With the national average cost of a wedding being higher than ever, couples are looking for ways to cut costs any way they can. Many believe a good corner to cut is by not hiring a wedding planner. Wedding planners were once seen as an unnecessary part of your wedding team that only the rich could afford. Let me tell you: this is simply untrue. I will explain further and tell you the benefits of hiring a professional planner, and how they are, in fact, an invaluable tool you’ll be so happy you chose to go with.
Saving Money
Now, contrary to popular belief, a wedding planner will more often than not save you money. Consider this: wedding vendors have attested to how they are more likely to work more willingly with a wedding planner directly. A wedding planner has a network of go-to vendors who will likely go beyond expectations to make sure everything is perfect. They are incentivized to do a better job for a wedding planner because he/she will be a repeat customer. They will continue to bring in a steady stream of new customers and weddings to work for.
Wedding planners truly do know more about who’s who in the entire industry. They are insiders to the wedding biz and you’re paying them for that knowledge and know-how. Wedding planners are salespeople on top of that; they will be able to negotiate prices or combine costs on your behalf to get the best deals. Part of finding those deals is the aspect of the time it takes to look for them. This leads to my next reason as to why you should hire a wedding planner.
Saving Time
Wedding planning is a novelty that can quickly turn into a nightmare for most couples. Planners are paid to take the burden of deal-searching, setting up and going to meetings, and thinking of every detail, which ensures your time is spent focused on the fun things like bridal showers and getting engagement photos done! (On that note, if you still need to reserve your engagement session and are considering locations, check out an engagement session here from a newer Loudoun county location for some location inspiration! Dirt Farm Brewing just had their two year anniversary and has some seriously incredible views and is literally right next door to their sister venue, Bluemont Vineyard.)
Easing Stress
Wedding planners also know how to help you cope with the crazy emotions of stress and anxiety throughout the process– especially on the big day. They can be a mediator or counselor of sorts to couples and families when wedding planning causes stress on relationships. There are large financial ties to this first set of big decisions between the two of you, so let your planner help ease the tension and nerves!
Also, keep in mind that on the day of your wedding you will want to be as relaxed as possible. The cake arriving on time is not what you should spend your morning thinking about; your thoughts should be on the precious moments of getting ready and spending time with your loved ones around you.
Keeping Your Vision
Your wedding planner wants what you want! The key is: he/she is very qualified to convert ideas and visions to reality. They spend time meticulously organizing and time-keeping and trying to stick to a timeline and budget is hard on your own. Remembering who you’ve booked, when your meetings are, and if you’ve paid yet can be a lot on top of daily life.
So while a day-of coordinator is definitely better than nothing, a wedding planner is there the whole time to make sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted. I have found that most brides who do not hire a planner regret it most on the actual wedding day. This is because they weren’t as free to spend time soaking in the moments and socializing with loved ones; they usually focus on making sure all is going according to plan and this can detract from focusing on what really matters: the fact that they are going to marry their best friend that very day!
A wedding planner is there to make your guests happy, but most of all to make sure your plans of a dream wedding come to fruition. They are your wedding troubleshooters!
A Few Last Tips:
- If you’re having a destination wedding, I urge you more than anyone to hire a wedding planner. You should hire one with specific experience and a background in planning weddings abroad or someone who is located in that destination. It is tough making plans in a place you can’t physically be. They will do all necessary research and may know more about the area than you do.
- Using a friend or family member to do the work of a paid professional who specializes in wedding planning isn’t the same, unless they have previously been/currently are experienced in the industry. A bridesmaid or family friend likely doesn’t have the knowledge and training a pro planner has, nor will the friend or family member have access to the same connections. In addition, trying to use a buddy to plan a wedding can cause tension and strife in even the closest, most loving relationships.
- Remember that wedding planners will handle specifically what you ask them to. They don’t have to do every little detail for you if there are certain things you would rather do yourself (for example: making the seating chart). They will handle as much or as little as you delegate to them!
In Conclusion
There are definitely couples who opt out of hiring a wedding planner, and many who do typically end up saying that as time went on, they became frustrated and overwhelmed by the work and planning. Make the journey and your experience operate as seamlessly as possible by hiring a pro!
With that being said, I highly recommend two wedding planning businesses in particular:
- SoCo Events: I shot this wedding in October that contained so many fine details and planning and Jen from SoCo Events was able to pull off one of the most breathtaking events I’ve yet seen! You can contact their team directly here.
- Sweetface Events is wedding planning sister duo that I also highly recommend! At another wedding I photographed, Sarena and Nicole did an amazing job as they so highly organized and they truly love their couples. Their contact information is here.
If you’re still in need of a wedding photographer or cinematographer, be sure to contact us here. Please let us know if we can help you in any way!