You just got engaged and already people are starting to bombard you with dozens of questions and/or unsolicited advice about your future wedding. As the long-winded process begins, it may or may not occur to you to think about hiring a wedding planner.
There are, of course, many people who plan their weddings without the help of a planner, so naturally it isn’t far-fetched to think that you can do it, too. However, before you take the DIY leap, make sure you really take into consideration the benefits of a planner. Here are the TOP 3 reasons you should think about looking into a wedding planner to help with your big day:
1. Expertise is invaluable.
Unless you’ve planned a wedding before, you’re probably going into this blind. You’re going to have a LOT of very important decisions to make based on very little knowledge. Wedding planners know the industry inside and out and can help you make wise decisions so that you get the most bang for your buck. Without experience, it’s hard to know what is or isn’t a good deal, how to make wise financial decisions, what questions to ask, and how to avoid making major mistakes that many couples make. While it’s true that in this digital age, you can pretty much find anything online, the plethora of information at our fingertips can come with the anxiety of information overload. There are hundreds and hundreds of vendors to choose from and without some sort of direction, you can quickly become confused and overwhelmed. Wedding planners can provide their continuous support and expertise – answering all your questions, pointing you in the right directions, and saving you tons of unnecessary research.
2. A wedding planner can actually be a wise financial investment.
In this economy, we’re all pinching pennies, and one of the MAJOR jobs of a wedding planner is actually to help you create a reasonable budget plan and STICK TO IT. This can be INVALUABLE in an industry that thrives off of eager brides making emotional financial decisions. Without someone to help keep you in check, spending more than you intended can be surprisingly easy. Furthermore, wedding planners, through their on-going relationships with vendors, can often get you discounts you wouldn’t be able to get otherwise. Their experienced insight and advice can also help brides on a tight budget figure out the best ways to save and spend money wisely. Beyond all that, wedding planners also save you a tremendous amount of TIME – and as we all know, time is money. If you’re planning a wedding while simultaneously juggling many other responsibilities – your degree, your career, your family, etc. – then anything that can save you such considerable time, AND possibly money, is a worthy investment.
3. It’s just too much STRESS.
The truth is that most people seriously underestimate how much work goes into a wedding. For MOST couples, this is their first real crack at trying to plan a large scale event. So, unless this isn’t your first rodeo, chances are you’re going to find yourself a bit overwhelmed by all the details, time, and money that go into everything. Even those with experience planning other types of events will find this to be a slightly different playing arena. That being said, a wedding planner can help save you a SIGNIFICANT amount of anxiety. The last thing you want is for your lovely engagement period to be spent arguing with your fiancé and stressing out about every last miniscule wedding detail. You also certainly don’t want your WEDDING DAY to be spent dealing with the stress of getting all the last-minute elements to come together the way you’d like. Hiring a wedding planner guarantees that you can sit back, relax, and actually ENJOY the ride the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
Even for the hands on, DIY bride, it’s certainly worth considering AT LEAST getting a Day-of Coordinator. You can handle the majority of the work and they will come in towards the end, when it’s crunch time, and make sure everything runs smoothly for you. Your wedding day is all about YOU, and you and your guests should get to truly savor every moment, have fun, and leave all the tedious wedding planning work for someone else to take care of. You deserve it, and what better reason could there possibly be?