Why A Wedding Planner?
March 18, 2008 · Posted in the planning process by wendy
Welcome to the EAD Weddings blog! We are so excited to have you here. If you are a new visitor, we'd love for you to subscribe to our RSS feed and visit our sister site, EAD Living. Thanks for visiting and we hope you come back soon!
I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked this question! Hiring a planner is the best investment you can make in your wedding.
Whether you hire one for the day of or the whole process, a planner can take the pressure off and make the planning process more fun and less stressful. Or course, if you watch those “reality” shows, you may ask yourself - “are they for real?!” Well, unfortunately, yes they are. Be careful! Just because someone planned their own wedding and is now charging dirt cheap prices for helping you, doesn’t make them a wedding planner. Florists are not wedding planners, the event coordinator at the club or the hotel is not a wedding planner and your Aunt Sally may be more than willing to help out, but she is not equipped to handle emergencies on your wedding day.
You want a planner that is there for YOU- from beginning to end! This is the most important day of your life! Don’t entrust it to just anyone. Ask questions, do your homework and get references.
Ed. Note - hiring a planner is especially useful if you are planning an event in a city outside your own. What is so great about weddings these days, though, is the ability to research online to find local vendors and do a lot of the legwork of planning yourself. If this sounds fun to you, then you might think you don’t need a planner, but I’m of the opinion that NO ONE should be without a day of coordinator. You really should enjoy your event and not have the responsibility of sticking to the timeline, cleaning up after the reception, or handling catering snafus fall to you, your family, or your wedding party. E.
Wendy, can you suggest any AFFORDABLE day of coordinators in the Philly area? I looked into it, but everyone was over $1000, and I just do not have room for that in my budget, period, non-negotiable. As much as I do not want to handle problems myself, I’d rather do that than take out a loan to hire a day-of coordinator.
Julie- I emailed you for an answer to your question. No girl should be without a planner- no matter the budget! Anyone who is interested, in the Philadelphia area, should link to me and I will try to help!
Wendy, would you consider training a newbie wedding planner. I am one of those people that you talked about that got married and now want to & have a passion for planning beautiful & magical events.. I am willing to be trained… What do you think…
Couldn’t agree more! Where else would someone invest that kind of money without seeking professional guidance? Also, the vendors that usually pop up on google first are not the best ones.
I definitely agree…great post!! :-)
Of course it’d be great to have one, but not everyone can afford one…I agree with Julie. It’s not worth borrowing money to have one. It’s always interesting to note what’s affordable to some is way out of budget to others…
julie/loaf - i completely agree with you on the budget and DEFINITELY not taking out a loan to help pay for it! i would say, though, that sacrificing budget in other areas would be worth it if it helps you get a DOC. sometimes for only day-of coordination the prices can be extremely reasonable. :)
Liene - So true. Some really great planners in Birmingham don’t advertise at all. They have no idea how to market themselves. The horrible planners usually pop up first in a google search.
I am on a super tight budget myself, but we are hiring a Day-Of coordinator who I found out about through the Knot Message boards (there were a couple girls on there just raving about how good she is!). She’s younger - but still very experienced - and is under $1000 (which was a big deal to me). She’s allowing us to make payments to her, which makes it easier on us.
As was said earlier, I am so excited to have somebody there that will set up, handle any problems, kind of “run” the show, and clean up!! Now I know that not only will my fiancee and I have a wonderful time, our families will too!
It is so nice to read all of the different feelings about this post. Janelle- I would love to have you tag along with me, but I am so hands on, I am not sure you would learn anything. I will be in touch. Loaf- you are so right. And- I have helped girls at a discounted price. A good planner should never shoot herself in the foot. Some of the nicest brides don’t have thousands to spend on a wedding. Liene- very good point! I know some of those “first on the list” planners and they are not the best. And, The Knot is full of “good advice” about planners for $500. Just let me say, it takes a long time to gain the skills to do this well. I really appreciate all of your feedback and your positive comments about planners. Good luck to all of you brides!!!
My biggest regret - not hiring a day of coordinator. Wendy is absolutely right - it’s so crucial.
Great post– my husband runs Antony and Cleopatras caterers in South Jersey. He gets alot of out of townners who want to do a wedding b/c its right near Atlatnic City. I think a wedding planner would have eased the nerves of a lot of frazzled brides that we see all the time!
