Do I Need A Planner?

The most compelling reasons to invest into the cost of wedding planner are:

1. Time

2. Quality

3. Stress

Planning a wedding on your own is pretty much a part-time job. Do you really have the time in the day to commit 3 or 4 hours? Can you keep that up for 6 to 12 months? Many of us simply don’t have the time, and paying a wedding planner to do the work for us frees us up to focus on our jobs and other commitments that eat up far too much of our time. On one side, we can’t afford to take time off work. On the other, time spent working makes more money than what you would pay a wedding planner. Rarely does it not make financial sense to hire a professional. And then there’s the quality of the event. Covering your wedding planning cost means that everything is on time, details are to your specifications, vendors are known and trusted, and they’ve done this 1000 times. They know when to question vendors and how to hold them accountable.

The third is stress.Less sleep and more stress is the perfect recipe for stress. Between your mother-in-law hounding you over the guest list, going over budget on one item and struggling to make up for it elsewhere, and having to re-do those DIY centerpieces because the glue failed you’re going to be (saying it politely) unpleasant to deal with from time to time. Not only will you be compromising your mental and physical health – it’s much harder to stay fit and get into wedding gown shape when stress levels are up – you’ll be threatening the stability of your relationship with your future spouse. As much as he or she loves you, putting up with Bridezilla for 12 months is no easy task. Why do I need a wedding planner if my venue has a coordinator? Well, especially for a destination wedding, hiring a professional wedding planner is a must. Starting from the beginning… Who is gonna create your color palette based on the latest trends and who is gonna design your wedding? Generally, the performances from an on-site wedding coordinator are limited to the services that belong to the venue, while a professional wedding planner offers you a one-stop service coordinating not only the venue staff but all the other vendors and subcontractors. A destination wedding planner is a mix between your best friend and an orchestra maestro, she stands by the bride’s side on every little step of the planning, designing the inspiration theme and assuring the final outcome of the full project, consulting for personal topics like the bridal gown choice, hairstyle, makeup, etc… styling the wedding decors for photographers, creating and following up the wedding checklist with the couple from the moment of the booking until the end of the event. Usually, the destination wedding planner cooperates with the on-site wedding coordinator of the venue for the perfect result. Okay. So you know you need one and you don't think you can afford to hire a wedding planner.

What do they do for you exactly? To answer that question you’ll have to set your priorities.

1. Do you want to save as much money as possible?

2. Do you want a completely hands-off, no-stress service?

3. Or do you want to keep your hands on the steering wheel, but have the support and guidance you need for a perfect day?

Answer these questions and consider these popular wedding planner packages and prices.

Day-Of: This option is designed for couples who love the challenge of the hands-on approach, but want to make sure that all of their hard work goes off without a hitch on the big day. Because the wedding planner has everything to do with the big day – wedding day timeline, scheduling, and managing vendors, theme and decor, guests lists – this is the most popular choice for soon-to-be brides. Average cost: $1000-$2000 Partial: A partial wedding planner service is a relationship that starts on day 1 of your planning journey. The average cost of a wedding planner for this type of service varies depending on how “partial” you want the service to be and usually comes packaged with a minimum amount of hours. Above and beyond Day-Of services, you can choose help with specific aspects of the wedding. Average cost: $1500 to $3000 Full-Service : This wedding planner price list includes everything you assume it to. As soon as your deposit is in, expect to sit down to discuss visions, dreams, tastes, themes, and color schemes. From there you can plan on scheduled follow-ups to discuss the progress your wedding planner has made and for your decisions on certain options. In short, they take care of everything and make sure you’re always in the loop.Average cost: $3000 - $8000.

What Events Are Included In Wedding Planning Fees?

Day-Of: Day-of wedding planners don’t stick with you from day 1, but what they do cover are the most important things, and could save you the most amount of stress and time.

• Reception

• Ceremony

• Rehearsal dinner

Your wedding planner will make sure that all of this is coordinated, on schedule, on budget, and make sure that all of the paperwork and fees are accounted for. Rehearsal dinners aren’t usually standard, you may have to pay extra for this.

Partial: To keep your average price of a wedding planner from being subject to additional charges, you’ll have to keep an eye on your phone calls and emails. The downside to a Partial wedding planner service package is that they typically come with a fixed amount of those types of communication. Couples have a tendency to go overboard when they first hire a planner and use all of their calls in the first few months, and then have to choose between extra fees or no communication. As long as you can pace yourself everything will be fantastic. Be mindful of how many hours are included in your package and choose from the following categories:

• Catering

• Rentals

• Decorations

• Invitations

• Wait staff

• Entertainment

• Florist

• Guest transportation and lodging

• Venue and vendor selection

• Organization: Scheduling, paperwork, communication…

• Wedding prep

• Day-of coordination

• Post-wedding tasks

• Ceremony

• Reception

• Rehearsal dinner

• Brunch

While making your choices try to determine where you need the most help, or where the biggest chance for things to go wrong lays.

Full Service: Most professional planning tips will recommend that you contact them as soon after you’re engaged as possible, and to pay attention to pricing models. Your wedding is unique. It could be very simple and traditional or super modern and complicated. The wedding planner will do their best to estimate how many hours of their time will be needed to cater to your every need. The categories that you should discuss include:

• Wedding Planner and up to 2 Assistants

• Budget management

• Timelines and setting dates

• Theme creation

• Vendor referral and assistance on visits

• Plans and advice on every part of your wedding day

• Creative ideas to help personalize your day

• Suggestions for centrepieces, wedding favors and bridal party gifts

• Attendance and guidance at wedding rehearsal

• Assist with creation of seating list and placement cards

• Greeting at ceremony & reception, accompanying guests to seats

• Personal touches and surprises

• Overseeing traditions

• Help with toasts, speeches, centrepiece games and kissing games

• Retention, delivery and set up of décor at church and reception,

• Supervision and full coordination at reception

• Emergency kits with many products to take care of any problem that should arise

As you can see, full-service packages include assistance in virtually all aspects of your wedding checklist. If there is another aspect of your wedding that you want your planner to help with, go ahead and ask. For example, wedding planners would be familiar with the pros and cons of certain wedding gown choices and could prove to be an invaluable resource while you’re choosing your dress. Regardless of the package you choose and the level of involvement you require, make sure to get everything in writing. It’s mutually beneficial for both you and your wedding planner to completely understand what is and what is not included, what’s optional, and when additional fees apply. As with everything in life, shop around, check reviews, and have a few conversations before you make any commitments. Your wedding planner will be an important individual in your life for up to 12 months, it’s important that there’s a sense of rapport in this relationship.