Planning your wedding is as thrilling, exciting, and fun as it is exhausting, stressful, and draining. You can do it all on your own, or you can hire a wedding planner to help. The extent to which a wedding planner plans your wedding can range from help with booking a venue and hiring vendors to handling every fine detail, down to lifting your train for a last-minute bathroom break. Not sure which direction to take? Here are some factors to consider when deciding to hire a wedding planner.
The Pros: excellent reasons to hire a wedding planner
- Ease the Burden – Planning a wedding can be incredibly overwhelming. At some point, you will need help. Hiring a wedding planning will provide you with that much needed help with professionalism. Relief from doing everything yourself is important so you can focus more on enjoying the process and your wedding day.
- Connected to the Industry – A great wedding planner will have established relationships with many different types of vendors, from cosmetologists and caterers to florists and photographers. She’ll know who’s worth your money and who’s not. She might also be able to negotiate a better deal than you would have otherwise received on your own.
- Your Own Personal Diplomat – Do you hate initiating uncomfortable conversations? After hiring numerous vendors, it is likely that issues will come up. However, when planning a wedding, there’s no time to wait to fix a problem. You’ll want those issues handled right away. A planner manages those difficult conversations so you won’t have to.
- Details, Details, Details – One important and often overlooked reason to hire a wedding planner is in the details. Who will be in charge of bringing all the party favors from your house to the venue? Who will confirm the hair stylist and florist the week before the ceremony, and schedule their arrival times? There are a seemingly endless number of last-minute details that even the most organized bride can become overwhelmed by. Attention to detail is an area in which wedding planners are particularly helpful.
If you do decide to hire a wedding planner, it’s important to choose someone who meshes well with your personal style so that you are both on the same page when preparing for the big day.
The Cons: Why a wedding planner might not work for you
- Cost – One of the biggest factors to consider when deciding whether to hire a wedding planner is your budget. Weddings are expensive. The additional cost of a wedding planner might not be feasible. If you’re on a tight budget and planning a smaller ceremony, you might not have as much need for a wedding planner anyway.
- It’s Personal – The decision to hire a wedding planner might come down to your own personality. Maybe you’ve been dreaming of this day for a long time and already have very specific ideas for the planning process. If you enjoy being in charge and taking care of details, outsourcing the planning process may end up being more stressful than planning the wedding yourself.
- Some Exclusions May Apply – While a wedding planner does have relationships with vendors, these connections could end up being a double-edged sword. She may have a certain set of vendors with whom she always works and this may not suit your needs well. If you choose not to hire a wedding planner, you’ll need to consider the amount of time needed to invest into researching reviews of vendors and seeking referrals from friends and family whom you trust.
The Bottom Line
Weddings are both expensive and time-consuming. Hiring a wedding planner is an added expense, but will likely save you time. Planning your own wedding may save you money, but it is an involved process that will inevitably take up much more of your time. Through careful evaluation of your budget, personality, and specific needs, you can decide whether hiring a wedding planner is the right choice for you.
Whatever you decide, Elati Wedding Photography is happy to work with you, your wedding planner or both to ensure you have beautiful pictures of your wedding. Contact us to check availability of your wedding date. Call 720-460-0668 to book now.
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