Planning Your Perfect Wedding – 9 Ways Great Wedding Planners Can Deliver the Wedding of Your Dreams

Lots of people create weddings without a wedding planner and that’s great if that works for you! But planning weddings, even simple ones, takes time. I had so few of the “normal” wedding accoutrements, I work in the business, and I found it a full time job, which of course had to be added on top of my other three full time jobs! Here’s some things that good wedding planners (also called bridal consultants) can offer you.

1. They function as surrogate Moms of the Bride and Groom. For people who live away from their families or for parents who have actual lives apart from their children’s weddings (shocking, I know!), WPs are in place to help you out.
2. They live where you’re going to be married. If you’re having a destination wedding, or are being married in a hometown, it’s likely that your life makes it difficult for you to be home every weekend to check up on details. WPs can be your eyes and ears.
3. They make their living doing this. You don’t have to invent the wheel, they’ve been spinning it for years. They know what the trends are and have a network of vendors who work well with them. Most wedding planners have options between top of the line and fabulous up-and-coming vendors (who are usually less expensive).
4. They know the hard questions and they know how to solve them! Guests, wedding ceremony, wedding vows family issues, attendants, venues and budgets: many bridal consultants have straightforward processes to help you demystify the hard questions and make the decisions you need to gracefully (and still in love with your sweetheart!)
5. They’re resourceful. Have your heart set on something specific? Your WP will know how to get you that thing or a pretty darned close facsimile!
6. Wedding Planners know how to help you save money. At the price of weddings these days and with the economic forecast, this is pretty important!
7. The right wedding planner will know your ethnic customs — or how to research them!
8. They’re organized and know the process. Day your wedding planner will make sure the vendors are where they’re supposed to be, the checks are in the right hands, you get pushed down the aisle at the right time. They have the extra safety pin and bobby pin that someone is going to need. They even know how to pin on corsages.
9. They’re invested in the success of your marriage. You’ve spent hours working together; they take supporting your marriage very seriously. I’ve fielded more than one call from a WP who was distraught that a marriage had disintegrated. They’re working for you and your success. They want you to have a beautiful wedding and a wonderful marriage.

What does hiring a wedding planner do for you? It leaves you with discrete, manageable tasks and a bit of time to focus on your relationship, your wedding ceremony and dreaming together of the marriage you will build. Wedding planners are a pretty good bargain in the long run to help you build a fabulous wedding and a marriage that works.