Many couples start their wedding planning journey thinking that they can do it by themselves. While a wedding can be planned without a planner, the couple normally will start to feel stressed and overwhelmed about halfway through the process. Many couples start seeking help from a planner about 6 months into their planning process, but usually want to find a planner that is inexpensive because it wasn’t part of their original budget. Because a planner is often times considered a luxury and many couples have established a budget without including this investment, they often start searching for a someone that is lower cost. While being conscious of your budget is very important, it is essential that you consider a few things before booking a planner solely because of the cost.
The first thing to think about is experience. How long has that less expensive planner been planning? Many wedding planners go into business after planning their own event or a friend or family member. They think it will be the same as planning their wedding, they will be picking out decorations and piecing together an event that was just like their own. Wedding planning for clients is very different than planning one’s own wedding. A seasoned wedding planner knows that. No two weddings are ever alike and we don’t create the same event over and over; we listen to our clients and make their vision come to life.
Another reason to consider the more experienced planner is that a new wedding planner or one with limited experience may not know all the ins and outs of running a wedding. If you have been planning weddings for any length of time you know you must be an expert in all areas of the wedding! That includes catering, floral design, cakes, traditions and etiquette, venue layouts, timeline creation, marriage license laws, how to pin a boutonniere, proper table place settings, and much more! So, let’s take a moment to discuss this a little further.
So, you are the bride, and your father decides to make an unplanned thank you speech to the guests before dinner service. He asks the inexperienced planner if this will be ok, she says of course and grabs the mic for him. While dad starts his welcome to the guests he doesn’t realize, and neither does the inexperienced planner, that the catering staff was ready to serve the meal. Now, they are scrambling behind the scenes trying to put food back in warmers and stop the serving process. On the other hand, an experienced planner would have thought out this process and made sure that dad’s speech was included in the timeline from the beginning. That way all the vendors know exactly how the event will flow. That same experienced planner knows how to communicate with the catering staff on any delays or unexpected interruptions to the timeline so that food will be served at its best and on lime.
Or, what if your florist arrives early to put flowers or a cake topper on the cake and the cake hasn’t arrived yet, and the florist has to leave to set up their next event and just leaves a bunch of flowers next to your cake table. Does the inexperienced planner know what to do with those flowers? Does the planner have a picture of your cake design? Do they know what the cake is supposed to look like? Did they think to ask you this question? An experienced planner will have all those details together and will have the expertise and knowledge to be able to place the flowers on the cake. Another wedding crisis averted by the seasoned planner.
Here is just one more wedding day example. What if one of the catering staff is placing plates next to your centerpieces and accidentally knocks a candle onto the floral centerpieces. A planner without experience may panic and call the bride to tell her the bad news. A seasoned planner will first never tell the bride this news and will do whatever it takes to fix the problem,
Let’s talk a little about the actual planning process. Someone that is new to the wedding industry probably doesn’t know how many hours goes into actually planning a wedding. They may offer to be your “day of” coordinator for a really low cost and do just that – show up on your wedding day only. They won’t be prepared, they won’t know the vendors, they won’t know how to run the timeline. Everyone in the wedding industry knows there is no such thing as a day of coordinator! At A Beautiful Day by Christina, we call this package Wedding Event Management. We will get involved with the details as soon as you hire us. We will contact the vendors you have hired, or we have referred to you and let them know you have hired us as their coordinator. We become the vendor contact, we create a detailed vendor list, a wedding weekend timeline, and a floor plan to share with everyone involved with the wedding. We will also know all the ins and outs of the wedding design and your plans!
You may find a Wedding management company may be priced at a higher cost than that new planner’s “day of” package. But there is A LOT more that goes into the preparation and behind the scenes and we know how much time goes into all of it. We know how long it takes for us to execute each event, we know how to handle any mishaps, we know how to create a timeline that will work for all the vendors, we know how to coordinate with those same vendors on your wedding day.
When you are asking a planner about experience, remember that it is more important to have “years” of experience as a wedding planner rather than experience at a specific venue. Planners work at different venues every weekend and should know how to work the event at any location! There are hundreds of venues, and your planner will know how to navigate a historic estate, country club, vineyard, farm, park, or home, even if they haven’t worked at the exact location.
Put your trust in a seasoned planner! Remember, you have only one chance to do it right, one chance (and we do too) to create the perfect wedding. Let an experienced planner help you with the details!
