WHY HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER?
There are many reasons of course,
but let’s take a different perspective on this question. Let’s list all the
reasons brides think of to NOT hire a wedding planner, and examine those
individually!
I don’t need a
wedding planner because….
… I can’t afford a planner. It’s just not in my budget ~ Think about the amount of money you allocate to feeding your
guests, hiring the photographer to take the perfect photos, picking a DJ that
will get the party started, yet couples tend to skimp when it comes to hiring a
planner that will orchestrate the whole day! It’s like having a car and all the
passengers but no driver (or GPS)! So why stop at hiring the planner. In
reality a planner can SAVE YOU MONEY & TIME! Planners have relationships
with vendors and venues since they work on many weddings not just one, so they
can give you economies of scale. They can also help you put together a
realistic budget. In the end the money and time saved might be greater than the
cost of the planner, so you basically got the planner for FREE!
… I have family and friends who have volunteered to help me
day-of. It should be fine!
~ While this is a nice gesture, unless your family member is a professional
event planner, I’m pretty sure it won’t be fine. They are your guests and
should not be working on your wedding day. They will be so preoccupied with
socializing, drinking a little too much champagne, ooh’ing and ahh’ing over how
beautiful you look, taking hundreds of photos, and not focused on the important
details that make the event run smoothly. They will not be informed on
important decisions (i.e. telling the catering manager that although the bar
tab has been exceed you insist the bride and groom said its fine to keep it open,
leaving the couple with a few thousand dollars more to pay).
… The venue coordinator & catering manager assured me
that I don’t need to hire a planner because they can handle it. ~ The bottom line: venue
coordinators are there because they are hired by the venue to maintain and
manage the venue only (i.e. food, rentals, staff, etc…). They work for the
venue and not for you. Their main goal is to ensure the facility runs smoothly.
So if you arrive and all your flower arrangements are wrong and the guests
can’t figure out where they are supposed to sit, don’t look at the venue
coordinator to help you out because they won’t have any idea on what you
wanted.
… Shouldn’t the vendors be able to manage themselves since
they work weddings all the time?
~ According to feedback from vendors I have worked with, I have heard more
times than not, there is a huge difference between a wedding with a planner vs.
one without / with a venue coordinator. Not only are the finishing touches and
design usually better but also the flow of the event and communication between
the parties (i.e. the photographer will be ready for photos and not out in the
cocktail area when the DJ plays the song for the Grand Entrance because the
coordinator will have given both a warning). Although it’s your day, think
about the vendors you have hired. What will help make both your lives and their
lives easier? A wedding planner!
… I read all the magazines and blogs. I have all the
resources I need. I don’t want a wedding planner to take away the fun of
planning my wedding! ~ When you
first get engaged, wedding planning is a novelty. You buy every magazine and
bookmark every blog out there to help plan your big day. However, with hundreds
of wedding blogs, magazines, photographers, videographers, venues, etc… it can
get overwhelming and stressful trying to narrow down who/what is the best fit
for your style, budget and needs. Once the wedding comes the couple is so worn
out with decisions that the process is no longer fun. Wedding planners do this every
day will help bring you the resources that best fit your needs to that you can
ENJOY the planning process until the end! They are educated and knowledgeable
in all things wedding related from etiquette to getting a marriage license and
are a huge accessible resource!
… My family & friends want to help me with the planning
process ~ Except when your future
mother-in-law has a completely different vision for her son’s wedding and your
brother insists that his heavy metal band play a medley at your reception and
your parents decide to invite all their friends as if it was their party. Think
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” You need a MEDIATOR. A planner is a good third-party
mediator in tricky family situations. It is impossible to please everyone;
however, at least a planner can give an unbiased opinion to help navigate
problems.
So in the end, a wedding planner/coordinator WILL:
- Convert
your vision into a reality
- Guarantee
that you make the most informed decision when signing a contract and
hiring a vendor
- Ensure
that your special day runs smoothly ~ timeline management &
troubleshooting
- Be
ORGANIZED
- Manage
vendors, guests & all the details
- Help
you SAVE MONEY
- Be
a resource of knowledge, a sounding board for decisions, a mediator, a
therapist, and a stress reducer!
A wedding planner is there to help YOU design
your big day and ensure that YOUR big day is everything you dreamed and
more!
For more information on our wedding planning &
coordination services, contact us!
Kimberly Smith
Bri's Event Planning
(334)798-3084
