We all know that weddings are expensive enough. So I am often asked “Why would anyone pay for a wedding planner?” The answer here is simple; rather than thinking about how much a wedding planner will cost you, think how much time, stress and money they can save you!
Your wedding is the most important day of your life. You will have invested a lot of thought, hopes and dreams in to your big day and my role is to ensure that you’re not let down by organisational hiccups, delayed suppliers or décor disasters.
The Support a Wedding Planner Will Bring You
As a bride or groom, or parents of the bride and groom, you’re expected to provide your guests with a smoothly run, enjoyable event for all ages, all without any experience of event planning and management. That’s a lot of expectation to live up to. What’s more, you’ll be expected to be sociable and relaxed on the day and able to enjoy the company of your guests. Rather than be overwhelmed and unnerved by time flashing by, you’ll be in safe and trusted hands.
As an event planner with more than 20 years large scale event management experience, I know firsthand what is required to ensure things move along as and when they’re meant to, to save time. I’ve seen hundreds of pounds extra paid out when things must be rectified on the day and discretion has to be sacrificed as a result. I know how to manage things when they don’t quite go to plan as well. This is all part of my on-the-day management service.
No matter where you are on your wedding planning journey, my role is to offer you advice, and to utilise my long standing relationships with suppliers and venues for you. I have worked in many parts of the country and know some of the best places to get married, but I also research on your behalf if you’re looking for something a little different or unusual. The number of stunning and affordable venues with a marriage license has increased exponentially in the last decade, so there is no need to compromise on good quality, novelty and price.
The Different Stages of Wedding Planning
Idea and Consultation Stage
You’ve just got engaged, or have just decided on your wedding date. You have dreams about your perfect day but don’t know how to put them all together harmoniously. I’ll support you with a consultation to put together mood boards, venue ideas and some realistic deadlines to move forward with your wedding planning.
Design Stage
Once you have your list of hopes and dreams for your wedding, I can design a beautiful event for you that will set your day apart as a special and memorable occasion for everyone involved. If you have a design in mind, you may know what you want but you don’t know where to find it, or who to use. I can lead you straight to the most reliable and talented suppliers, tried and trusted for their creativity and value, as well as my own black book of performers, caterers, florists, transport and musicians who have testimonials from all age groups. I provide research and preparation services for an hourly or day rate so can easily support any size budget and event to save you hours of research time, trawling through wedding directories and phoning around. I can also go through a range of themes to tie your event together nicely.
Fine Tuning
One of the hardest activities for brides is tying up loose ends and bringing each aspect of the event together smoothly. I support you with seating plans, catering for all ages and tastes, managing suppliers and timings. My fine tuning support is charged hourly or you might want to make use of me for a whole day perhaps during rehearsal or on the day prior to your wedding.
The Big Day
You’ll be nervous, excited and overwhelmed on the morning of your wedding. The last thing you’ll want is to be chasing suppliers, relatives, and the bridal party on the phone or worrying that something hasn’t turned up. As your wedding planner I’ll be there to make sure that everything goes according to schedule, with contingencies from precedent events (you won’t even notice as you’ll be too busy enjoying your wedding).
My role would also include liaising with performers (including sound checks, changing areas and anything else to keep them happy), as well as acting as a go-between with the catering staff. In the case of the latter, while treating them carefully (as they would have their own pressured day) I would also ensure they were keeping to deadlines.
Because brides often hire their own linen and furniture, caterers can no longer predict when they can lay up, so I would coordinate communication between the two. Regarding photographers, they would be kept informed of any changes to their schedule which can arise such as weather conditions or family needs.
As for security for you and your guests, I would inform any professionals that you choose to hire what to expect that they may not already be briefed on; this would include keeping an eye on supplier vehicles to ensure they clear on time, and that wedding vehicles are identified and checked in.
As you can see, there are around 300 hours put in to planning a wedding from start to finish. With the average wedding costing £16,000, can you afford not to plan efficiently?
Later in the Belfrage Buzz I’ll be discussing different aspects of wedding planning in more detail – starting with Marquee Moments to avoid!
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