5 Benefits of Hiring a Wedding Planner
Does the thought of planning your wedding seem overwhelming? Are you worried you’ll let family or friends down if you fail to plan properly? If so, using a wedding planner might seem an obvious choice for your big day.
But not everyone feels this way. Some engaged couples look forward to planning their wedding. Some have thought about this day for years and can’t wait to dive into the logistics. Even for those ready to do their own wedding planning, there are plenty of reasons to consider using a professional planner.
Whether you know you need the help of an expert or wonder if one could help you enjoy your wedding even more, there are several details to consider. Here are five benefits of using a wedding planner for your big day.
- Timeline Professionals
Some couples discover the hard way that wedding timelines can be deceptive. When you first book your venue and send your wedding date to friends and family, you likely feel you have more time than you need. After all, once the large vendors are booked, you probably have many months before it is ‘crunch time’ when smaller details can be sorted and organized.
But as the weeks go by, it is easy to lose track of things that need to be done. Your wedding will naturally be on your mind, but even as you spend time attending bridal showers or leafing through wedding magazines, you could fall behind on critical, time-sensitive decisions.
A wedding planner has likely laid out timelines for many events. They will have written details, knowing what needs to be done and when. While you enjoy the moments leading up to your wedding, you can relax, knowing that your wedding planner is organizing suppliers, ordering decorative details and communicating with vendors, all with the timeline in mind.
- A Long List of Relationships
As a newly-engaged couple, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of your news. As you emerge from this time and take your first steps toward booking your wedding, you will likely see the scope and depth of the wedding industry.
Couples who decide to forego a wedding planner and organize their own wedding soon realize they have hours of research ahead of them. Finding a florist you can trust, a caterer who will elevate your wedding, or a DJ who can keep your guests on the dance floor takes more than a quick look online. You’ll need to scour reviews, meet with multiple vendors and trust your instinct.
A first-class wedding planner will take the guesswork out of vendor selections. While they will likely present you with a few options for each service, they will only recommend those they know and trust. This first-hand vetting of vendors is only possible given the experience wedding planners have in the industry and the relationships they have built over time.
In essence, a good wedding planner can provide quick shortcuts to top-notch vendors. You can have confidence, knowing they’ve likely worked together before. With the right relationships, a wedding planner can more easily execute a beautiful event that runs just as planned.
- Discounts
For the same reason wedding planners can help you with a short-list of first-class vendors, they can often offer discounts. Say, for example, you decide to go with a florist that is highly recommended by your wedding planner. They may offer your planner a discount, as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for the business.
This situation is a win-win, as you’ll be introduced to trusted vendors, who could offer a discount through your wedding planner. Of course, not every vendor will offer discounts and not every planner has this relationship with vendors. But it never hurts to ask!
You never know—the rate you pay for your wedding planner to help build and guide your wedding might be nicely offset by the discounts he or she can secure for you.
- Experience
When thinking about the benefits of a wedding planner, it’s important not to overlook the value of their experience. A wedding planner has likely seen their fair share of wedding mishaps and mistakes over the years. Chances are, they’ve learned from their own mistakes as well as those of others.
A good wedding planner observes well and learns how to avoid costly mistakes. With creative skill and experience, they can even stretch your budget with good ideas and clever additions.
Of course, any wedding day is subject to variables that can catch a wedding planner off guard. The weather can turn, venue conditions can change, and travel restrictions can obstruct your plans. A great wedding planner will draw on their experience to have backup plans ready, or to pivot when required.
If you are organizing your own wedding, it can be hard to know which variables need backup plans, or where you could turn if you need last-minute help. This is where the experience of a wedding planner counts.
- A Voice of Reason
Finally, a good wedding planner can provide an invaluable voice of reason. While not every wedding evolves into a battle between families or the couple-to-be, they can provide fertile ground for disagreement and high emotions.
You may have your heart set on a romantic wedding by the ocean, for example, while your partner may be determined you’ll wed with a modern theme downtown. You may have different ideas about how you’ll be introduced as a couple for the first time, or how the speeches will be used throughout the evening.
An experienced wedding planner brings reason and calm to the decision-making process. Not only will a planner be able to draw upon the things they’ve observed over the years, but they’ll act as a rational third-party, in case you and your partner, or you and your families, are at odds. They will likely offer solutions and creative ideas to help keep everyone on board.
If you decide to work with a wedding planner for your big day, it’s important to put in the time to find the right fit for you. As you do your research, be sure to interview two or more wedding planners to see which feels like the best match. To give your instinct some help, make sure you are prepared with a list of questions.
As a starting point, ask what they’ve learned from previous mistakes. If they suggest they’ve not made any, let the red flags go up. Ask about their approach to backup plans and their relationships with trusted vendors. As you explore these subjects, you’ll get a feel for their experience, skill and the connections they have within the industry.
At Pro DJ Services, we have worked with some exceptional wedding planners. Offering a wide range of wedding services, we bring entertainment, energy and organization to your wedding day, with years of experience and unmatched professionalism.
Serving Detroit and southwest Michigan, we are proud of the awards and recognition we have received. Whether you are looking for wedding DJ services, photo booth services, videography, photography or something else, we’re ready to elevate your special day. Contact us to find out more.