I am in the beginning stages of planning my wedding. It's going to be about a medium to large size wedding. Do you think I should hire a wedding planner or would I be able to handle it on my own? Keep in mind that I am not working and have a lot of time to plan this. Any help would be grateful.
2006-10-16 11:48:39 · 27 answers · asked by chvygrl 3 in Family & Relationships ➔ Weddings
I would recommend getting one even if it is only to coordinate the rehearsal and wedding day. I am in a similar situation. I do not work and am doing the planning and organizing of everything myself but I have hired a wedding planner to help when I need her and to be there to coordinate the wedding weekend. Even if you find all of your vendors and make all the extras yourself you still cannot direct the rehearsal and coordinate everyone doing what they are supposed to on the day of. Sure you could enlist family to do this but then they aren't enjoying themselves either and you don't have to worry if your aunt really has what it takes to keep track of all of the vendors, etc. Hope this helps and best wishes! =)
2006-10-16 14:50:56 · answer #1 · answered by blueeyedlovebug 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Like Crystal, I too am a wedding planner. I think she is right and you are thinking "all or nothing"... you dont have to have a planner "do it for you" (which by the way is a falsehood... a planner never does it FOR you they do it WITH you). You can have a planner "on retainer" so that when you need help the most you know who to call, and you can have them do "day of" coordination (like Crystal I think this service is the most important). In my experience the "consultations" are the most common service used, and those that use the consultations FREQUENTLY choose to have "day of" services as well. Its a peace of mind you CANNOT get when doing it completely on your own.
Something else I noticed NOBODY mentioned.... many consultants can get you deep enough discounts from vendors to cover your costs for using the planner in the first place!
So in answer to your question.... I would say hire a planner on a "retainer" basis and for "day of" services so that you can stay within your budget and keep your sanity too.
Congratulations and Good Luck
If you need any other free help feel free to email me and I will assist you the best I can.
2006-10-17 05:07:56 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you need a wedding planner. Wedding planners are if you are planning a wedding far from where you live or are too busy to plan your own wedding. There is alot of stuff online to help in planning a wedding. A great website is theknot.com, I used this site very often and they will walk you through each step of planning. They have cake styles, hair styles,invitations etc etc. Good luck in your planning!
2006-10-17 03:23:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think a wedding planner could probably help, but only if you can afford it. I have a $5000 budget for my wedding with about 220 guests that we're inviting. There's no way I could afford $500 or more for a planner. I think that your best bet is to figure out your budget and your guest list first. If your budget is $10,000 for 100 guests, go for it. If you're like me, I'd skip it.
2016-05-22 07:22:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
since it is your wedding you don't want to be stressed out for the big day.
my dance coach got married not too long ago and actaully had the dean of studetns as her wedding planner.
having a friend as your planner or helping you with the weedding is great. they will know what you like and what you don't like. you will be able to express your mind and they'll know what you mean. they may not even ask for pay in return. and if you get a single friend to help you can repay the favor.
i think having a wedding planner is a must for your sized wedding, but i think a friend, or a few friends, would be just as great.
wouldn't love to look back and say my best friends and i planned my wedding?
good luck!
2006-10-16 14:21:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK well I'm probably partial since I am a wedding planner so I'm just going to give you a few reasons why I think wedding planners are beneficial and why I hired someone even to help me with my wedding. First of all there are three different types of services that I and many other wedding planners offer.
The first is complete wedding planning which is probably what you are thinking of hiring. They help you with your complete wedding planning from start to finish. They listen to your ideas of what you and your fiance would like and help create and pull together all of the things that you want for your wedding while helping you stick to a budget. Most wedding planners charge a percentage of your budget. Depending on where you live it can be anywhere from 10-20%. However most wedding planners have relationships with other vendors and because of the repeat business they bring these vendors they can get great deals for their clients. Which can bring you major savings. Also because of there experience they know all of the good vendors, the ones to avoid, and those new to the business who may be able to offer you huge savings.
The second service you can hire a wedding planner for is wedding consulting. This is charged on an hourly basis. So say that you are feeling really good with most of the planning details but really need help coming up with unique decor ideas, or you want to find the perfect photographer to fit your style and your budget. You can hire a wedding consultant to help you in just the areas that you need help in.
The third service is the service that I used for my wedding and would suggest for EVERY bride. That is Day of Coordination. This is someone who comes to your rehearsal and wedding and coordinates everything. You meet with them several times before your wedding and go over your vision for the wedding and give them the contact names and numbers of all of your vendors. They call your vendors ahead of time and act as the onsite contact person. Instead of having a zillion people hunting for you to ask questions to on your wedding day you can relax, get your makeup done and know that your wedding is in good hands. A day of coordinator does everything from making sure the girls have there bouquets, make sure the groomsmen's corsages are on straight, act as a barrier between you and your cranky soon to be mother in law, make sure the candles are lit, coordinate what time the florist will be back to pick up her vases, helps create and keep you to timeline etc..... well obviously you can see that this is one service I highly believe in. ;)
Anyways I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can go to my website www.crystalweddings.ca and send me an email through my contact sheet.
Happy planning!
Crystal
2006-10-16 13:26:22 · answer #6 · answered by www.crystalweddings.ca 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had the same situation as you. I didn't pay for a wedding planner, I just had a friend, that wasn't in the wedding party, help take care of things during the day. Plus its much funner planning your wedding, and creates some funny memories. Unless you are one of those bridezillas, that will lose their friends from being too demanding. Here's some advice for your wedding, No one but you will know if something went wrong, so just relax and enjoy.
2006-10-16 12:46:08 · answer #7 · answered by chellie 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think a wedding planner is a good idea. They take care of the little details that you might not even think of and also they are so worth it if they can take away your stress on the big day. Many will work with you and adjust their fees to give you want you need and let you take care of some things too. I would arrange a consultation with a few of them to see who will work best with you and gets what you want for your big day.
2006-10-16 12:18:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
since you are not working you have a full "work" week to plan the wedding. i would try to plan without paying extra for a wedding planning service. if you feel overwhelmed by the planning then consider hiring a planner
2006-10-17 03:16:26 · answer #9 · answered by Jenn 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Heck, if you're not working and will have a lot of time on your hands, NO, you absolutely do not need a planner. The time you have will give you an opportunity to research and negotiate just like a planner would. Save your money.
2006-10-16 12:06:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