When to Hire a Wedding Planner (& How to Know You Need One)

I often get asked, when should I hire a wedding planner? How do I know I need a planner and not just a coordinator?

Are you at the beginning of your wedding planning journey and already feel drained not energized about making these decisions? You probably have decision fatigue and it’s time to call in the big guns! I’m talking about hiring a wedding planner. If you have no idea where to start and want someone to coach you through which vendors you should book first and how to think outside the box when it comes to crafting your dream wedding, hire a wedding planner.

My process: When I jump in to help my couple’s, we start first with uncovering their unique couple style and use it to craft a road map that gets us focused on making educated and informed decisions. Whether we are balancing budgets, comparing venue layouts, or settling on the best florist I always keep my client’s mood board front and center as a reminder of their special spark!

Hire a wedding coordinator if …

You and your significant other are energized by making lists and checking things off. You feel ready to do some research, tour venues, and are willing to say “no” to the things that just aren’t you enough for your wedding day. But don’t forget to give yourself some helping hands. Hire a wedding coordinator to manage things in the months leading up to the big celebration so you can focus on the important relationships in your life. And especially so you can be a guest at your own wedding!

My process: You’ve booked all your vendors and you are now 60 days out from your wedding day celebration! Now it’s about logistics wrangling and facilitating crucial conversations about the execution of the event. Through email communications and a client questionnaire, I am able to get on board with all the nuts and bolts currently in my couple’s hands. They’ve made the decisions about WHAT and now we get to work on the HOW of assembling their wedding day. This includes constructing a timeline with all vendor’s needs in mind, contract review, and working through any design or layout challenges.

When To Hire a Wedding Planner: You Feel Overwhelmed

A wedding planner can truly help you when you can’t see the trees for the forest! Wedding planning can be a deep and dark place with lots of looming decisions, and a planner does so much more than just PLAN.

1. They allow you to have a life outside of planning your event

Planning can be stressful! You deserve to be able to sit back, relax & focus on work and home life. When you hire a wedding planner, there is someone else to coordinate the elements & vendors together, to track your planning progress, and to usher you through the next phase.

2. They are the go-to person on the wedding day so you don’t have to make any more decisions

A planner or coordinator is there to field any last-minute questions from vendors, the venue, or guests. Allowing you to enjoy the evening with friends and family!

3. They stick to your timeline and make sure you enjoy every moment

A coordinator or planner is key to helping your day stay on schedule. From pictures, to set up, to walking down the aisle and partying the night away. It’s their job to work with the venue staff and vendors to keep your event running flawlessly and on time!

4. A good planner brings your vision to life, making your event priceless

A wedding planner can help you discover your couple style so your wedding reflects you and your values. They can bring to life a budding idea in a practical way, and can help visualize your event space to maximize all it’s best features!

5. They can help you save money

While we aren’t magicians that can help you grow money on trees, you still totally deserve to get the BEST for your budget. A wedding planner can help you understand a vendor’s costs, so you are spending your money wisely! They can help guide you through any budgeting fiasco and help you focus on what’s really important to you.

When To Hire a Wedding Planner: During Covid-19

Covid-19 is absolutely changing how we gather together, including weddings. Once your local government opens venues for events again you’re going to want a wedding planner on your team. Here’s why!

To help you navigate:

*downsizing your originally planned wedding

*communicating with your guests 

*distancing guidelines for your ceremony and reception table arrangements

*executing a plan for screening guests + vendors for symptoms

*finding the best location for your event that provides ample space

*proper cleaning + sanitizing regulations

*coordinating safe food practices with your caterer

*logistics of entertainment and equipment

*crafting a timeline that allows for intimate moments and a guest experience that captures your personalities

*working with your photographer to ensure wedding memories that prioritize safety

When you hire a wedding planner you are putting yourselves and your guest first in the wedding planning process. We may be an outside force in your life, but we are at the ready to advocate for you and the safety of your wedding celebration!

When to Hire a Wedding Planner: You Need Support

So you’ve heard maybe a horror story or two about wedding planning gone wrong, but you still aren’t really convinced that a planner is the right decision for you. Your worries and fears are totally valid. This is a process you have never gone through before. It’s totally unknown and intimidating. You want it to go perfectly. What if having a wedding planner ruins your expectation of wedding planning!? Let me debunk for you a couple of the common misconceptions about hiring a wedding planner.

Misconception 1: If I hire a planner, I don’t get to plan my own wedding!

Reality: I see my position in wedding planning a bit like an excavator on a dig. My couple’s come to me with specific stylized visions, particular nonnegotiables, or dream wedding expectations with a shoe-string budget. My goal is to help them see the 2-3 best solutions to their current dilemma, weigh the options, and feel elated with making a decision they can move forward with. I’m 100% planning this day right beside you! You get to make all the decisions. I’m here to enlighten you with expertise and professional feedback from my years planning weddings.

Misconception 2: Wedding planners are too expensive!

Reality: Truly, if you see a wedding planner as a luxury that you cannot afford that’s okay. Let’s look at a different way. Instead of money, think about your time. The average couple spends about 400 hours planning their wedding! How would it feel to get some of that time back to spend on a date night together, or out with family, or even just relaxing at home instead of glued to your computer digging through venues on The Knot! What I do as a wedding planner can truly affect almost every aspect of a wedding day from venue selection, to the time food is served, to the seamstress you use for alterations, to the photographer you spend 8 hours with. I’m here to advocate for YOU, by helping you save time in researching and money in encouraging you to spend on your actual priorities.

Misconception 3: Couples who feel comfortable planning their wedding do not need help!

Reality: On the outside, wedding planning looks fun and you feel thrilled to do something so monumental with the person you love! But don’t forget, this is still something new that you have not done before. This is bigger than a birthday party or a family picnic for most couples. Think of it this way, if you were getting ready to sell or buy a home of your own, would you do it yourself? Or would you entrust this process to an expert who knows the housing market, the true value of a home, and can explain what escrow is? We aren’t meant to do everything on our own, and sometimes we just need a reminder that it is okay to ask for help!

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As a wedding planner and coordinator, I thrive in allowing a couple to experience their best day to the fullest. By giving them the tools and the assistance to craft a love-fueled, intimate celebration they get to soak in each tender moment, living out their truest selves with the help of their loved ones surrounding them. 

We believe in communicating with our clients to find out their needs, we want you to feel known. We believe in collaborating and sharing in each step of the process to help our couples stay educated and informed. We believe in creating a day that is about your personal love story, accentuated by all the wonderful people who spoke in to the lives of the bride and groom to grow them in to who they are now – a happily married couple!

Y’all can find me over on Instagram sharing behind the scenes of the planning process and why intimate weddings are my jam! Talk soon.