So you just got engaged, CONGRATULATIONS! You may be feeling overwhelmed with love and joy, as you should! But at the same time, you may be feeling incredibly overwhelmed with the idea of planning a Wedding and where exactly to begin, which is totally normal. That's where I come in! As a fellow Bride, and a Wedding Professional who has been in the biz for over eight years, I understand the range of thoughts and feelings that you may be experiencing as a newly engaged couple. And I will help you not only navigate the planning process, but also assist you with articulating and bringing your vision to life within your budget while allowing you to relax and enjoy not only the planning process but your big day as well. Having been in, attended and planned hundreds of Weddings, I have seen how crucial a G O O D Wedding Planner is to a successful Wedding and below I will help you understand why a Wedding Planner is a necessary investment!
Photo Courtesy of Ashley Steeby Photography
Why a Wedding Planner is a Necessary Investment...
A GOOD WEDDING PLANNER WILL SAVE YOU MONEY. That's right! Investing in a Wedding Planner will actually save you money because they will be able to help you create an overall budget that is realistic based on your needs, as well as guide you on alternative options that will assist you in keeping down your overall costs and what items are and are not worth the investment. For example, did you know that moving your Wedding date to a different month or day of the week will give you a discounted rate at the venue? These are questions that a Wedding Planner will know to ask.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL HELP YOU DISCOVER AND DEFINE YOUR VISION. Many newly engaged couples don't know the answer as to what they are envisioning for their big day when they first embark on the planning process. That is perfectly normal! There are so many different ideas and designs out there, and let's be honest we now live in a world that requires us to be unique and "instaworthy". That's where a Wedding Planner comes in. As someone who has seen it at all, a Wedding Planner will help you both better understand your independent styles and interdependent style as a couple. After understanding your style as a couple and your unique love story, a good Wedding Planner will help you create an overall vision for your Wedding as well as come up with unique details to incorporate into your Wedding design that will help illustrate your love story to your family and friends.
A WEDDING PLANNER IS AN EXPERT ON ALL THINGS WEDDINGS. Let's be honest, a Wedding is a big investment both financially and emotionally. Would you enter into a big investment without doing your research and consulting an expert in the field? Most likely not. A good Wedding Planner has all of the answers and all of the recommendations, and if they don't have the answer to your question, or the recommended vendor that you are looking for, then they will do their due diligence to find the answer or vendor for you. Thus saving you time, and time is money. There is a reason why being a Wedding Planner is a full time job. Most couples are not Wedding Planners and have full time jobs of their own, and therefore do not have the time to plan their own Wedding. Or they attempt to plan their own Wedding and become burnt out trying to do it all on their own while working full time. Even professional Wedding Planners hire other Wedding Planners to assist them on their big day, because they know and understand that a Wedding Planner is essential to having a successful Wedding.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL HELP RECOMMEND THE PERFECT VENUE(S) AND VENDORS BASED ON YOUR WEDDING VISION. There are hundreds of Wedding Venues and Vendors out there, which means you will spend hours of your precious time trying to research them all and reading reviews. A good Wedding Planner has the perfect venue recommendations for you based on what you are envisioning for your big day. Because a good Wedding Planner has worked with many vendors, they will be able to direct you to the perfect vendors for you based on your personal preferences ensuring that you do not secure a rouge DJ or Band that is not a good MC, or a florist who is unreliable. This will save you a lot of time, and will also save you the potential for disappointment.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL HELP YOU CREATE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. Having realistic expectations for your Wedding is essential to avoiding disappointment. If you have champagne taste on a beer budget, a good Wedding Planner will be able to direct you in the right direction and make your dreams come true without promising you that they can turn water into wine. If you are envisioning an outdoor Wedding, a good Wedding Planner is going to make sure that you have a suitable back-up plan if there is inclement weather. Because a good Wedding Planner is an expert in their field, they will be able to help you create realistic expectations for your big day so that you are thrilled rather than disappointed with the end result.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL HELP YOU STAY FOCUSED AND ORGANIZED THROUGHOUT THE PLANNING PROCESS. There are literally hundreds of details that go into planning a Wedding. A good Wedding Planner will help you stay focused on your Wedding vision and priorities throughout the planning process, and will help you stay organized both during the planning process and on the days leading up to the Wedding when you are trying to bring all of these details and necessary items together. A good Wedding Planner will help ensure that you do not forget any of the necessities on the day of the Wedding, such as the rings, marriage license, decor items that you spent months collecting, etc. A good Wedding Planner will also have an emergency kit on the day-of in case you do forget or need something, or in case something unexpected happens such as the florist forgetting a boutonniere or bouquet. A good Wedding Planner will be able to pull said boutonniere or bouquet out of thin air for you and ensure that nothing in their control ruins your big day.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL KEEP YOUR WEDDING ON TRACK. A good Wedding Planner will create a customized timeline for you with all of the preplanned logistics that you discussed leading up to the big day. This timeline will not only keep everyone on track, it will ensure that you do not waste valuable time on the day of the Wedding because you did not have a timeline. Most venues only allow you access for a set period of time, therefore making it even more necessary to have a Wedding Planner to keep you, your wedding party and guests on track throughout the day in order to create the best overall experience without wasting time or money. If you run behind on schedule significantly due to lack of planning or having a timeline, then you may end up spending even more money on the day of trying to catch up by adding on extra hours of the Reception not only with the venue but with your vendors as well. A Wedding Planner is there to help ensure that this doesn't happen, and that your Wedding and timeline stay on track throughout the course of the day.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL DO ALL OF THE DECOR SET-UP & BREAKDOWN. You most likely have spent the better part of a year, maybe even two, collecting decor for your big day. Maybe you have grand ideas when it comes to your Wedding design and have curated all of your own decor details for your big day. That is absolutely fabulous if you have! But the question is, who will be the one setting it up on the day of your Wedding? You don't want to instill just anyone with this task because you want it to be perfect, and you certainly don't want yourself, your bridesmaids or your Mom having to take time away from you and getting ready in order to do so. Cue a Professional Wedding Planner! Not only will a Wedding Planner set-up and breakdown all of your decor, they will make sure it looks good too!
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL WEAR ALL OF THE HATS. A good Wedding Planner is more than just a Wedding Planner. A good Wedding Planner is a girlfriend that you can chat with hours with for hours about what you are envisioning for your big day. A good Wedding Planner is your therapist whom you can vent to other than your fiancé, family or best friend when you are feeling overwhelmed with life and the planning process. A good Wedding Planner is a mediator and a diplomat when emotions run high as they inevitably do when bringing two people and two families together. A good Wedding Planner is an expert accountant when it comes to budgeting for the big day. A good Wedding Planner is your life coach when you need someone to inspire you and remind you why you are doing all of this in the first place.
A WEDDING PLANNER WILL ALLOW YOU TO ENJOY YOUR WEDDING. Have you ever been to a Wedding that did not have a Wedding Planner, or someone pulling the strings in the background? If so, then what you probably saw was the Bride, Groom, and their families, trying to do everything without any idea as to what exactly they should be doing. Without a Wedding Planner, you are the one calling all of the shots and working on your Wedding day. You should not have to work on your Wedding day. Your only job on your Wedding day should be to relax and enjoy every moment, and of course celebrate your love for each other with all of your favorite people. That should be your only job on the day of your Wedding. Please don't spend all of that money planning and having a Wedding if you won't even be able to actually enjoy it when the big day arrives because you don't have a Wedding Planner.