Is it better to hire a wedding planner or to just do it yourself?

Question

Could you all give me your input on if it is better to hire a wedding planner or do it yourself and for your reason could you state why!!!

Thanks In Advance!!!

Answer 1

This is a great question and I think many brides struggle with this decision.
I am a wedding planner myself, and from my experience, I have never had a bride who didn't appreciate all the help and stress relief... however from my standpoint, I think a bride can do it herself if she wanted to save some money.
The advantages of having a wedding planner are very obvious... the bride makes the decisions, but the wedding planner does all the work. Calls vendors, gets samples, sets up appointments and bargains with pricing. This eliminates alot of stress and work on the brides behalf. Also, I wedding planner can provide some great ideas about unique venues, color/theme ideas ect. They've done many weddings, they are a plethora of great knowledge... and often times you can get some great deals because of the working relationship with a good wedding planner and local vendors.
However, could a bride do all of this... absolutely!! Really it just comes down to each individual. Alot of my brides are very committed to their jobs.. and don't have alot of extra time to do all the "dirty work." Some brides just like the personal attention that they get from a wedding planner. Others, just have the money and pay for the opinions and what not.
When my clients ask me.. why should I hire you.. why shouldn't I do it myself...
I just tell them. Your wedding is going to be one of the most important days of your life... in your life you have many things going on besides your wedding... work, family.. ect... but my job is your wedding. It is my job to make sure that day that you have pictured in your head is exactly what you want. Planning weddings is my life... and your day will be the time of yours.

Good Luck with the planning!!! Either way... you'll have a beautiful wedding!!!

and fyi ~ good wedding planners are not the types to take over and be bossy... good wedding planners stand on the sidelines and do what you want them to do... they don't take the attention or the credit... they are there for you!

Answer 2

I planned my wedding myself but I am also a part-time wedding planner. I had the best time doing myself and that is what drove me into wedding planning. Some women just don't have the time and energy at all to plan. Other women just know they need a helping hand, and trust me everyone needs a little help. I think if you can do it yourself, you should. It is such a special time and the planning really is half the fun.
I always tell the women I work with that this is their special time and they are in control. I try to let them be as hands on as they want to be. A wonderful wedding can be planned by just you if you have friends and family willing to help. That is why I say the most important wedding decision is the best man and maid of honor. They should be with you guys every step of the way. If you do hire a wedding planner, make sure you still do some things hands on. It will mean a lot to you later.

Answer 3

Firstly get books, magazines, and decide on what style of wedding you two would want.
Whether to do it yourself, or have a wedding planner? That really depends on what you are like, how much help you can round up, and what you want in the way of a Wedding, and how long ahead you're planning for.
If you are a well organised person, with lots of willing helpers and time, who wants a small to medium wedding, without too much fuss, then go ahead and organise it yourself.
If you're a well organised person (with all of the above), who wants a large, lavish production, get some advise from a wedding planner, but do some things for yourself.
If you are not that well organised, don't have a lot of helpers or time, and are doing anything other than a small, casual affair, get help!
Weddings are supposed to be a special day, and the less hassle a bride has before hand, the better. So if you want to do it yourself, be prepared for a lot of leg work, and stay ahead of the timetable.

Answer 4

I am doing myself but then I have 80 guests. Still a lot of work but if I am having 100 or more guests I would hire a planner. But since I am just having 80 or less I didn't want to waste 2000 dollars on a planner. And so far so good. If you start real early in the planning it will be a lot stressless. And you get more choices on ceremony locations and receptions and everything else. My wedding planner is actual theknot.com I am using the checklist that they give you. And it lets you know what you need to do each month. I also made my own wedding folder. I keep all of my documents and ideas in it. And it is categorized with dividers. One for ceremony, reception, favors, flowers/decor, etc...if you need any help or questions you can email me.

Answer 5

I am doing it all myself and here's why. We are having a small wedding (around 50 people), and I enjoy doing things myself. That way I know it is all under control and it is exactly what I want it to be.

If I was having a large wedding (200 +) and if cost was not an issue, I would hire a wedding planner. For one thing, planning a wedding like that would take a LOT of time, unless you have a bunch of people who will volunteer to help you out. A wedding planner is to help the bride from being stressed out, and I know with a large wedding, if I was doing it by myself, I would be plenty stressed!

Answer 6

From what I have seen it is nice to have a wedding planner but not completely necessary. There are so many tools out there now like theknot.com or weddingchannel.com that many brides are doing it themselves. I would say go off your budget. When I quoted wedding planners they charged minimum 1500. It would have been handy but thats a third of my budget so I'll skip.

I WILL be having a day of coordination though. For the actual day of the wedding somebody, either a pro wedding planner or a friend, is going to be in charge of making sure reception is set up, deal with vendors if anything goes wrong, direct guests/wedding party, etc. Once I put on my dress I don't want to do anything but get married and have fun. paying 100 bucks for someone to put up with all the last minute stress or screwups is sooo worth it.

Answer 7

If you are planning a small, intimate wedding with no big reception afterwards, don't bother.
If you are planning a larger affair, check out a wedding planner. Many times they get deals with caterers, halls, florists, etc that a bride by herself can't get.
If you have no job, older children or no children, are into crafts and stuff, and want to do it, go for it!!
My wedding was planned by myself and my husband. He took the reception on as his responsibility, as well as some other things. I made the decorations. We had a professional make my bouquet, my flower girl's flowers, the boutonnières, and the corsages. Our wedding was deemed "the most beautiful wedding he's ever been to" by a mayor in the greater Vancouver area of BC, Canada and talked about at least weekly by my grandparents until my grandmother's death five years later. I would say that that made it an event to remember! :)

Answer 8

It really depends on the size of the wedding. For a wedding of 50 to 150 a wedding planner is almost an additional cost that you don't need. If it's larger and you, your parents, his parents and him have full-time jobs you might want one. They will take a lot off of your shoulders leading up to the big day and make it easier on the day.

I did not have a wedding planner. I had a small wedding (50 guests) and was completely paying for it all myself. It wasn't very stressful, but my fiance actually helped out a lot. I only had one crisis. The person who was supposed to do my table center pieces bailed on me the night before the wedding. I actually had a panic attack, lol. But my family and wedding party chipped in and not only paid for everything but helped make them, we all stayed up until 4 am :)

My wedding was more perfect than I ever imagined. And the fact that my husband and I planned everything ourselves makes it extra special :)

Answer 9

If I were planning my own wedding I would lose my mind. My Mother is a wedding planner and if it were not for her, I don't know what I would do. If you can afford it, hire the wedding planner or atlease have someone close to you that is reliable and you can trust help out as much as they can.

If you don't believe me, watch the show Bridezilla. They are stressed to the max!

Answer 10

I did all mine by myself. I didn't even have help from friends or family.
You can hire a wedding coordinator for the rehearsal and the wedding day only, if it will make you feel better, to help things run smoothly the day of...honestly, I don't think you need one. They do help you cut costs in certain places, but you can do that on your own if you have time to visit several vendors and compare prices.
And I was also working full time and going to school full time. I just gave myself a whole year to do it. But I'm not saying it's completely easy, it does get stressful at times.