Planning a wedding takes time and energy. In this day when people are busy, more couples are looking to hire wedding planners to assist as they plan their weddings and to coordinate the wedding day. A wedding planner can be very helpful and can reduce the stress associated with planning a wedding. However, this will happen only if you take the time in choosing one who will ensure a positive experience.
Here are six things we think a couple should consider before deciding on a wedding planner:
Budget – Hiring a wedding planner is an added cost to the wedding budget and therefore it is necessary to assess whether the budget allows for this extra cost. Wedding planners either charge a percentage of the wedding budget or a fixed charge and so when researching and meeting with prospective wedding planners, it is important to keep in mind how much of your budget you can or have allocated to hiring a wedding planner.
Vision – As you interview, meet and try to decide on a wedding planner, it is important to ensure that whoever you pick understands and embraces the vision and ideas that you have for your wedding day. There are wedding planners who, rather than work with the vision a couple has, try and change their vision. A wedding planner who is open to ideas, offers suggestions and is able to bring the vision of the couple to life is an asset to the wedding planning process.
Previous Experience – Asking about and reviewing past weddings that the planner has organised is essential. In addition, request to speak to previous clients who will give you their personal experiences about working with the planner. Hearing about previous experiences will let you know what kind of weddings the planner has executed in terms of size, budget, theme and vision. Ability to chat with previous clients will give you insight on how the planner handles the whole process, deals with challenges and communicates making it easier to make a decision on which planner to use.
Personality – If you choose to use a wedding planner, this will be the single most significant vendor for your wedding and therefore, you need to get along. First, the couple should be aware of their personality and whether they would be able to fully release the reigns of planning their wedding to another individual.
Also, the couple has to ascertain whether they gel with the wedding planner they choose since they will be spending a significant amount of time together. This decision can be made from the first impression when you meet the prospective planner.
Service Terms – As a wedding vendor, planners have certain terms and conditions which would be important to know before you decided on one. Some planners insist on using preferred vendors, while you as the client would rather have the option to choose from a wider array of vendors. Others would require that you pay for their services well in advance, while others would want payment after the wedding.
These are just a few of the terms that you need to be aware of before making a decision on which planner to use.