Should I hire a wedding planner???

[PavePrincess]

Hi Ladies!

This is the first time I have contemplated whether or not to hire a wedding planner. Previously I thought that planning a wedding wouldn't be a huge process because our engagement will be long (2 years) and I have an involved and helpful family. However, I've been reading some articles on the benefits of wedding planners and I'm having second thoughts. Is this a needless expense?? Or a must have??

I have a while to decide, but here's some background.. I'm living on the east coast, but the wedding will be on the west coast. Fiance and I have an approximate budget of $50K and hope to have 230-250 guests. What are your opinions?? If you had a wedding planner, did you think it was worth it?? Also, (if you don't mind sharing) how much were their services?? My wedding budget tool (and google) said $1,500 for a wedding planner in my area (Silicon Valley), but is it more?? Thank you for your responses!

 

[nkarma]

Because you aren't living where the wedding will be, also the size of your wedding, and the fact that it is ~3% of your budget (and therefore somewhat affordable), I think you should get one.

I had a small destination wedding and a coordinator. The coordinator was invaluable as I was thousands of miles away. She did everything involved with the wedding and rehearsal dinner. We also saved money on flowers, decor, rehearsal dinner, etc...because she knew the best and cheapest places to find them. Having her there the day of was invaluable as well. She totally made sure everything was perfect and kept everything to schedule. It was great not having to worry about that. Why don't you get some quotes from wedding coordinators in the area and see what they are charging and what their contracts entail?

 

[pancake]

I think it is definitely worth it, especially as you do not live locally.

Even for my tiny wedding (elopement), the wedding planner was THE most worthwhile outlay of the whole thing. The amount of stress and organisational/logistic stuff that she saved us was worth MORE than her weight in gold! If it is within your means (and it sounds like it is), I think it would make things a lot easier for you, and give you more time to concentrate on the excitement and sharing it all with loved ones

 

[Autumnovember]

Hi Ladies!

This is the first time I have contemplated whether or not to hire a wedding planner. Previously I thought that planning a wedding wouldn't be a huge process because our engagement will be long (2 years) and I have an involved and helpful family. However, I've been reading some articles on the benefits of wedding planners and I'm having second thoughts. Is this a needless expense?? Or a must have??

I have a while to decide, but here's some background.. I'm living on the east coast, but the wedding will be on the west coast. Fiance and I have an approximate budget of $50K and hope to have 230-250 guests. What are your opinions?? If you had a wedding planner, did you think it was worth it?? Also, (if you don't mind sharing) how much were their services?? My wedding budget tool (and google) said $1,500 for a wedding planner in my area (Silicon Valley), but is it more?? Thank you for your responses!

I think most wedding planners have various packages that you can get from them. For example, you can get them for the day of the wedding or for full services which is the entire year leading up to the wedding.

Originally I was going to have a good friend of mine (a wedding planner) help me plan my wedding but 3 weeks after my own engagement she got engaged too. We decided it would be best if I went ahead and hired someone else.

So far, I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with her. She has really helped tremendously in every single way possible. She has great ideas, she is there when I need her, she has taken care of all the BS stuff I DONT want to be taking care of. I paid 5K for a full year of services and day of services.

Because of your circumstances, I would definitely get one.

 

[kelpie]

I don't have one but wish I did. I am one of those bad brides who didn't want to be bothered, just wanted to show up, but didn't want to spend much money so did everything by the seat of my pants. Anyway, it would be so much easier to have a planner, I was trying to score a novice one off craigslist but no luck. My wedding is a week away, hopefully it falls together. If you have a demanding schedule or the location is far away for you definitely get one.

 

[sillyberry]

I've hired a wedding planner - a mid-range package for $2750 in Chicago. I didn't need full-service, as I'm happy to take on a lot of the legwork myself, but I also wanted someone more than just day-of (or more accurately, month-of) coordination.

So far, I've generally been happy with my decision. I'm planning a Chicago wedding mostly from Texas, and am easily overwhelmed by all the options available in the Wedding-Industrial Complex, so it's nice to have someone there to break down the budget, make vendor suggestions, and serve as a sounding board for ideas. She really gets my vision, but has been able to make the things I envision a million times better and more fleshed out. I sometimes wish she responded more quickly to my emails, but that's a whole other issue.

