The Benefits of Hiring A Wedding Planner

Once considering luxuries, wedding planners are becoming more and more mainstream as more brides realize the value of having a planner. In a recent study conducted by SuperWeddings.com and the International Institute of Weddings, more than 62% of brides reported using a wedding consultant. Further, of the brides that did not hire a planner, 72% reported that if they could do it all over again, they would hire a planner, if only for day of management.

Time

The average bride spends 250 hours planning her wedding day. That is nearly 6 full weeks. In today’s busy world, you may not have the time, or frankly the desire, to make this time commitment. It takes a considerable amount of time to effectively manage all of the logistics, budget, details and contracts involved in a wedding. A wedding planner can be a vital time saving resource especially in the final few weeks before the wedding, when your stress level is likely to be very high. Unfortunately, many brides do not realize this until it is too late and often seek out a planner after disaster has already ensued. Many brides and grooms run themselves ragged in the weeks 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. A wedding planner can help alleviate these situations by being on hand to take care of time consuming tasks and to trouble shoot for you when required, making it all so much easier and more enjoyable for you.

Budget

Wedding coordinators provide a wide range of services which can save the bride time and stress, but what many brides do not realize is that a good wedding consultant can often save them money as well. Because wedding consultants are very well connected with vendors and suppliers within the wedding industry, and because they do ‘volume’ business, wedding consultants are often able to secure discounts for their clients on the products and services they desire, or to negotiate much better prices or ‘deals’ than the average person off the street. This can result in substantial savings to the bride and groom, often enabling them to have “more wedding” for their money than they dared to dream possible.

A professional wedding planner can also assist with drawing up budgets (and adhering to them!) and with developing important time-lines and schedules, in order to ensure that everything that needs to be done is taking place, and at the appropriate time, minimizing the probability of unwelcome surprises. A consultant helps to ensure that no details are overlooked thereby helping to avoid the wedding disaster stories that so frequently strike the most unsuspecting bride and groom. She also serves as an advocate for the bride and groom, ensuring that the couple’s best interests with vendors are being protected so that they receive all they are entitled to, and are not taken advantage of. Planning a wedding is an overwhelming and emotionally charged experience, and some less than scrupulous vendors will capitalize on that when doing business with the happy couple – a wedding consultant knows what is or is not exepcted of vendors, and what is or is not fair and standard practice.

Wedding Day Management

Wedding coordinators can also be hired to supervise and coordinate just the actual wedding day, almost acting as the director of a theatrical production. She ensures that all the players – vendors, guests, bridal party, and the bride and groom – are in their places, that they know what to do and when, so that the show unfolds as planned. Should a crisis or emergency break out along the way as can so often happen at an event like a wedding, a good wedding consultant is generally able to take care of it so that the bride and groom never even know there was a crisis. The result: a stress-free and relaxed bride and groom who are free to celebrate and enjoy this day they have waited so long for.