When you are interviewing Wedding Planners, just as with any vendor, there are a wide variety of pricing, packages, inclusions, and services to wade through. Seeing as we will always promote the hiring of a planner, we wanted to share some tips on finding the right planner for you.
TIP 1: Consider the role that you want your Planner to play within the scope of your wedding. General services break down into smaller roles, so be sure to ask what the planner can do for you and be clear on your expectations.
Here are some various “Wedding Planner roles” that you should know:
- Planner: Assists with vendor selections, reviews and negotiates contracts, constructs timeline and monitors your budget. Most of the work is done before the actual wedding day, including recommendations and logistics. A Planner helps with the organization and planning of the event in total.
- Coordinator/Event Manager: This person is responsible for the management on the wedding day. Common tasks include ensuring that the event and vendor follow the timeline, manages the rehearsal, communicates with vendors day of, handles day-of payments/gratuities and takes care of issues that arise on the day of the wedding.
- Designer: Many planners include design in their services. This is more than assisting you in selecting vendors. Design work includes selecting a color scheme, wedding style, decor, floral and other design elements. The design of your wedding is the “pretty” things you pick out to create a vibe and style for your big day. Your designer may not coordinate or plan all the vendors.
- Stylist: This person simply takes everything that you have picked out and sets it up in your venue. They may or may not have input in the selection of decor or vendors, but they create a look based on the material given.
TIP 2: When it comes to pricing and packages, be sure to review what type of services will be included in the fee. In addition to a combination of roles that a planner can take care of, they also offer different levels of involvement. Here are a few to note:
- Month Of Option: Rarely do planners offer day-of only services. It takes time to review your vendors, create a timeline, and other duties to coordinate your wedding day. This is a great option if you decide that you want to plan, design, and style your wedding on your own, but you need someone (non-family member) to oversee the flow of the event.
- Partial Planning: This option usually includes some type of coordination and light assistance with the planning and design of the wedding. The planner is not fully engaged in the details of planning, but will offer input and advice. There is also typically limited access to your planner.
- Full Planning: Just as it sounds, at this level your planner will be involved in vendor selection and most likely the design elements of creating your vision. The majority of the work will be passed over and communication will be open and often.
TIP 3: No matter what style or service fits your needs best, the most important thing to look for when hiring a planner is their personality and how you vibe with them. You need to like and trust your planner, regardless of how involved they are with your plans. Meet with a few to make sure you are comfortable with your choice. And if the price fits, book them! You will never regret hiring a planner, designer, stylist, and/or coordinator for one of the most important days of your life.
