Wedding planners

I didn't have a wedding planner and now with 3 days before our wedding I really wish I did.

I did most of the planning and hiring of vendors a year before; my fiancé did spreadsheets of when things were due and that worked really well. The month before our wedding has just been a nightmare though, and I wish I had someone who could take over for me so that I could be enjoying this time more. Even if not a wedding planner, but a friend or family member you trust to make decisions for you would be helpful. Just make sure the person is clear on what you and your fiancé want! Enjoy the time planning and dreaming about what you want; that's the best time in all of this.

Wedding planner wasn't in our budget as they would be costly. We saved the time and effort to do everything our selves as it was a small wedding with the majority of the set up done by the venue itself. The details were more of little things to get done the day before and the welcome bags completed to hand out to guests.

I hired a planner that comes on 30 days beforehand and takes over everything. So I have to do all the initial planning but she then takes over with the vendors and executes the plans. I didn’t want to be stressed out the month before or the day of, She also does all the ceremony and reception set up and take down. I’ll happily pay something to handle that stress for me so we can just sit back and enjoy everything. Worth every penny!

If you're having a big wedding and you don't have time to be as hands-on, it can help. Some also have partial planning services and month-of coordination.

If you're having a destination wedding, especially in a different country, a wedding planner helps because they know the local vendors and laws surrounding weddings.

My fiance and I have hired a day of coordinator. That way we can relax the morning of our big day and not stress about everything. She'll be putting all of our centerpieces together, our walk in table, cake table and our ceremony accessories etc. She will also be helping with any questions that the vendors have or need help with since we won't be at the venue until about half hour before the ceremony. She's also going to be with us during the ceremony to help with timing of walking down the aisle for all of us as well as the reception of when to enter our reception area

View quoted message Hi! Yes this helps a lot! We are planning to have at least 150 people and my fiancé to be Is working full time and is busy, I’m going to school right now but will be working part time if not 2 jobs. It maybe hard for me to organize and do a wedding at the same time unless I get time off and let my job know I want to try to organize a wedding as well as work.

Hi Lindsay!

Wedding planners are extremely useful. In the sense they keep tabs on all the vendors you hire (which by the end of it is a lot), let you and your fiancé know some deadlines and when you should purchase/rent things, when you should go to cake tastings and food tastings (they are sometimes with you during this), they help pick out flowers and decorations you may want to make sure it flows with what ever theme/style you want your wedding. Over all they give very good advice and help you stay on track and budget, all while being there on your big day and making sure everything runs smoothly. A lot of them also handle set up and take down so you and the wedding party don't have to do it the night before/morning of and stay up all night after the wedding taking down (some venues offer these services anyways but not all).

I would use a wedding planner if I am having a huge wedding, being that both my fiancé and I work - to plan a wedding in that size can be a bit time consuming and someone who is very organized can do well with those type of things.

If you are an organized person - you know - the excel, books, journals, scrap books, Pinterest boards, a physical vision board, the whole works. I would say to avoid the wedding planner and maybe look at the month-of-coordinator. They help and ensure that everything comes together and get ahold of the vendors to make sure everyone comes at the right timings, help you and your fiancé out with any last month issues that may happen and of course be there on your wedding day to run things so you and your wedding party and family don't have to worry.

There is also the option of having a day of coordinator. This is where you have done everything yourself, they just help on the day of to make sure the vendors you hired are on time, everything is set up the way you like it and help escort people around if they are moving from place to place.

But overall, I would say it depends on the size and the magnitude of the wedding you are having affects that decision.

Or it really is up to you, if you have a small 20 person wedding and not want to do too much of the work, still hire a planner if its within the budget. If you want to do most of it because you love what youre doing and may need some help at the end you can always do the other two options that (most) wedding planners give.

Hope this helps!