedding Planner will also have ideas on which vendors are better at different types of products/services/ideas/etc. Based on what you want, they’ll know exactly which vendors will be a good fit for you and your specific vision for your wedding. Also, they’ll have their ear to the ground for promotions from different venues and vendors, so they can help you get a good deal!
Expert Wedding Budgeters – A good wedding planner is money savvy. They’re knowledgeable of the costs of putting together a ceremony and reception, and can give you rough percentages of how much of your budget should go to certain things. They can help keep things on track, and let you know ahead of time if something is running over budget – for example, a Wedding Planner will let you know if it makes sense for Videography to be 80% of your total budget (we’re thinking probably not 😉 ). This will be very valuable advice!
Good Time Managers – Wedding planners know how to best schedule a wedding day to make sure you get everything you’re looking for. (It’s right there in their name!) They have a keen sense of time management, and will be able to help you find time for everything you want. Portrait sessions, time with family, time with friends, a break in the middle of the day, whatever you want. They’ll pace the day appropriately and make sure you’re not rushed and also not stuck waiting around.
Not only can they help plan the day ahead of time, but Wedding Planners can also help to make sure that things stay on track ON the Wedding Day. Many Planners have a Day-Of service, where they are on site, helping coordinate on the big day.
Familiar with Etiquette – Being seasoned professionals of the industry, wedding planners have a sense of tradition, decorum, and etiquette. They can counsel you on the do’s and don’ts. What should you put in goodie bags for your guests? Should you have a cocktail hour? How many first looks should you do? And with whom? How early should you mail save the dates? An experienced wedding planner would be able to answer these questions and more!
Amazing Communicators – Wedding planners are great at communicating and organizing with the vendors and venues so you won’t have to! They can handle all the communication and act as a central point of contact. They can put the reception venue in touch with the caterer, the photo booth company in touch with the venue, the florists in touch with the church, etc. And you don’t have to worry about any of it!
Scalable Packages – Most wedding planners have scalable packages and services. This is a little different per planner, but most have different options that include varying levels of service. You can either hire them to do absolutely all of the planning, or, if you prefer to do most of the organizing yourself, you can hire them to just help out with smaller projects, or maybe day-of coordination. They often have package levels to fit your needs!
A wedding planner can be a key component to making your big day go smoothly. Sit back and let the experts handle the logistics, so you can focus on writing your vows and practicing your dance moves!