10 Reasons to Hire a Planner from a Bride

Yes, we know that the title "Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner" may become a bit repetitive on our blog but, we just had to share this story! This is from a bride's own perspective. No vendor or other planner but, a bride who praised her wedding planner and gave us 10 very good reasons why anyone getting married should hire one! Enjoy!

10 reasons to hire a wedding planner

 

I’ll be honest. I thought I could plan my wedding on my own. I was convinced that if I could plan a giant event all across the country and coordinate hundreds of bloggers at once for the Food Blogger Bake Sale, than why couldn’t I plan my own wedding?

Well, I was wrong. Way way wrong.
A few weeks into my engagement, I decided that as my gift to myself I would hire a wedding planner. I thought it was probably best to have someone that could help for coordinating everything and especially the day of the wedding. It would allow me to be way less stressed, and I convinced myself that it was a great idea.

And let me tell you something…. it’s the best present I’ve ever given myself! I asked Nicole, my fabulous, amazing, creative wedding planner from Green Ribbon Parties to put together a list of her top 5 reasons to hire and wedding planner. And then I put together my own list! So here it is… and I hope it helps some of you brides to be
Top 5 reasons why you should hire a wedding planner – from Nicole!

When you first get engaged people immediately start bombarding you with questions – Where are you getting married? Have you set the date yet? How much is your budget? Can my brother’s girlfriend’s cousin attend? And then, for the entirety of your engagement, the questions never end. They come from all directions, from parents and friends, to co-workers and even strangers! An engagement should be one of the happiest times of your life. You should be able to enjoy it, because after all, it is based on the fact that you have found your soulmate, the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with! This is the time you should be reveling in your love and not dodging questions and getting bogged down with emails and meetings! And that brings me to my list – the top 5 reasons to hire a planner.

1) Stress – A planner takes on the stress so you don’t have to. A planner will be the one to respond to all of the emails from various vendors and serve as the point person so you only have to deal with one contact. They will coordinate all of the meetings and be there to remember the details, plus ask the right questions. And most importantly, the planner will be there on the big day to make sure everything runs smoothly so you can be with you family and friends.

2) Prioritization – There are several guides you can find on the internet which will tell you what percentage you should be spending on every aspect of your wedding. I believe it is fine to use them to inform your decision, but I think it is also valuable to know what is important to you and put your money there. If food is your thing, then you might want to throw extra money into the catering budget. If you are a music lover, you might want to put a greater amount of money there. That’s why it is important to discuss what you (and this means anyone who has a say in the wedding) care about the most and in what order. A planner will offer guidance about what is within your price range and what will throw everything else out of whack. It is easy to get excited about all of the possibilities and make an uninformed choice, but a planner will serve as a great resource since they often know the acceptable range of what a service is worth.

3) Relationships with vendors – A planner is in the position to work on multiple events and they have established relationships with vendors of all sorts – photographers, florists, djs etc. Not only do planners spend time researching and meeting with vendors to know the best that’s out there for every budget, but they also refer couples to vendors constantly. As a result of all of these referrals, a vendor is more likely to negotiate with a planner since they can give them repeat business.

4) Experience – Most people are planning their wedding with no knowledge of how to throw a large-scale event. Of course there are books and plenty of tips from well-meaning friends and family, but a planner has seen many events. A planner is in the unique position to know what things should cost in every range. They can tell you if you are being cheated or if that “expensive” photographer really isn’t so expensive after all. They know what questions to ask your vendors and how to schedule the day so that you can get your photos taken, your guests fed, your speeches completed and everyone out on the dance floor.

5) They are required – More and more venues are requiring planners. Hotels used to have banquet managers to assist couples throughout the whole day, but this is an easy cost-cutting measure for venues. They get to cut their staff and have them go home and your planner will be the one to stay until the end of your wedding and make sure everything gets wrapped up – rentals collected, gifts delivered to your room, wait for vendors to come and pick up their items. Site coordinators offered up by the venues often represent the venue, not the couple. They will help you, but they will not advocate for you as aplanner would. In addition to traditional venues, many couples are now seeking out unusual spaces for their weddings – barns, art galleries, lofts – and all of these spaces need planners as well since they double as a wedding site and often have no one to help.

Top 5 reasons why you should hire a wedding planner – from Gaby!
1) Sanity. Let’s be honest here – planning a wedding, and coordinating all the vendors is hard work. Not to mention you most likely have a job, and hobbies, and other obligations that keep you busy. I’ve been super hands on in my wedding planning process, but Nicole keeps me sane. I know that I can send her an email randomly throughout the day about some small details of the wedding and she’s going to respond with an answer shortly and reassure me that all is going to be okay! Not to mention the month, week and day of the wedding. I think this is going to be the busiest time for me! Between all my upcoming pre-wedding travel and work, I know Nicole has my wedding in mind and she’s going to keep everything running smoothly.

 

2) Focus. I, along with many other brides I’m sure, tend to get overly excited about every last detail I see on pinterest and all the wedding blogs. I’m constantly adding things to my to-do list and making more work for everyone involved. And here’s the deal. I’ve gotta stay on focus. I have a vision, and sometimes adding too many details can get a little busy. Having a planner, who has done tons of events and knows what’s needed and what’s silly, will keep you on focus and ensure that you’re paying attention to the important things and not wasting time on anything else!
3) Peace of Mind. All I want to do on the day of my wedding, before the ceremony, is relax with my mom and bridal party, drink some sparkling wine and maybe take a stroll through the set-up of the wedding and check everything out. I know that I don’t want to be on the phone with the lighting people, trying to figure out where they are and why they didn’t arrive on time. This is probably one of my most favorite things about having a wedding planner. They take care of all that for you! Knowing me, I’ll probably want to hear a little bit of what is going on, but I know that Nicole is going to have it covered

4) Tie Breaker. Sometimes Thomas and I can’t decide on something. Maybe its a color. Or maybe its the way somethings works timing wise. Or maybe it’s the way the ceremony is going to run. Nicole is always there to give her trustworthy opinion and break that tie. She knows what works and what keeps an event moving!
5) Honesty. I know I can ask her any question and she’s going to tell me her honest opinion. And that’s exactly how I want it. I don’t need someone to side step around my feelings, I need an answer so I can make a decision and move on to the next decision that needs to be made. Not only does this make life easier, but it cuts waaaaaaay back on frivolous emails

 

So there you have it! Our top 10 reasons on why you should totally have a wedding planner! I hope this helps some of you bride-to-be’s out there!! Wedding planning should be fun – and I’m so happy I have help