Welcome to my first-ever blog. Name tbd. Haha, we'll figure it out together.
With this being my first blog, I thought we should start with a pretty basic question. Why should you hire a wedding planner? Why does anyone hire a wedding planner?
Let me first start by introducing myself. Hello, my name is Angelita and I am a Wedding Planner. (Hi Angelita!) I didn't start as a wedding planner. I had no clue what interested me when I was starting this journey. My main motivation was food. I started in the wedding industry via catering and found myself excelling at catering weddings and planning with the couple. I soon realized that often times the bride and groom would lean heavily on the caterer for a lot of their wedding questions if they didn't have a planner.
So let's start there.
Who hires a wedding planner?
Frankly, the answer is anyone who needs some assistance through the wedding planning process. In the past, the stigma was that only the wealthy and well-to-do hire wedding planners, not your average working-class couple. But that just isn’t the case. Nurses, construction workers, teachers, lawyers, administrative assistants, and doctors, all have benefited from hiring wedding planners to help with their wedding questions, preparations, planning, and execution. So let’s dig a little deeper.
Why do you need a wedding planner?
Maybe you and your fiance are working non-stop to pay for your wedding expenses, and you were good, you were trying to keep everything organized, but life started to happen, as life does. Now you are beginning to feel so overwhelmed by everything. Did you miss something here or there? Did you call or email the caterer back to book your tasting? If you look at your calendars, is there even a date that works for both of you to book sooner rather than later? Are you sure you want to go with the picturesque venue that is an hour away, or do you want to opt for something closer to accommodate friends and family? Did you sift through all of the reviews for each photographer and videographer from your Google search? Thanks for all 500 options, way to make it a smooth process. Are you having trouble finding the right dress and you’re just getting so frustrated with the sheer weight of everything associated with this wedding? Your wedding! The biggest day of your life to this point.
OR
Maybe your parents are helping you two with the costs but are not allowing you to have as much freedom in the planning process as you would like. You don’t feel heard and you feel like you can’t even pick out napkin colors without judgment or tension. You want to get over it but you keep having that little voice in your head say ‘This is your wedding, right?’. And it absolutely is YOUR wedding.
If any of this sounds familiar, chances are you need a wedding planner, someone to help take the stress out of it all, so you don’t feel overwhelmed and can enjoy your wedding planning process. No one wants to feel like a balloon about to pop, especially not when it comes to the most important day of their lives. Wedding planners are your professional indexes of the wedding world. They typically come with a wealth of knowledge in all of the components that create a wedding. If they have been in the industry for some time, they have made vendor connections, have seen all sorts of trends and themes come and go, and can keep the stress at bay with their organizational tools and wedding expertise. The most important thing to remember is that they are there for YOU. They will advocate for you as a couple.
With that being said, let’s jump into the pros and cons of having a wedding planner.
The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Wedding Planner.
Pros
Typically wedding planners offer 3 packages and an a la carte option. These are built to handle your needs depending on what stage of the wedding planning process you are in.
They are a wealth of information in their industry.
They know the good vendors from the not-so-good vendors in your area and can steer you in the right direction.
This is not their first wedding. Most wedding planners either start after finding they loved their own wedding experience or have worked under another planner for a while to gain experience. Oftentimes, the latter.
On the day of your wedding, you and your spouse will NOT be the point of contact for all your vendors. Your planner will be. This means that you get to ENJOY your wedding day with friends and family, with minimal interruptions.
They work closely with your vendors before your wedding and on the day of your wedding. Look at them like the team leaders or event managers executing your vision.
They help you to not self-sabotage.
Let me clarify. Let’s say you don’t want to hire a professional wedding DJ because your uncle Jimmy is a party DJ on the side and he offered to DJ at your wedding to save you some money. Great! Planners love to save you money, BUT, we also love to save you from a headache too. Uncle Jimmy isn’t familiar with things like timelines, announcements, introductions, and wedding etiquette. Why? Because he DJ’s parties, not weddings. He wants to hang out with your Aunt Sue because that’s his favorite cousin and he hasn’t seen her in 3 years and they want to catch up with drinks. Why not, it’s a wedding. Your wedding. Do you see where this is going? So your wedding planner will suggest about 3-5 excellent wedding DJs, who will fit your needs and your budget, so your day is smooth and Uncle Jimmy can hang out with Aunt Sue and watch your first dance at table #5 and not behind an uncovered table that he set up with equipment.
They can help you budget for the things you truly want to see or experience at your wedding.
They will keep the flow of your wedding smooth.
They are familiar with venue expectations.
They will handle end-of-the-night arrangements, from returning the baker's cupcake stands to ensuring Aunt Sue and Uncle Jimmy take home their wedding favors.
They know how to handle tough situations and big emotions.
They see all the fun trends and can help with suggestions to make memorable moments.
Cons
They are an additional expense to budget into your wedding planning, including their vendor meal. Depending on the planner, they will have payment options to make the cost of their services more manageable.
****Something to note:
There are online options to help the couple that can manage on their own. BUT these only account for the organization portion of things. This does not mean that if there is a hiccup, the planning software can predict that. Let's say the caterer is running 30 minutes behind and there's no one to tell except the bride and groom. No one is informing the DJ of the delay. And the bride and groom are left handling that situation. That is all left to you, the couple, or your designated point of contact, who may not be familiar with this type of situation or how to handle it.
With that being said,
I hope this provides you with a good breakdown of the pros and cons of having a wedding planner and why people hire their services. If you have found yourself in the weeds of wedding planning and are in need of assistance, please reach out to me via the contact form or by clicking the button with the service that best matches your wedding needs. With a decades worth of experience in the wedding industry, I have seen just about everything. From hawks to horses, and hiccups that were mitigated without worrying the couple, I have planned and coordinated many magnificent wedding celebrations!
Also, be on the lookout for more monthly blog posts. If your enjoyed reading this please leave a comment and follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I would love to hear your feedback and learn more about the subjects that matter to you. Thank you for reading!