Why hire a wedding planner? I am excited to have the ladies from Laurel Hall share five reasons why your venue wants you to hire a wedding planner. Planning your wedding day … seems easy enough. You’ve been to more weddings than you can count on one hand. In fact you have probably stood in the bridal party for a fair share of those (27 Dresses, anyone?). Yet when it comes to planning your own nuptials suddenly you start to realize there are a lot of details. All the decisions you’ve always happily avoided as a guest are now all yours to make. With precious time and money involved in each, they can begin to feel overwhelming.
Each venue runs a little differently. So choosing a wedding planner, whether it’s full service or day-of coordinator, can either be a requirement or a choice. As you begin to look at wedding venues you may find that many are simply that – a wedding venue. They’ll be there to coordinate deliveries, catering arrivals, make sure the air and heat are on, etc… But likely don’t offer any coordinating or planning services. Finding the perfect planner to help with the details can be the key to making your wedding day stress free.
We always say, the only thing more important than choosing a wedding planner is choosing the right wedding planner. As a venue we’ve found the following qualities in a wedding planner to be some of the most important:
Reason 1 – On Site Experience
Perhaps one of the most important things in picking the right planner is finding someone with experience at the venue you’ve chosen. This may at first seem insignificant, but this can make or break an experience. A venue-experienced planner will know everything from odd quirks, great photo locations, and contractual details to the best usage of a space for your wedding size. Plus, they may have inside access to perks with the venue.
Reason 2 – Contract Management and Follow Up
What time are the caterers arriving? What about the photographer and florist? Have your DJs done a run through to make sure the sound is effective in each room? Are all contracts on compatible timelines? When you sign so many contracts it can be easy to lose track of the fine print and expectations for each vendor. However, it is absolutely crucial to make sure these things align. Imagine this, it’s your wedding night and at 8:00 p.m. you realize you’ve contracted your venue and DJ until 10:00 p.m. The caterer, photographer, and planner are scheduled until 11:00 p.m. Even if one of these vendors cannot adjust their schedule for the last minute change you could be out hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It’s easier to just avoid any chance of a disconnect by having your planner properly manage the contracts and vendors from the start.
Reason 3 – Day of Logistics
On wedding day it’s often the little things you forget and cause a last minute scramble. Some of the problems we’ve found ourselves solving in the 11th hour are who’s going down the aisle first? What cue are we waiting for to send in the bride? Who is carrying the train of the wedding dress up the stairs and straightening it as the bride takes her first steps? Without a planner these can be a source of last minute stress, but with a planner by your side it will already be taken care of long before the rehearsal arrives.
Reason 4 – Timeline Creation
With everything from the huge details like ceremony start time down to the tiny details like brushing your teeth before you head to the venue there are a lot of moving pieces on your big day. A planner will make sure that the day runs like a well-oiled machine so you can enjoy the celebration rather than worrying about when to take photos, what time speeches start, and moving from dinner to dancing.
Reason 5 – Setup Assistance
By the time your wedding weekend rolls around your planner has probably had more meetings and phone calls with you than any other vendor. They’ve seen the inner workings of the process from start to finish. They’ve spent time learning your style and aesthetic, and know the details that have kept you up at night. While you’re spending the day before getting in the zone, your planner is the behind the scenes making sure each detail you talked about is brought to life beautifully. This means making sure each vendor is in the loop and the venue is set to perfection before you head down the aisle.
We hope you found these tips to be helpful! To learn more about our services and how Tara Nicole Weddings can help you on your wedding day, please visit our Information Page.
Photo Credits: Jennifer Driscoll Photography and Conforti Photography
Join Our Community! Get tips and inspo straight to your inbox!
add a comment
+ COMMENTS