Imagine your wedding day starting out with the venue being locked, no one can get ahold of the venue management and people are standing around waiting to start setting up for your wedding. At this very moment, you should be enjoying a mimosa on while having your hair and makeup done. Minutes later a flurry of panic sets in when the florist arrives with flowers that are a bright orange bouquet with diamond and pearl accents, this is not the bouquet you had discussed or imagined. Your style is bohemian and flowy. At this point you are edging ever so closely to becoming the dreaded bridezilla we’ve all heard stories about and your family/friends are doing everything in their ability to keep this from happening. You should be enjoying your wedding day, and none of this should be a single worry on your mind. These are exactly the kind of things a wedding planner deals with on a regular basis and they handle it, most of the time fix the problem, before you even know about it.

Here are some more reasons why you should hire a wedding planner, trust me they are worth every penny!

Your friends and family are not a substitute for a professional wedding planner and here’s why;

To put this as kindly as possible your close ones are and integral part of your wedding planning process, but this does not fill in for a professional and especially on your wedding day (consider hiring a day-of coordinator if a full wedding planning service is not in your budget). There are so many parts that close friends and family can play in your wedding and more than anything they should be present and enjoying this day. It is all about you and your soon-to-be-spouse and no distractions should take away from that. Maybe have them sign as a witness, stand in as a bridesmaid or officiate. Wedding planning is time-consuming and time-sensitive so to have your friend or family member take time out of their already busy lives may just be asking too much, no matter if they tell you otherwise or not, this is where hiring a wedding planner differs. They are there solely to help. A creative friend may have an excellent eye but they may not be so well versed in the in’s and out’s of having an event run smoothly. What happens if something does go haywire? Would they know how to handle it? Would they know how to direct the help and make sure that everyone is staying on schedule to make things happen when they need to.

There will be someone to talk to about all your wedding ideas…EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM

Undoubtedly, you are going to have ideas-on-ideas of how to make this day and expression of you and your fiancé. A wedding planner is there to talk with you about these details even when there may be some you want to keep as a surprise for your guests! They are also there to have a reliable opinion on what would be a good choice in bringing the vision of your wedding together.

They have all the suggestions about hiring vendors you can trust

Think of hiring a wedding planner as hiring a little black book of the best wedding vendors you can find to fit your style and budget. And at the same time, they play a little matchmaker too. They know all the best florals, caterers, photographers, videographers, and event locations to pull together a wedding that truly speaks to who you are. They can offer suggestions on vendors in all budget ranges based off of those they have experience working with. Trust them.

Let’s talk about budget

Everyone has one, whether that be low or extravagantly high there is some expectations that needs to be met and a budget that needs to be stuck to. A wedding planner knows the business and knows where to start to give you an idea of what your dream wedding may cost, where you can save some money or where you should absolutely splurge.

They help focus your vision down to every last detail – including the timeline

There are so many great resources out there now, and with Pinterest wedding planning can seem like an easy feat. But then, months into planning you may notice that the vision you have is scattered and does not have a cohesive feel to it. This is where a wedding planner can help by streamlining that vision and curating your wedding style from the very beginning of your planning adventure. Help them help you by having clear ideas of what you see for your wedding day.

You can’t be in two places at once

So your getting ready location is different from your ceremony location that is different from your reception location. Talk about a lot of running back and forth on the day of your wedding! As a wedding photographer, just thinking about the amount of work that goes into multi-location weddings makes me dizzy. But, that’s why professional wedding planners typically have a team of people on your wedding day.They have done this before and they are there to make sure each thing is happening as it should be in each location…and as far as you will ever know it happens flawlessly.

They take the stress out of your wedding day (this is the most important by far!)

Simply put you should not be thinking about how far along the reception decorations are, how the ceremony site is looking or any of those details until you see it as you walk down the aisle or in the door for your reception. You should be relaxed and enjoying the moment all day long! This is a once in a lifetime event and you should be 100% present, soaking in all of the love that surrounds your wedding day.

If you need help finding a great wedding planner please send me an email