Wedding planners can be an invaluable part of your wedding day. Do you really need one? The answer is complicated. It depends on the size of your wedding, the amount of time you have to plan your wedding, and if you feel comfortable giving the control to someone else.
Pros
1. Wedding planners are present on the day of your wedding to make sure everything runs smoothly. You will not have to be on the phone when the photographer is thirty minutes late or when the limo doesn’t show up. Your wedding planner will make sure you get what you need when you need it and you won’t have to deal with the drama that is inevitable with most weddings. Wedding planners make sure everything is set up and ready to go, so you can enjoy the day.
2. If you have a full time job and other responsibilities, you may want to consider hiring a wedding planner. Planning a wedding is time consuming and can become stressful if you have other obligations. Some women can plan a wedding, hold down a full time job, and spend quality time with their kids. But the payoff is worth it if your life is already hectic.
3. If you are having a large wedding, wedding planners can play a huge role. You will not have time on the day of the wedding to set up thirty tables and centerpieces. You need someone to help you.
4. Wedding planners already have relationships with other vendors. Your wedding planner will probably know the florist, the photographer, the band or DJ, and the caterer. They can get you better deals, and they probably know the vendors that receive good feedback. Your wedding planner could save you from the limo service that didn’t show up to the past two weddings that he/she worked.
Cons:
1. Wedding planners usually come with their own ideas which may clash with the bride’s ideas. Make sure if you hire a wedding planner that you share the same vision for your day.
2. Wedding planners cost money. According to wedalert.com, wedding planners cost about ten to fifteen percent of the total budget. Do you want to use that money in another way? If the budget of the wedding is ten thousand dollars, are you willing to pay the wedding planner one-thousand dollars? That could be the cost of having a great photographer for three hours.
There are different types of wedding planners. You can hire a wedding planner to be with you every step of the way from the beginning of the planning process to the end of the wedding day. You could wait to hire a wedding planner a month before the event to finish up last minute details and run the wedding on the big day. If you don’t like either of those options and want to save money, hire a wedding planner for the rehearsal and wedding only. You would pay less and still be able to enjoy the wedding day.
