If you’re in the process of planning your wedding, you may start thinking “How To Choose a Wedding Planner”. Other than the wedding day itself, the process of planning your big day is also a special time. So soak up every moment before your special day arrives! When tying the knot, everything should go as planned, and it usually does, but there are always going to be a few little road bumps.
When thinking about your wedding, your mind is probably going crazy with details. Such as, making sure to wear the most gorgeous dress, splurging on fabulous shoes, choosing beautiful florals, or picking out elegant diamonds to wear, such as these from Allurez Diamond Jewelry.
How to Choose A Wedding Planner
Although planning a wedding can be a fun and exciting time, it can also be an overwhelming process. You have to consider all the important details to try and avoid anxiety and stress. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through this process alone if you don’t want to. You have the choice to hire a professional wedding planner. And if you pick the right one, they can make the whole process easier, and certainly less stressful.
A wedding planner plays a lot of different roles from designer to negotiator to therapist to friend. Why do you think 8 out of 10 couples prefer working with a wedding planner? Here are some touchpoints of why people hire wedding planners.
Reduce Wedding Related Stress
Planning a wedding involves a roller coaster of emotions. You can go from having everything in place to suddenly getting last-minute cancellations. With a wedding planner, you will have to worry less about most preparations.
Lack of Time
Many hire wedding planners because they have little or no time on their hands, demanding jobs, or family, school, career, and work lives that don’t allow a lot of time to focus on planning. An average wedding takes 100+ hours to plan depending on the scope.
You can also consider hiring one if you have a short planning cycle. After the engagement, it is common for couples to want their wedding to happen faster than a year out. A professional wedding planner can work with short planning timelines.
Unusual Location or Venue
Some couples may opt to have their wedding in a foreign country or a destination location. With this, it would be wise to hire a wedding planner with vast knowledge in the area you are considering.
Affordability
Lastly, a couple may choose to hire a wedding planner because they know they can’t afford not to hire one. Different wedding planners charge different amounts depending on their experience and the services they offer. The more experience, knowledge, and vendor relationships they have, the higher the charges you can expect.
A wedding is an extremely personal event, and you want to be careful about the people who get involved. So it makes sense that you should take care in this decision. Before hiring a wedding planner, there are certain things you should consider and questions you should ask to make the right decision.
Things to Consider When Thinking “How To Choose a Wedding Planner”:
Availability
This may seem like a basic thing to consider, but it is one of the most significant things you ought to look into. You don’t want to waste time hiring a person if they are overloaded or don’t have a flexible schedule. On the flip side, you should also be aware of someone that tells you they only do 5 weddings a year. Make sure you find out why this is.
Costs
Some wedding planners have the habit of weighing down their thoughts and ideas on how your big day should be. Such views, though excellent, may go beyond your budget, or make you feel like you are not in control of decision making. Therefore, when selecting one, you should clearly state where you want to be budget-wise, as well as if you have any flexibility. An experienced wedding planner will be honest with you and tell you if you can achieve what you want in those parameters.
This will help you to know what vendors to hire, venues to select, and decor to help you achieve the perfect wedding. Additionally, it would be best if you worked with a wedding planner you can afford. There are so many choices, but a good rule of thumb for an experienced wedding planner, for full planning would be a price of $10,000+. Anyone charging less than $6,500.00 should make you question their knowledge and experience.
Experience
To verify their experience, a wedding planner should present proof of the services they have offered and the quality. Also, read their reviews online from past clients. It would be best if you chose a wedding planner who has been in the industry for a long time. Besides, they should also be on par with the current wedding trends.
It can be frustrating to hire a person who claims to have experience planning weddings only to have a lousy experience. Reach out to past clients via email for personal reference.
Consider their Problem-Solving Skills
This is a vital thing that most couples often skimp on while selecting a wedding planner. It is crystal clear that planning a wedding has its shares of ups and downs. There are multiple hurdles and setbacks you will experience. Therefore, you need the right person to come up with excellent solutions, someone who is good at backup plans, logistics, as well as someone who handles pressure well. You want to be able to trust your planner to act in your best interest as well as if something happens on the day of the wedding, they are competent enough to figure it out without you. The best planners fix things without you ever even knowing that there was an issue in the first place.
