Value for money is extremely important. When it comes to a wedding, there are potentially a lot of suppliers to be hired. You don’t want to hire one just because “most people do”. However, you don’t want to miss out on one who could save you a lot of work and peace of mind. The Wedding Planner Debate falls under those categories.
Of course, if you’re having a micro-wedding, perhaps in the back garden, with a handful of guests, you’re not likely to need a wedding planner. Equally, if you’re having a medium-sized affair at a hotel, say, the booking may well come with an in-house event planner. The latter may suffice.
Avoiding the Wedding Planner
So you may not use a planner:
- if you can’t afford it
- if you want to do everything (such as sourcing and hiring suppliers) yourself
- you are able to use a great in-house event co-ordinator
- you haven’t found one who shares your vision
Contemplating a Wedding Planner
You should give some thought to hiring a wedding planner in any of the following scenarios:
- if you are holding a big (especially destination) event.
- If you’re using a dry-hire or marquee wedding. Everything needs to be organised from scratch for these.
- A wedding planner can take an unbiased and objective view of issues, and may actually end up saving you money.
- The wedding planner may also save you money because they have a network of trusted professional contacts who they regularly work with.
- You don’t have to hire a wedding planner for weeks at a time. Some will work with you for just the week of the wedding and some can be hired for the big day alone. Obviously, you’ll have to judge which will work best according to the size of your function.
- A good Wedding Planner will have experience and wisdom to fall back on, when advising you or suggesting ideas. They probably have learned over time what works best.
- Because they usually handle the suppliers (notably, on the day itself), they will take the stress off you. They are being paid to do the worrying and to make any snap decisions that may be necessary.
So although each occasion is different, and my advice only applies in certain circumstances, I would certainly advocate serious consideration of employing a Wedding Planner. A professional, but sympathetic, experienced person may be worth their weight in gold.
In my celebrant work, I’ve come across some astonishingly hard-working, but good-humoured and accomplished professional Wedding Planners.