Why do you need a wedding planner? There are many reasons why a wedding planner will make your wedding day much smoother and more enjoyable. Josh and I have photographed many weddings, and by far the most successful had an amazing wedding planner behind the scenes making magic happen! Below are the 5 reasons why we think wedding planners are essential for your wedding – no matter the size!
When you get engaged, your mind begins swirling with all of the possibilities. There are so many things that you will need to nail down in order to make your wedding go off without a hitch. You have to decide when you will get married and where. You will need to choose your wedding style and colors. You may have a grand wedding vision or have no idea where to start. A great planner is going to ask you the right questions to help you really zero in on what you want for your wedding day. A wedding planner is also going to help you take your vision and match it to your budget. Your planner will have a realistic estimate of what things will cost and will help you prioritize the most important things to help maximize your budget.
An experienced wedding planner is going to have connections with the best vendors in your area. In fact, they will most likely have a preferred vendors list ready to show you! Their vendors list isn’t going to be a bunch of people who paid for that spot on the list – these will be actual vendors your planner has worked with and had a great experience. These are vendors that have been vetted by your planner and will serve you well on your wedding day.
There are so many little details that go into a wedding day that you probably never thought of. Experienced wedding planners have seen it all. They know what little details you will need to think of (and budget for) ahead of time. When Josh and I got married, we really had no idea what we were doing. My biggest regret is not hiring a planner to help us have a great wedding day. Everything fell on our shoulders and I became so overwhelmed with all of the questions I did not have an answer to. For example – who was going to make sure the reception area was set up before we arrived? I had to set everything up that morning instead of enjoying time with my bridesmaids. Who was going make sure my bridal party knew where to go and when? I assumed they would just figure it out! Instead, my Pastor’s wife stepped up and helped guide my wedding party to the right place at the right time instead of being able to enjoy her time as a guest. All of those stressful situations could have been avoided if I had a planner that could have assembled a team for me.
Your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life. You and your new spouse should be the center of attention. All of your wedding vendors should come together to serve you well and make sure your day is wonderful. All of those vendors are going to need a leader to make that happen! Your wedding planner and their team will be the point person on the wedding day so you don’t have to be. Imagine relaxing with your bridesmaids, sipping mimosas, when suddenly your florist, photographer, caterer, DJ, and Venue owner all run into the bridal suite with last-minute questions because something is going wrong. Now imagine your wedding planner, standing in the doorway going “Leave her alone; ask me the questions. I got this.” A good planner is going to literally shield you from stress on your wedding day and make sure your experience is the best it can be.
Here is what one of our favorite planners had to say about why you need a planner on your wedding day and how they will serve you well:
“In the past, Wedding Planners/Coordinators were considered a luxury, but now more than ever, they are a necessity. With couples and their families spending thousands of dollars on this one-time event, couples need a professional planner/coordinator on their team to make sure their vision and the day go as planned. With the size, scope, and curated details of today’s weddings, there are so many moving parts that couples need a professional to help orchestrate the day and keep it on track. Couples need someone who knows their event inside and out, will make sure the venue and vendors are providing their contracted services, and be a point person to answer all of those last-minute questions. A wedding day goes by fast and you want to be able to enjoy every moment. By hiring a wedding planner/coordinator, you can.”
Tonya W. Miller, CWP, CMP
Owner and Lead Coordinator
Blueprints Wedding and Event Coordination
I always tell my brides that something will go wrong on your wedding day. It isn’t always a big something – but something will go wrong! Just like in the previous scenario, your wedding planner is going to make sure whatever is going wrong is handled with as little stress for you and your new spouse as possible!
You want to make sure that your wedding photographer is experienced and will be the expert you need to make sure your wedding day is the best it can be. Dogwood Gatherings and Events suggests asking your wedding planner these 5 questions before you book:
Deanna and Matt’s wedding was absolutely beautiful, but they could not have done it without the help of an amazing planner. This was a destination wedding for these two, and Deanna worked with her planner – during the height of the Covid lockdowns – to make sure that her wedding was everything she dreamed of. Because Matt is a marine, they were given permission to use the Semper Fidelis Chapel in Quantico, VA for their ceremony and they held their reception at the beautiful Workhouse Arts Center. Covid lockdowns and regulations caused a lot of issues for Matt and Deanna, even forcing them to change their wedding date and reception venue. Because Deanna had hired such a phenomenal wedding planner, they were able to have an amazing wedding with their closest friends and family by their side. I can’t say enough about Amanda Tyner and her team at Remembered Events. As a photographer, it is so important for us to know the details of what is happening on a wedding day and have a general timeline. This allows us to curate those special moments and anticipate the big ones that we need to capture! Amanda was so great at communicating with us so we didn’t have to bother our bride about those last-minute details.
Deanna and Matt’s Wedding Vendors:
Ceremony Venue: Sempre Fidelis Chapel
Reception Venue: Workhouse Arts Center
Planner: Remembered Events
Catering: A Taste of Elegance
Dress: David’s Bridal
Menswear: Mens Warehouse
Transportation: Dulles Limousine
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