You know you need a photographer. You know you need a catering team. But do you really need to hire a planner? Whether your big day is around the corner or you just got engaged and are in the early planning stages, you might be wondering how a wedding planner fits into your plan, let alone your budget. Most of the time, brides realize that a planner might be something they need only after they have already stressed out over securing all the other vendors. Avoid that regret! Here are eight solid reasons to consider adding a planner to your vendor list right now.
A planner will help bring that Pinterest board to life
If you’re anything like me, you probably started your “One Day!” wedding Pinterest board years before your fiancé was even in the picture. That said, your wedding vision has probably, and hopefully, changed a bit since that time! So, how are you going to bring that new vision to life? It’s great to use Pinterest as a place to find inspiration and keep all your ideas together in one place, but a planner will take that inspo and turn it into a list of local vendors who can bring your ideas to fruition! Their database of badass vendors in your area who can band together to create exactly what you’re looking for is a resource that you wouldn’t have access to through Google.
They will help you stay on budget
It’s far too easy to get carried away on Etsy or Oriental Trading buying every cute little decoration or sign you find — trust me, speaking from personal experience here! A a planner will be there to tell you what’s worth buying and what not to waste your budget on. They will take your ideas and figure out how they can be executed on your budget, and most of the time this means not buying, but renting your decor. Also, I’m wiling to bet that you probably didn’t leave room in your budget for vendor tips, which yes, are very much a thing!
They will offer an unbiased, professional opinion on your ideas
Your friends and family (we see you, moms!) are always going to offer their opinions, solicited or not, throughout the entire wedding planning process. These opinions can be helpful, but they can also be a liiiiiittle selfish. So, it can actually be really nice and refreshing to have an outsider give a professional opinion, whether it be about the kind of charger you rent or the color tablecloths that will look best. Your first meeting with a planner should go over your vision of the day from start to finish and figure out your likes and dislikes, so your wants and needs are always top of mind.
They can decode your other vendor contracts
Part of the reason why you might hire a planner is because they are experts in the wedding industry, and they can help spot red flags or decode any obscure legal wording in other vendors contracts that might not have jumped out at you. While your planner is not a licensed law professional, they will be familiar with contract wording. And, if an issue does come up in the contract, you can leave any “awkward” conversations up to them. Depending on the exact duties you hired your planner to do, they should be willing to negotiate for you. Please note that a planner hired only for day-of coordination will normally not include this service in their package fee, so be sure to ask for a breakdown of the exact tasks you can expect them to complete before signing a contract!
They will ensure you have a stress-free day
One of the first questions I ask potential clients is this: What is currently stressing you out about the wedding planning process? It’s rare that they don’t have a quick answer — there are plenty of stressors! Knowing what is fueling their pre-wedding anxiety helps me foreshadow what they will be worried about on the big day itself. Between creating a timeline that addresses all your timing concerns to navigating all the last minute snags that pop up the day of, rest assured that it’s a planners job to make sure that if a hiccup does occur, you will have no knowledge of it.
They will think of the important details you wouldn't even know to consider
When should you be done with hair and makeup in order to get the majority of your family pictures done before the ceremony? Who is going to fold and place the napkins? Who is going to tell you when it’s time for toasts? These are just small examples of the thousands of questions that your planner is going to answer for you, whether you had thought about them before or not!
Your friends and family (or, you, the wedding couple) won’t be left to clean
A lot of of brides must think there is a magical fairy who comes to tear down all the decorations when the party’s over. You can have that fairy (it’s me…I’m the fairy!), but you have to hire them! The peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can dance all night and head into your after party without a care in the world about cleaning up is worth every penny. If you don’t have someone delegated for clean up, you might be stuck with a hefty fine from the venue.
The coordinator that comes with your venue may not be enough
Hear me out on this one. Your venue rental package comes with a day-of coordinator or partial wedding planner which sounds great, right? And it is! However, this person is employed by your vendor, not by you. They were assigned to you and your event, and isn’t someone who you have researched and “interviewed” yourself. Therefore, their interests will always side with the venue, and that might not work in your favor in some situations. Hiring your own coordinator/planner means that you will always have someone there to stick up for your needs, with your priorities front and center.