5 Reasons To Hire A Wedding Planner:
A guest post by Jessica Deltoro…check out her fine work at Daydream Events by Jess!
As a Wedding Planner I have spent lots of time reading blogs and articles that give insight to the latest must haves & no-no’s of weddings. While I believe that a couples wedding should be whatever they want it to be and absolutely love when a couple goes with their own ideas that are unique to them, there is wisdom and inspiration to be found in these posts. This post is simply meant to be some food for thought because many brides know that they need to hire a caterer, a DJ, a photographer, a florist maybe even hire someone to set up a photo booth at the venue, but they don’t think to hire someone to help manage all these vendors & the small details involved in planning a wedding until they are already insanely overwhelmed. If this blog helps some brides avoid getting to that point, it has served its purpose.
1. An experienced Wedding Planner has likely made some really great vendor connections throughout their time in the industry and knows vendors who will fit your budget & your style, and provide excellent service.
When a Planner recommends a vendor that knows their stuff and will perform on game day, they know it not only makes the vendor look good, but the planner as well.
Relying on a planner to recommend the vendors they know have a consistent history of providing great service not only saves you time and effort, but could also save you money, Many planners are able to negotiate prices or have agreements with vendors and that can lead to a great deal of cost savings for you in the long run.
2. The venues “coordinator” or “wedding planner” is not the same as hiring your own wedding planner
Most wedding planners you speak to will be thrilled to hear that the venue you selected has a coordinator onsite because they are a great asset on your wedding day and can be very helpful to a wedding planner. That being said, their purpose in your wedding planning is to represent the venue, not you. They oversee the venue staff, make sure no damage is done to the venue or their property and only assist with things related to the venue.
While I have met some amazing & hands on venue coordinators that don’t mind going the extra mile, it is not their duty to set up name cards and decorations, manage vendors, or handle any of your wedding needs.
When you hire your own wedding planner, they will assist you with every little detail. From creating your wedding website, to managing RSVPs, right down to time to break down & clear out of the venue at the end of your wedding.
After your big send off, if you don’t have a wedding planner to clean up the decorations, centerpieces, flower petals, etc. it will likely be a family member or three staying late to clean up, and those family members were likely the same ones who were running around like crazy setting up earlier that day, and again when it was time to cut the cake, or queue the DJ for the bouquet & garter toss. In short… its best to leave these duties to professionals and not your family who should be enjoying this day WITH YOU.
3. Planning a wedding takes time… A LOT OF TIME
On average, couples spend 15-20 hours per week planning their wedding, While some may be able to dedicate that kind of time to planning, not everyone has the energy & time to do that all by themselves.
An article in Forbes magazine from September 22, 2010 written by Meghan Casserly reported that 27% of wedding planning done by brides was completed at work. This is because it is almost impossible to plan a wedding and maintain productivity at a full time job while also managing other day to day tasks. A wedding planner helps give you some of your time back by doing the research and managing wedding details for you.
4. Figuring out your budget & sticking with it
Over time, a wedding planner becomes familiar with the average cost of planning weddings of different types. They can help you figure out how much it will cost to plan the wedding that you have envisioned while tracking and managing your budget to try to keep you within your limits.
5. Enjoying your wedding day
You and your partner only have this special day together once. You should be able to enjoy every minute of it. Every detail put into this special day, the lighting, the flowers, the music, the food, its all in celebration of your love for each other. You should be worry free and 110% in the moment soaking it all up. Having a wedding planner there on that day will help you to relax and know that everything is in good hands so that you can focus on the most important thing, Your love.
I hope you found these 5 reasons helpful and that you consider them when deciding on whether or not to hire a planner. Congrats to all of you lovely people!
Warmest Wishes,
-Jess
