Congratulations on your engagement!
Right now you are registering on various wedding websites and buying up wedding magazines. You have your goals set high on planning and organizing the best wedding ever. You are envisioning the perfectly planned wedding day where everything goes perfectly.
Have you planned a wedding before? Most likely not! Did you know that the average couple will spend 250 hours planning a wedding? If event planning is your professional occupation, then you will be able to pull it off without a hiccup. If not, go ahead and hire the wedding planner. The right one will help you plan the wedding that is as individual as you are, and, most importantly, you will enjoy every moment of it.
The wedding planners are so much more than planners; they are your designated decision makers and your bounce board. They usually charge a flat fee that covers a set range of services, such as helping you find your venue, suggesting and negotiating with vendors, creating a time line, keeping your wedding on budget and, the most important, serving as the logistical point person in the days and weeks leading up to your wedding. They would work hard to ensure that you and your loved ones can relax and enjoy the wedding day. You would not want your mom or dad to miss even a moment of your wedding day. Wedding planners are masters of multitasking and efficiency.
More often than not, they end up saving the couples more money than they cost. They have relationships with local wedding vendors in the area. They can call favors with industry connections and find inexpensive alternatives for you that you never would have dreamt up on your own. You can rely on the wedding planner’s advice more than on the Google search results. Wedding planner will tell you which florist will deliver the freshest flowers that will last for days, which limousine company will deliver the promised limo on time. There are numerous listings in the phone book and on the internet. How to decide which vendor would be best for your wedding.
A skilled, compassionate wedding planner understands how dangerously easy it is for the couples to fixate on details and loose the grand vision and the joy in what you are doing. The right wedding planner can change your life. And bear in mind: more often than not, the planner will end up paying for herself with the money you safe.
Triad preferred wedding planners
Knot Your Average Events, Jennifer Ball, 336-395-8264, www.knotyouraverageevents.com
Leigh Pearce Weddings, Leigh Pearce, 336-552-5645, www.leighpearceweddings.com
Triangle preferred wedding planners
Cherished Celebrations, Catherine Katz, 919-606-7047, www.cherishedcelebrations.com
Whether you decide to hire a wedding planner or not, please designate a coordinator for the day of the wedding. Regardless of the carefully planned itinerary, not everything will go according to plan. For example:
- Driver needs to advise of the arrival time (there is a delay due to the accident, cannot find the pickup location, the previous trip went over their time, etc)
- Drive at the pickup location, but cannot get in touch with bridesmaids/groomsmen.
- The pickup location changed. For example, due to rain the limousine ought to pick up the bride at the different entrance.
- Somebody parked in the limo designated spot, so the limo cannot stop and wait for the bridal party. You are missing the effect of the “grand exit” and will not be able to take photos.
- When transporting the guests, some guests decided to make several undesignated stops.
These are just few examples of the situations that have come up in the past. Most likely, nor you nor your parents will be answering the phone calls on your wedding day. Coordinator will be able to advise of the changes and answer questions.