Scope of Work they Offer
Lastly, you should also look into the level of services the wedding planner offers. Various planners offer various levels of service. Some are very involved in the design process, others are not. Some will have lots of extras to take things off your plate, others will not offer these services. Make sure when comparing planners, you are looking apples to apples. Also, you want to work with a planner that has a stellar reputation as well as a strong vendor network. You will also want to consider how a planner charges. Some have a flat fee, some charge % of your budget (like an interior designer), the more you spend, the more they make. You need to find your comfort level with how they price themselves. Some charge travel fees, accommodations, cap out at a certain amount of hours, etc. These are all things you should know going in.
The process of selecting the right wedding planner is easier said than done. But the above tips can help you draw down to a few from your list. You should also consider recommendations, word of mouth, or head to Google or The Knot for online reviews.!
Now that you know how to choose the perfect wedding planner, here are the top things to discuss in your various meetings.
Your Budget
If you don’t have a budget yet, a wedding planner can help you determine one. If you already have a budget set, they can help you manage it effectively. In fact, you should always discuss your financial status in all the meetings you have with your wedding planner.
A stable and practical budget is the only way you can achieve an ideal wedding that you will genuinely feel good about. It is unwise to plan for a wedding you cannot afford, leaving you in lifetime debt. On the contrary, you need to have realistic expectations of what your budget can get you. For instance, if you are working with $50,000 for 50 guests, you shouldn’t consider spending 20% of that on a wedding dress. It is best to hire a wedding planner first so that you don’t over-commit yourself in any area and find yourself in a predicament. On average, when thinking about your budget, you want to consider roughly $500-$1000/per person. Of course, depending on what all is entitled, this number can certainly go up but rarely do we see it go down.
Choosing of Vendors
You want to make sure that you have the “dream team” of vendors to help execute your day. Make sure you talk with your planner about your non-non-negotiables, your top 3-5 most important aspects when it comes to your wedding so that when you are budgeting and choosing vendors, this can be taken into account.
Menu Tastings
This is one of the most exciting appointments when planning your wedding. You get to explore and taste different cuisine, desserts, wedding cakes, and cocktails to have on your menu. Never skip a tasting. This is a must!
Menu tasting can help you choose a caterer if you don’t yet have one. It can also help you select the right one from a list based on their presentation style and the taste of their food. Of course, if you are getting married at a hotel, you will not have as much flexibility here, so make sure you know the caliber of the hotels’ food before signing the contract.
Wedding Rehearsals
You cannot afford to skimp on your rehearsal dinner. It is the perfect moment to inject your style and preferences of how you want the actual day to be like. Some couples may make a huge deal out of their rehearsal dinner, but the process should be as easy.
To achieve this, you should start by picking food that is easy to eat. The meals you have should also spark all kinds of conversations for the whole process to be exciting and memorable. You should also be aware that
Transportation and Hotel Bookings
It would be best if you also discussed the mode of transportation that is most convenient to ensure everything runs efficiently and according to plan. An excellent wedding experience should end with a suitable place in various price ranges for your guests to relax. Therefore, your wedding planner should also be capable of booking a hotel block for your wedding. Typically, we suggest no more than 2-3 options.
An experienced wedding planner should be able to pre-negotiate transportation and hotel charges in advance. Depending on your guest list, they should determine the number of rooms you need for your guests and the most convenient transportation method. In addition, your planner should educate you on an attrition block vs a complimentary block.
Once you have everything in place, you should get the word out there to avoid inconveniencing your guests.
Decor and Design Details
If you want to really WOW your guests, you should put in the needed effort in selecting the perfect decor and personalized touches. Details can have significant impacts on how your wedding day will feel. Therefore, ensure that you spend some time on this. Often you may not what you want, so your planner can really help with ideas and procurement.
There are various factors to consider when selecting the right wedding decor and details, such as overall cost, aesthetic, personal taste, location, time of year, and more. Your wedding planner can help you choose the best wedding décor and details depending on the goal you have in mind.
Ensure that you discuss in-depth all the information about your wedding to ensure your planner has useful information to help you achieve the ideal event and bring your vision to life.
We hope this was helpful when considering “How To Choose a Wedding Planner”. A wedding planner is invaluable, and can TRULY help you achieve the perfect wedding weekend. You’ve most likely never done this before. So having the help and guidance of a seasoned professional can make all the difference in your wedding. You wouldn’t build a house without an architect, would you?
XO,
Table 6 Productions