Wedding planners have long been thought of as something celebrities have, or are just for the top 1% of society.  People think planners are expensive, unnecessary, can do it all themselves and think it’s something they can save money on. However, with all of the pinterest goals and instagram worthy photos that every couple wants to have on their wedding day, a wedding planner has become crucial for every wedding and can save you thousands. 

Weddings are an industry in their own right. Some people spend their careers just working on weddings, because they are such a special niche of event production. Yes you read that correctly, weddings are an event production. They involve at least ten vendors ranging from photographers, videographers, caterers, florists, musicians, djs, furniture rentals, calligraphers and more. They involve precise timing of many different groups of people including when guests arrive, when hair and makeup starts, when photos start, when people walk down the aisle, when the cake is cut, when the toasts are given, and more. Weddings have specific traditions, expectations and requirements, so in short yes they are events being produced.

In order for all of these different pieces to come together seamlessly, have a stress free experience leading up to the big day and a stress free day on the actual wedding day, you need a planner from day one managing everything. There is no way a couple can enjoy the fun parts of planning a wedding if they are handling a hundred emails a day on all the tiny details.

You may have ideas in your head of how you want your wedding to look and feel. And you should have opinions because it is your day and it’s important your planner knows what your likes and tastes are! But having several different ideas and goals and not knowing how to combine them or who to reach out to to accomplish them, that is where it will cost you more money if you try and do it yourself. And it will cost you a lot of time and headaches.  

For example – you may want a gorgeous flower wall and the florist is super excited and will be putting it together for you. But you may not realize that the actual wall that all the flowers are attached to comes from a rental company and that neon sign that has your new last name on it is something you have to order yourself.  All of a sudden you’re weeks or worse days away from the wedding and now your paying three times as much as you would have if a planner had been handling everything, because of all the rush shipping payments and extra fees for last minute scheduling. Plus all the added stress of not knowing if a flower wall is even available and worrying that your vision will not come true after all. 

Another great example – You fall in love with a venue. It’s beautiful and picturesque and you can’t wait to celebrate with all of your friends and family here. But you don’t realize initially how many rules and regulations there are because it’s a historical building. You didn’t ask about noise restrictions or fireworks rules or the rain plan and max indoor guest count.  You just said yes, skipped over the reading of the contract details and started planning your dream wedding. Only, three months away from the wedding day, when the venue coordinator reaches out for a list of vendors, do you learn that they had a required caterer you had to use and the one you planned for doesn’t work, and the caterer they request is unavailable, and those amazing (and expensive!) fireworks you planned on having cannot be used because they are not allowed on the property, and all the guests you invited exceeds the max indoor space by 50 so even if it rains you have to be outside and now have to spend money on a tent deposit that completely takes away from the beautiful outdoor space and won’t look nice at all. 

A great non wedding example as well – We worked on a first birthday for a client who had already picked a venue before hiring us. They wanted a big balloon display and arch, lots of pretty flowers and catered southern bbq food. Unfortunately the venue was a public zoo. So no balloons of any kind were allowed on the property, the set up and break down times were only 15 minutes each and the space was not close to any parking and involved walking everything uphill in wheelbarrows. And the event started at 10am. Which for most people that is a little early for spicy ribs and mac and cheese. If we had been contacted before the venue deposit we could have found a venue that allowed her to have all the things she wanted. But, because the client was set on using the venue we had to get creative and we created a play space with large plush animals of lions, giraffes and zebras, with a fun decorative carpet and play tent so that the space felt like a safari. One rental company wanted to charge over $2,000 to set up the wall so quickly and break down. Pass!  We also switched the food to brunch items which included some of the best french toast you’ve ever had. Without a planner that event would have looked very different.

When you work with a planner we prevent all of these disasters and disappointments from happening and set your expectations of what you can and cannot expect from your venue and day. We learn what your non-negotiables are, what items are most important to you so that on your day you have all of your favorite things. We know how to prioritize what’s most important to you and make recommendations on other items where you can save money. For example if you are not a big cake person. Let the caterer make a simple cake that’s pretty and clean and nice for photos of cake cutting and then do something else for dessert such as make your own crepe station! Not big dancers? Don’t get the most expensive band then! Let us recommend a band that’s more cost friendly and still high value.

Trust me, we love a good deal as much as anyone, and to be honest vendors and venues are more likely to give planners deals or special add ons for free because we are repeat business. Couples getting married, they are doing it once and then moving on with their lives so vendors and venues have less of an initiative to work with you on deals or specials because they are only going to work with you one time.

At the end of the day the most important thing a couple can do is enjoy their wedding and be excited about saying yes to spending the rest of their lives together! Let the planners focus on the numbers and handle everything else.