A wedding planner can sometimes feel like a take it or leave it part of your wedding. It doesn’t feel imperative when you first get engaged. In fact only 29% of couples use a planner for their wedding. And I get it, a lot of couples feel like they can handle the planning process of the wedding themselves. With the power of Google, wedding open houses and friend recommendations, the question is do you need a wedding planner for your wedding?
Wedding planning is stressful
Wedding planning can get stressful and overwhelming fast. There are a ton of details to juggle and be on the same page as your significant other. Add onto this meddling friends and family {everyone has opinions!}, and vendors who might suck, and BOOM! Stress! I personally know a few couples who didn’t have a planner and the month before their wedding they were just wanting the day to be over. Think about that for a second. They were so over the planning process that they were snapping at each other and the joy of them getting married had been sucked out. Now I am not saying that hiring a wedding planner will alleviate this feeling, but you would have someone there to take some of the stress off you
You Aren’t a Wedding Expert
This is a hard pill to swallow for some people, but if you’re getting married for the first or second time {or third!}, you aren’t a wedding expert. You will obviously have a great sense of what you want for your wedding, but the sourcing of vendors and overall planning will be new for you. And it’s ok to say you don’t know everything. In fact, it can be freeing!
In all seriousness, when you start planning your wedding you are going to be on the search for a ton of vendors. From a venue, photographer and videographer to hair and makeup, food and DJ. Not to mention invitations, calligraphy, flowers, cake and more. And when you start looking them up on the internet, I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed. When I was talking with Sarah from Events by Sarah, she tailors her recommendations to the couple. She says that if she were to give them all the vendors she has worked with, it would be as overwhelming as a Google search. And I know she isn’t the only planner in Houston who gives recommendations based around what the couple is looking for. Further, these planners have worked with a ton of vendors over time, so if they recommend them, they have seen them in action and can speak to their strengths.
Wedding planning takes time
When I got married I had no idea how much time I would spend sourcing vendors, making decisions, testing food, hair, makeup, trying on dresses, etc. Plus I was working full time and my fiance was in another country. I was stressed a lot. I also have heard of other women who have taken time off work, or even taken leave, so they can focus on wedding prep. I would say if you are at the stage where you are even remotely considering taking time off, that a planner might be the answer. Honestly, if you are at the point where you will forgo a paycheck to plan your wedding, a planner is a much less expensive option. And much more practical!!
Another thing to think about is that you can delegate the tasks that you don’t love to the planner, so you can focus on the tasks you want to do.The awesome thing about a planner is that they handle what you want them to, whether that’s handling all the vendors, tracking payment schedules, or creating timeline. I also know planners who can help with the color scheme of your wedding, in case you’re like me, and you can’t see how things will come together.
Things go Wrong at the last Minute
Every. Single. Time. Something goes wrong because there are truly tons of details coming together on a wedding day! Something is going to be missed or go awry. I have seen a rental company not bring enough linens and place settings. What did the planner do? She ran to a local store and got similar looking items within an hour. At another wedding the mother of the bride was so busy with setting up the hand made centerpieces that she was an hour late to hair and makeup and threw the timeline off completely. At another wedding the flowers that arrived had the wrong colored flowers in the bouquets and they had to be re-worked on site. Small things, but they were unnecessary and made for extra stress. And most of them a wedding planner could have ensured going into the wedding or handled without the couple knowing on the wedding day.
After reading all that, where do you fall on hiring a planner? If anything, looking into planners in your area if you’re on the fence. It costs you nothing to chat with them either on the phone or in person to find out what they do and their pricing. Also chat with your fiance about your budget before calling, and pinpoint where you feel you two will need the most help. Hopefully you are now closer to knowing whether you need to hire a wedding planner for your wedding!
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