Why
Hire A Wedding Planner/Coordinator?
I was hesitant to write this article because as a wedding
planner I don’t want to sound biased or to come across like a sales pitch, BUT
after hearing a so many horror stories I realized that it is necessary to
inform couples on the
IMPORTANCE OF A WEDDING
PLANNER!
My best piece of advice: “You get what you pay for! So when you
don’t pay for a friend who is helping you out as your “day of stand in
coordinator” or you find one that is new to the industry…. guess what? It may
not be that good of an outcome.
What is the difference between a “wedding
planner” and “wedding coordinator”?
A wedding planner and wedding coordinator are essentially the same thing, below is the difference between
the role of a “day-of coordinator” and a planner.
A day-of coordinator usually begins services close to wedding date
and after the couple has hired all their vendors and venue. Her role is
to be in charge of the actual wedding by managing all the details that the
bride and groom have spent months planning to make sure that everything comes
together in the end exactly as the couple imagined. A coordinator allows
the couple, wedding party and guests to enjoy their special day without the
stress. Think of a “day-of coordinator” as a general contractor or a
symphony conductor.
A wedding planner goes beyond just the day-of the
wedding. A planner will work with the couple for at least a year before
the big day helping with everything from design creation, budget management,
stationary/invitations, vendor booking and suggestions, and contract
negotiation or review along with coordinating everything the day of the
wedding. A wedding planner is there to help reduce stress by managing and
organizing all the details from start to finish. This is a great option
for couples that want assurance that they are hiring reliable vendors and
getting the most for their budget or have demanding busy lifestyles and
schedules.
A wedding planner is
there for YOU. It’s YOUR day and YOU deserve the best! A planner
will not make decisions for you or take away the fun of planning, but she will
be there to help you make informed decisions and to ensure that your plan is
executed accordingly.
Why Hire a Wedding Planner? “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 that 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. 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, email us at info@no1weddingplanner.com
