I am always amazed by the misconceptions surrounding the work I do as a wedding planner and I wanted to demystify what wedding planning is all about.
Wedding planning – the most common 9 myths:
- Wedding planners are for celebrities only
- They cost a lot of money
- They take over the show
- What can they do for me?
- Venues often have wedding coordinators so why do I still need a wedding planner?
- My wedding is too small for a wedding planner
- I want to control everything, it’s my big day
- My mum/parents will get upset if they don’t help
- How do I know they’re good?
Now, the reality couldn’t be more different as shown below
- Wedding Planner can save you money:
Fair enough, wedding planners charge you a fee for their work. However, the fee I charge is often covered by the money I save a couple, and this is how:
Cost saver: We can actually save you money by making sure you stick to your initial budget and avoid unnecessary extras!
Buying power: Because of the repeat business we place, wedding planners have more power to negotiate discounts with wedding suppliers. Let’s be honest, planning your own wedding should only happen once in your lifetime!
Independent support: I take no commission from wedding suppliers so only recommend independent suppliers that they think are best for you and negotiate the best deals I can on your behalf. Any savings goes straight back to you.
2. Venue wedding coordinator Vs. Independent Wedding Planner
The best way to achieve great results is for venue wedding coordinators AND wedding planners to work hand in hand.
The venue’s wedding coordinators look after the wedding details concerning the venue only and usually starts 3 months before your wedding is due to take place; they don’t plan the whole day.
An independent wedding planner is trained and experienced in all aspects of planning a wedding and starts working with you from day one, helping you shape your theme and day and without any obligation to use specific suppliers .
3. Dedicated support:
Beautiful weddings don’t just happen. They require a lot of planning and I pride myself in adapting my way of working to each couple who hires me.
At your service: I work with you to transform your vision of your dream day into a reality. I give you my full attention on a one-to-one basis. Planning your wedding is my job; not a weekend occupation.
You stay in control: I won’t proceed on any aspect of your day without your written consent; you stay in control throughout the planning.
4. Taking pressure away from you
Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life; you want it to be perfect which puts a lot of pressure on you. By planning your day, a wedding planner will take away a lot of stress and pressure.
Professional wedding planners will give you solid expertise and professional guidance
Objective advice: because we are not emotionally connected to your wedding day, we can see the bigger picture and advise you objectively and at times mediate family issues.
5. Saving you time
By giving you access to my established contacts and knowledge of the market, I can save you many weekends spent viewing venues, and meeting with potential suppliers.
Wedding planners are your dedicated PA and will take care of all the detail for you so you don’t have to.
6. Transforming your big day into reality
I spend time developing your mood board and sourcing new ways to personalise your day… within your budget (ok, I’ll admit, I love preparing mood boards so to me, it’s not really work!)
I will advise you on where to spend and where to cut corners if needed to get the result you have in mind (based on what you want to focus to be; food? Entertainment? Venue? etc).
All these reasons explain why the vast majority of my clients are busy professional couples who simply don’t have the time to invest near 300 hours in planning their big day and rely on another professional to make their dream day a reality. If it sounds like you, then maybe it’s time to consider hiring a wedding planner.
Well said!
I find that the people who enquire with me already see the benefit of what I do (although of course not everyone chooses to go ahead!), but when I tell people what I do at networking events, there are often raised eyebrows about the expense. It’s a long hard slog to alter people’s perceptions!