This is a question that not only do we hear ALL the time but in all honesty, we both asked when planning our own weddings! Most people ask us... what exactly is a wedding planner? Well hopefully this will answer your questions!
A wedding planner is a specialist who plans weddings, or assists in the planning of weddings, on a professional basis. She is part Martha Stewart, part Miss Manners, plus a whole lot of other things! A professional wedding consultant is a wealth of creative ideas and insider's know-how. She's got connections with the best vendors in town and has learned to become an ace negotiator to get you the best value or 'deal' for your money. She's oozing with imagination, and knows where to find all of those unique and dazzling touches to transform your wedding into an absolute fantasy. She knows the tips and tricks to avoid trouble - but she also knows how to trouble-shoot when the need does arise. She knows what needs to be done when, and she knows the "whos" and "hows" to make it all happen. She's an organized, people person with a penchant for detail and a superb sense of style. She is the bride's advocate and adviser, her counsellor, and her buddy, all rolled into one.
The truth is that if you ask anyone who has been involved in planning a wedding, they'll quickly tell you that the process can be like a full time job. So much to do, so much to learn - and so little time to do it all! Few brides-to-be are experienced in orchestrating an event as large and important as a wedding. There are endless details to arrange, many logistics to organize, large numbers of vendors and service providers to hire, schedules, time-lines and budgets to manage... and as a result, so much room for oversights to occur and for things to go wrong. The reality is that few couples have the level of time in their schedules required to successfully plan, manage, and execute such an event effectively; unfortunately, however, many couples don't realize or acknowledge this until it is too late, when parts of their wedding dream have already disintegrated into disappointment.
In a recent survey conducted by SuperWeddings.com and the International Institute of Weddings, 72% of recently married brides who did not use a wedding coordinator for their weddings said that based on their experience, if they could do it over again, they would indeed hire a wedding coordinator to assist with the planning process, or at least to be on hand to supervise the wedding day itself. And 49% reported that if they could only change only one thing about the entire wedding, this would be the thing they would do differently!
Many brides and grooms run themselves ragged in the months leading up to the wedding. Equal numbers of couples tell tales of a wedding day that went by in a blur because there was still so much for them to attend to and worry about that they had little time to relax and enjoy the moment. The wedding coordinator can help alleviate these situations by being on hand to take care of time consuming tasks and trouble shoot for you when required, making it all so much easier and more enjoyable for you.
The role of the coordinator is to make the planning process and wedding day go more smoothly, and to offer the expertise which will result in a wedding day which will be more spectacular and unforgettable than the bride would have been able to produce on her own. Wedding consultants have vast knowledge of the products, services, and vendors available in the area and can recommend those which are a perfect match for the couple's "vision" and style, saving them endless research time and opening up a world of possibilities. Often they can suggest unique or hard to find services or products which are perfect for the couple, but which the couple would have been very unlikely to find on their own. The coordinator can be involved to any extent the bride desires - as much or as little as is required.
Most consultants (like All You Need Is Love Event Planning) offer couples a free initial consultation so the bride and groom can learn how the consultant can make their wedding better, and then decide whether hiring a consultant is right for them. Sitting down with a wedding planner for a free consultantion is the best way to learn of the many benefits to be had in using his or her services.
Couples can choose from a wide range of service levels, with the wedding consultant doing as much, or as little, as the couple would like. A bride and groom may choose to hire a wedding consultant simply for one 'planning power session' to get their wedding plans off to an amazing start; or they may hire the consultant to oversee the planning from start to finish. As yet another option, we are seeing increasing numbers of couples opting at the very least to use the services of a wedding coordinator just on the wedding day itself, so that nothing is left to chance when the biggest day of their life finally arrives.
With all of the costs involved in producing a wedding in the first place, the fee for on site services of a coordinator on the big day is a small price to pay to ensure that, when the crunch comes down, everything unfolds as it should, just as you planned.
After all, you only get one shot at the biggest day of your life.. only one chance to make it amazing... why gamble with disappointment?
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