Top 5 Reasons You Should Hire a Wedding Planner!
Your wedding day is one of the happiest days of your life. It can also be complicated, time consuming, stressful, not to mention the added pressure for having that picture-perfect day (thanks Pinterest and Instagram). There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to your wedding that most couples don’t even consider. Some of the biggest things we hear from our couples is “we didn’t even think of that”, “we didn’t know that”, “we couldn’t have done this without you”, just to state a few.
Wedding planners don’t need to be considered an option or just for luxury weddings. Between determining your budget, hiring the right team, creating timelines, and being there the day of to make sure everything runs smoothly, having a wedding planner with you can be one of the most important and valuable investments you make.
When it comes to planning your wedding, we believe every couple deserves to have some help. Whether this is in the form of a full-service wedding planner, a partial planner, or a wedding coordinator we know you NEED one, you DESERVE one, and you should have a one.
We have compiled the top 5 reasons you should hire a wedding planner!
1. CONNECTIONS
We all have heard the saying “It’s who you know”. Weddings are a huge production, and you are hiring a team of people to bring your vision to reality. Hiring just one bad vendor can ruin the entire experience. And with weddings being so expensive who wants that! Try going to a good source like The Knot, or Wedding Wire and just research wedding photographers. You are going to get hundreds if not thousands of options to choose from. You won’t know who is good or who isn’t, which one really fits your style, who fits your budget, how many hours do you need, etc. That gets overwhelming quick! A good wedding planner will have the connections you need to ensure that you are hiring actual professionals, that will fit your style and your budget. I know for us we are constantly changing our preferred partners lists to make sure that our couples are only getting the best.
2. A WEDDING PLANNER IS YOUR ADVOCATE
We are going to discuss 2 things here. The 1st is having your own planner when your venue provides a coordinator, and the other is family/friends.
Let’s start with the venue. I know several venues that provide planners, and they do an excellent job, I also know others were there is a constant change in staffing. An outside planner’s main focus and job is you, not the venue. When I go in and there is an issue, I am not having to worry about upsetting my boss (aka the venue owner) and losing my job. You may also find that your wedding is not the only one the venue has going on that day. So, your wedding planner will be all over the place. I have also seen where venue owners choose who is on the preferred list, not the actual planner of the venue. There is more here but that is for another discussion.
Now on to family and friends. We know, your family and friends are all eager to help you plan your wedding. And as awesome as that is, they are not in the wedding industry full time. They most likely will not have the connections or the tools needed to truly help you plan a wedding that is stress free and picture perfect. They also may have a completely different idea of what your dream wedding should be (check out the bonus section). Besides that, your family and friends should be celebrating with you not working.
BONUS: Having someone you can go to and truly be honest with is such a huge blessing. A major struggle we see for our couples is telling vendors, family, and friends “NO”. This is where having a planner comes in. Your planner will be your mediator, therapist in some cases, the bad guy, and most importantly your best friend throughout the planning process.
3. EXPERTISE, KNOWLEDGE, & CREATIVITY
The knowledge and expertise that you get from hiring a wedding planner is priceless, and here are just a few reasons why.
· You won’t have to spend hours scouring through google for every single question you have. Most seasoned wedding planners have seen it all so will have an answer for everything, and if they don’t you can know they will soon.
· Your planner will have ideas on design/décor that you hadn’t even thought of.
· All those tiny little details that you see that make every wedding Insta worthy, having a planner will ensure you get those.
· Knowing how long you need certain pros, how to do the processional, how is the day going to flow, when should you start getting ready, who is coordinating the exit, when do save-the-dates and invitations go out, the list goes on here. Having a planner just makes everything seamless.
· Contracts! You planner will not only read, but also understand all the fine print in those contracts you are signing. And most will be looking for certain things that should be included for certain vendors, catching any potential issues BEFORE you sign.
4. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
When it comes to the cost of a wedding most people honestly have no idea how much it really is going to cost. From the venue, the catering, the dress, the little details that everyone wants, it all costs money, and knowing what you should be spending in each category is a huge help. As a wedding planner we help our couples create a realistic budget and help them figure out where the money should be going. Any wedding can quickly get out of hand, especially in the financial area, so whether you are spending $20k or $250k, having a clear budget and sticking to it helps relieve so much stress. Your wedding planner will also have a good idea of how much certain professionals should cost, saving you from over spending on something you really don't need to. We have seen couples booking 10 piece bands when their venue can only hold 7, people booking photo booths for thousands of dollars when they could have booked one for way less. So booking your planner early is essential in helping you stay within your budget.
5. YOU NEED TO BE PRESENT
Your wedding day is going to go by so fast, and being present to enjoy every single moment is hard to begin with. Having a wedding planner/coordinator to take care of last minute details, questions from wedding pros, as well as guests and family members can help you and the key players to enjoy more of those special moments. No matter how planned you are there are going to be last minute decisions that need to be made, changes in the flow, issues that may arise, as well as your personal items that need to be set up. Relying on family and friends to do that most times does not work out. Having someone to be in charge of the wedding day helps you, along with your family and friends to enjoy every single moment.
