The Benefits of a Wedding Planner {Wedding Wednesday: Weddings by Janna}
Sweating the details? Don’t. A great wedding planner can save you time, money and meltdowns
Your wedding day will be the stuff of dreams, the most amazing day of your life, and it will all just happen by magic, without any effort or stress, easy-peasy. Probably not.
Your wedding day will be dreamy, but every wedding, no matter if small and intimate or grand and sweeping means planning and execution. If you think this sounds like a military exercise, you’re not far off. Few events short of a strategic military exercise require the coordination of as many moving parts as weddings do.
Photographers, caterers, florists, venue coordinators, musicians all have to come together at just the right time to create your special moment. Making that all happen smoothly is the trick. Add with all the family dynamics of the day…well, you can see it can mean some serious stress.
How can a wedding planner help?
Well, you can download apps and checklists that will give you a good track to run on. They’ll tell you what to do and in what order. What these handy tools can’t do, though, is share wisdom and offer experience. It’s pretty easy to understand that the more we do something, the better we get at it. Most people have never planned a wedding before, no experience.
Wedding planners come loaded with the experience of the many Big Days they’ve planned before. They’ve created connections with vendors (remember all those moving parts?) and they’ve probably learned from some hard knocks. In short, wedding planners can help you sidestep some serious mistakes and find what
works best for you and your budget…from experience.
If you’re thinking of hiring a wedding planner, here are a couple of things to think about.
Fees
Weddings are expensive enough without adding another fee, but planners can often help you find corners to cut that save money and no one will even notice. (Those cute koozies and plastic cups with your wedding date get left behind or thrown away. Skip the favors no one expects them and they can be pricey). Planners can help negotiate the best deals with caterers, florist and others, and help you avoid costly mistakes.
Some planners charge by the hour or by the appointment. Some charge by the size and complexity of the wedding. Ask what’s included with the fee schedule. Be clear with your expectations, be sure you understand.
Communication style
Find a wedding planner you can work with in a fun and productive partnership. Look for a planner whose communication style works for you. Maybe you’d rather a bossy planner who tells you every step. Maybe you’d rather someone give you a gentle nudge in the right direction and let you run with the ball.
A wedding planner is a partner who has your back. Be warned, though, if you’re a bridezilla, there may not be a planner on earth who’ll work with you. Treat your planner with respect and you’ll get the same in return.
A great planner saves you time, money, and meltdowns.
“First things first, wedding planners do not get enough credit for all of the behind-the-scenes work they do. Not only do they make weddings look beautiful, but they are the coordinators, negotiators, and organizers for this one, big day.
The very best thing about having a wedding planner was feeling stress-free the day of the wedding, knowing that everything was being taken care of by someone you can trust.”
- Kerry, bride, Aug 2017
Janna Stevens
Wedding by Janna
515.306.6006
Are you planning a wedding and looking for timeless, authentic photos? Contact us here to see if we are available for your wedding day. 2019 dates are filling quickly!