 

[lucyandroger]

For a wedding you're planning from across the country with a budget and guest list of that size - YES!!!

I hired a wedding planner for my wedding in NJ (I live outside of DC) for $2,200, which covers some planning (helping to find some vendors, meeting with vendors that we can't travel to meet, ideas for decorating, touring venues for rehearsal dinner) and day-of coordination with an assistant. It is so helpful to have someone that knows the wedding industry in that area and who can make quick trips to check things out for you. Oh, and my budget and guest list is much smaller than yours - I think you're going to want someone else to help you keep track of everything, especially if you're trying to juggle work/school.

 

[Rose_Dust]

I agree with what everyone has said, hire a wedding planner. I'm in the process of looking for one myself and my size budget is similar to yours but I'm planning locally. Although I haven't had any experience yet with dealing with a wedding coordinator, I imagine that it'll save you so much time, energy, and stress. I've also heard that wedding coordinators often pay for themselves in the savings they can get you through all their contacts, so think about it that way. This person might help you get some great deals. Best of luck finding one who suits your tastes.

 

[turboflgrl]

Personally speaking, if you're creative and you have your own vision and the time to devote to following up on things yourself, wedding planners are a huge waste of money. I knew what I wanted from the get go so I really had no need for one. That said, I did spend about $950 on a Day of Coordinator - she's one of the best in my local area. Most Day of's were far less expensive but I just didn't want to have to worry on the day of the wedding.

 

[EyeElle]

Simply due to the fact that your not living in the area where the wedding will take place, I think having a wedding planner will be beneficial for you.
Plus keep in mind that wedding planners have contacts in all areas of wedding planning and so you can benefit from that and get great deals from your venders. It's always helpful to have someone in the business help you out.

 

[PavePrincess]

Personally speaking, if you're creative and you have your own vision and the time to devote to following up on things yourself, wedding planners are a huge waste of money. I knew what I wanted from the get go so I really had no need for one. That said, I did spend about $950 on a Day of Coordinator - she's one of the best in my local area. Most Day of's were far less expensive but I just didn't want to have to worry on the day of the wedding.

This is what I had been thinking, but the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward hiring a coordinator. I think what scares me is the idea of being ripped off by vendors, because I have no idea what anything costs and what is a reasonable price. I'm pretty detail oriented and I could easily manage a budget, but contracting with vendors.. eek! I HATE bargaining, but I want the best price.

I contacted a few coordinators and 1 has gotten back to me. She said he fees range from $2,000-$6,000 depending on the level of services offered. WTF did theknot.com budgeter say $1,500?!?! Sigh.. Thank you ladies for all your help and input! I'll let you know when I decide what I'm going to do..

 

[turboflgrl]

This is what I had been thinking, but the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning toward hiring a coordinator. I think what scares me is the idea of being ripped off by vendors, because I have no idea what anything costs and what is a reasonable price. I'm pretty detail oriented and I could easily manage a budget, but contracting with vendors.. eek! I HATE bargaining, but I want the best price.

I contacted a few coordinators and 1 has gotten back to me. She said he fees range from $2,000-$6,000 depending on the level of services offered. WTF did theknot.com budgeter say $1,500?!?! Sigh.. Thank you ladies for all your help and input! I'll let you know when I decide what I'm going to do..

I completely know how you feel. I was super nervous at first in regards to maintaining all the contracts and all the dates/prices/detals/and so forth. If you do decide to go forth with it yourself, invest in a nice planning binder and keep yourself organized. As far as vendors go, research, research, research! I don't think I can stress that enough. All of the vendors I am using are extremely well known in my area so I am very comfortable knowing they'll all "show up" for lack of a better phrase -the majority that I've contracted with have even worked with other vendors I'm contracted with so that works out well. Planners are very expensive and it just wasn't something that I found to be important - a day-of coordinator is essential though (in my opinion). But as far as the planning of the actual wedding.... I had the time, the ideas in my head, and the resources to get it done myself.

Good luck and I look forward to an update