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Wedding Planning 101 - Selecting the Planner

10/24/2009 | 9:34 AM | Author: Meridith Bronte

There is really no hard and fast rule in choosing your wedding planner. If you're lucky enough to have a referral from a friend, then you should be in good hands. However these referrals can be scarce when you're planning a destination wedding. When trying to find out how reliable the prospective wedding planner is, asking the planner for some references may yield a biased opinion.  For all you know, "the happy client" could be the planner's dear friend. Before you commit,  make sure that you've discussed these five essential topics. These will most likely bring out the strengths and weaknesses of the planner.

1. Pricing: How do they earn their money? Wedding coordination fees have several structure types such as flat rates, percentage, hourly rates, or a combination of these. There are also others that offer complete wedding packages where their professional fee is part of the  package price. It is important that you understand  pricing, so always ask the prospective planner to explain their fee structure. Understanding the fee structure is important to staying on budget.



2. Style:Does style matters to you? Good style, albeit, is relative; what may be fabulous for one bride might make another cringe. Finding a planner that shares your style sensibilities is the foundation for creating a wedding experience that is truly yours. You can get a feel for a planner’s sense of style by visiting their website and by looking at their work portfolio. However, the best way to get a sense for a planner’s style is through conversation. A simple phone call can reveal if you and your prospective planner see eye to eye in matters of style.



3. Experience: How many weddings have they planned? Experience does matter. Find out how many weddings they have planned and how long they have been in business. Every experienced wedding planner can tell you about weddings that have not gone as planned. When the unexpected occurs having a planner that knows what to do is invaluable.



4. Responsiveness: How quickly will they respond to requests? A planner that is quick to respond will put the stress factor to rest. You can get a feel for this by corresponding with email, if a planner takes a long time to respond to a simple email question it may be a sign that they’ll leave you hanging when tasks need to get done.



5. Responsibilities: What are they responsible for? The amount of responsibility will vary. Some planners provide a “day of” coordination service while others will coordinate starting from day one up until the big day. Hiring a “day of” planner might be a smart move if you are experienced in event planning and are willing to take responsibility for all the vendors and services. Otherwise, leave it to the professionals, a full service wedding planner should be able to take responsibility for all vendor communication, create a timeline, make sure all details are worked out, and be your one communication source. Make sure that you have drawn the lines of responsibility right from the start to avoid any complications later on.