10 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Planner Before Making the Hire
April 28, 2009 by Wedding Ideas
Filed under Wedding Ideas
Comments Off
by Cori Russell
It may be the “bride’s day,” but remember that you can’t get there alone. A wedding planner can be your advocate and your voice, especially when you’re not around. The key to a successful working relationship begins with finding the right person to join forces with as an invincible team. Once you’ve decided that you’d like to hand over some wedding tasks to a seasoned pro, you’ll need to schedule some phone or face-to-face consultations with a few in your area. These meetings should leave you with a clear idea of which planner best suits your needs and personality, so it’s best to come prepared with the right questions. Here’s what you need to know to find the perfect match.
1. The Know How - Does the wedding planner offer all the services you need? Come prepared with a list of things you’d like help with, and review your list together. To give you an idea, this printable wedding planner can walk you through each wedding task that you can potentially hand over to a professional.
2. Money Talks - Does the planner’s service fees work within your budget, and is the planner able to commit to your total wedding budget while planning your event?
3. The Right Connections - Does the planner have a network of reliable professionals and can s/he refer you to those that match your style and budget?
4. Prime Negotiator - Will the planner be able to help you save on any aspects of your wedding – either by negotiating the best prices, scoring vendor discounts or obtaining added extras?
5. Etiquette Guru – Is the wedding planner knowledgeable on etiquette matters, and can s/he steer you in the right direction?
6. Trend Savvy - Is the planner in-the-know on the latest wedding trends and styles?
7. Straight Troubleshooter - Can the planner coordinate all logistics with vendors and the wedding party to ensure everything runs smoothly? With a professional on hand – you should be able to enjoy your day like a guest and leave the details to them.
8. Personality Plus - In the end, it’s all about a positive relationship and trust. Do you like this person? Try to get a sense for how well you think you’ll work together.
9. Always the Professional – Ask to see the planner’s business license, professional organization membership or any indication that s/he is a certified business professional and not just moonlighting as a wedding planner.
10. Seal of Approval - Ask to see reference letters. Be wary if s/he cannot provide any.
Still have questions about wedding planners? This complete guide has everything you need to know about hiring and working with a wedding planner.
Cori Russell is editor for Elegala.com and Gala Weddings Magazine. Elegala.com is a complete Weddings and Wedding Planning resource with a national directory of wedding venues and services, how-to guides, photo galleries, checklists, and expert advice to walk brides through every step of the wedding planning process.
Your Wedding Planner Tools
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Wedding Planning Tips- 6 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner
November 25, 2008 by Wedding Ideas
Filed under Wedding Ideas
Comments Off
Planning Your Perfect Wedding – Wedding Planners Know What to Ask When Planning Your Perfect Wedding
by Ann Keeler Evans
Wedding planning often brings fears and problems shooting to the surface. Sibling rivalries, family splits, choices between friends, and oh, yeah, money! During the incredible stress you and your partner may find yourself fighting about all sorts of things you had no idea were issues. Yuck.
One of the ways to surface some of those issues is working with a wedding planning professional. Your wedding planner has seen this all before. They know a lot of the wedding pitfalls and are going to help you through them before you blindly crash into them. Preparedness and prevention do a lot to make things run more smoothly.
- Your WP knows the hard questions that come up because your WP has helped couples not just plan weddings but navigate the personal and familial issues that show up.
- Your WP will have good solutions (or management) for some of these problems because they’ve helped other brides and grooms deal with the issues.
- Your WP is resourceful and they’re invested in handling issues well. If there’s something that you want to do or run into, they’re going to want to figure it out because they’ll use it again. Your problems are part of their profit and ongoing business development.
- Because your WP has dealt with problems before, they’re going to be planning ahead. They don’t want you fussing and fuming at parents, attendants or your beloved. They want you to have a wonderful time planning your wedding.
- Your WP knows the flow of the planning process. They’re going to get you working on the things that will get you through to the wedding you’re . They know when you need to start working on the wedding ceremony and when it’s time to work on flowers. You’re not going to get to the end and say, “oh wow, why didn’t my bridal consultant tell me I should think about wedding vows,” because your bridal consultant knows that wedding ceremonies need wedding vows so that you can be married at the end of your wedding ceremony. They know you need a dress, and flowers, and tuxes and food at the reception.
- Your WP loves doing this. This is a chosen profession. So while you’re agonizing over details that you didn’t know you’d agreed to when one of you offered and the other said yes, he or she is willing to help, because they think weddings and wedding planning are special and wonderful.
It’s always a good idea when you do something to have experts who are passionate about their work on your team. If you find you can’t afford a wedding planner and don’t want to cut back on something else to get one, choose the books that are written by people who do this every day. They’re going to have the pragmatic advice you need to get you from “I’d love to marry you” to the end of your fabulous wedding reception (and even through the thank you notes!). Do everything you can to give yourself support through this process! And when you’re done, you’ll have developed processes for working on hard questions. Not a marriage around that can’t use that support!
Bottom Line?: Give your relationship the chance it deserves to succeed wildly, against all odds! After all, you deserve it. Your relationship deserves it! And now I’d like to invite you to sign up to receive 2 free templates for creating the wedding ceremony of your dreams, the wedding vows of your heart and the marriage of a lifetime: http://annkeelerevans.org/weddings/free
The Rev. Ann Keeler Evans – helping you move from “I do” to happily and healthily ever after!
For more Inexpensive wedding ideas visit Stress Away Bridal.
