Wedding Planners

Do You Need a Wedding Planner?

  A wedding planner is someone you can hire to help relieve some of the stress of planning a wedding, and who can co-ordinate all the “day-of –issues” the day of the wedding. There are a few things to consider when contemplating hiring a wedding manager: budget, wedding size, wedding date and time you can devote to planning. If you love DIY (do-it-yourself) projects, then planning your own wedding might be fun, but it’s a time consuming process and those who work may find that having a second person on hand to monitor and help co-ordinate everything is very helpful. Plus, many wedding planners have vendors that they have worked with and can recommend to you! 

  It can be hard, however, to let go of the planning of your perfect wedding day. Handing it over to a stranger who may not understand your vision can be a challenge. That’s why spending time interviewing wedding planners, establishing your wants and needs, and hiring the person that feels right is so important.  Before you go to interview a wedding planner spend a little time pulling together a list of what you would like help with, what your vision is, and anything else you can think of that will help the vendor understand who you are as a couple. 

  Don’t go into an interview with a wedding planner unprepared; have a list of interview questions ready. Remember, you’re looking to hire a planner to work for you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Get to know the individual you will be working with. Consider asking some of the following questions:

  • Why did you want to become a wedding planner?

  • What is the most challenging wedding you’ve ever handled and how did you solve the problems that arose?

  • How many clients do you handle every year? How busy do you believe you’ll be during the month of our wedding?

  • How long have you been in business? Do you have a business license? How many large weddings have you handled?

  • Do you have references or a portfolio we could look through?

  Even though you will be there interviewing the wedding planner to see if you think they’ll fit with your vision, they will also be observing you and seeing if you are the sort of client they’ll want to deal with. Weddings can be filled with stress and high levels of emotion, people tend to act in ways they normally wouldn’t and no one wants to be stuck in a situation with a “bridezilla” that they can’t get out of. Make sure you are open and honest about your expectations, but also polite. How you behave in your interview will give the planner insights into how you’ll handle conflicts and issues that arise while preparing for the wedding. 

  Wedding planners can be hired to help with a wide variety of issues. The scope of their work can extend from day of co-ordination to design and logistics to dealing with vendors. You’ll want to make sure that you discuss your needs with the planner to make sure they meet them. Some questions you’ll want to ask are:

  • What planning do you offer? What will we be responsible for if we hire you? 

  • Do you handle set up, tear down, rehearsal dinner, or honeymoon planning?

  • Do you handle wedding party attire? 

  • Do you customize your planning services or do we have to pick from pre-made packages?

  • How often can we meet with you or call you?

  • Do you handle day before rehearsals?

  • Can we hire our own vendors? Will you come to vendor meetings?

  • Do your planning services handle vendor complications and problems?

  Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that the services are in your price range. Consider asking the planner for:

  • A breakdown of costs

  • Revised and updated contracts

  • A detailed list of their fees

  • Their payment policy

  • Their deposit price

  • The refund or cancellation policy

  Once you have all this information in hand, take your time to make a decision. Since weddings are such high-emotion events it’s important to move slowly when making the big decisions. If someone doesn’t feel right then keep interviewing. If someone does feel right, finish your interviews and then give them a call to see if they still seem like the right person to handle the wedding planning. Once you’ve made a decision that you are comfortable with, whether it is hiring a planner or choosing to do the work yourself, you’ll be able to relax a little and focus on the other aspects of planning!