Should we hire a wedding planner long term or just the ‘day-of’?
Most couple getting married will explore this question at least once when they are getting married. Sadly, when I talk to most wedding planners however, they tend to be on the last-minute back end of things and couples more times than none will choose a ‘day-of’ or the day of the wedding coordinator.
That’s a bad idea and today on the blog I want to help explain why you truly need them for the long haul.
Look Beyond the Price of Hiring Long Term
Wedding Planner Costs and Savings
Hiring a planner for the long term rather than the day of your wedding sounds like it would be a lot of money and in some cases, it is.
But as we wedding vendor, I’m going to tell you something, not only are they worth the cost because they take the stress and workload off your plate, you have someone that knows the in’s and out’s of the wedding business plus most times you’ll not only recoup the money you invest, you’ll actually save more.
According to the Knot, 64% of couples that hire a wedding planning service for more than the day of the wedding see five times less stress than those that don’t.
That’s a lot of stress taken off your plate so you can worry about other things, like your dress or wedding photographer and videographer (achem).
The average cost of a full services wedding planner is about $1,850 according to Wedding Wire, when you compare that to just the day-of coordinator is about $700 nationally, according to Thumbtack.
Sure, thats a huge chunk of change, but as we explain today, it’s worth the cost, the stress and the overall hassle of best navigating the wedding industry too.
They Negotiate with Vendors and Save You More Money
Smart couples will hire a wedding planner as one of the very first things after they secure a date and a venue typically and those couples tend to reap the benefits more so than couples that wait. One of the benefits of hiring them long term is that they can actually help save you money in the long run when you start to book with other vendors and the like.
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Planners will be able to use the power of negotiation to help reduce the overall cost of a vendor.
Take Carole and I for example, if a wedding planner approached us, we are much more likely to give a small discount to the planner than we are the couple that asked.
Why is that?
Because we know and understand that a planner is going to bring us repeat business more times than none, so giving a small discount in order to help the planner works in both our favors, they will steer couples to us and in turn, we help save the couple a few dollars, on average about 5%-10%.
That might not sound like much, in our case about $125-$245, BUT when you start combining it with other vendors the cost will start to add up quickly.
Keeping on Track and on Budget
One of the downfalls about being a consumer is that a lot of times we either use our wallets or our hearts to make a purchase, it’s one of the first things they teach you in sales and marketing.
You are much more likely to make a purchase if your emotions if you see something that tugs at your heart strings or if something is on sale and it’s such a wonderful deal, that it would be too hard to pass up on.
I want to focus on the first, the emotions and how a planner comes into play here.
Wedding planners (sometimes called wedding managers) don’t have to worry about the ‘emotion’ of the vendor or the service, so in turn, they’ll be much better at keeping you on budget.
Let us a wedding florist for example.
Say you saw a florist and you love their work so much that it gets to you, seeing what they offer elevates your wedding vision or as least you think it does. The problem is, they are overpriced by 40% of your florist budget.
Chances are, you’ll over look the budget and book with them because of the emotion their arrangements bring, trust me it happens to many vendors in the wedding business.
Your planner will be able to remind you about the budget and even encourage you to stay on track and work with a florist that stays within or near the budget number.
In many ways, they are like a guardian angel sitting on your shoulder, telling you to do the right thing, don’t hurt your pocketbook.
I recently did an online poll and asked couples if they went over budget with the wedding and if so, by how much.
It wasn’t surprising that the majority of these couples said they went over budget and the average range was $1,000-$3,000.
Well, thats the cost of a full time planner and then some.
Bigger and Better Day Assistance the ‘Day-Of’
Hiring for the long haul will also provide smoother day of coordination too and thats because they’ve had a better in depth knowledge to the in’s and out’s of your wedding planning.
Better planning makes for better results and when something does happen, the coordinator will be able to better handle the situation. As a wedding vendor, Carole and I see it all the time and let me tell you, there hasn’t been a wedding to date (since 1999) where something, even if it’s small, go wrong.
It’s how you deal with little moments and correct them on the fly that make the expert vs the amateur in the wedding industry. That applies to just about every type of wedding vendor out there too, not just planners.
Communication with Vendors is Key
One of the biggest advantages of having a full-time wedding planner is that they will communicate to you but to us vendors too and the more we know whats going on, the better the wedding ceremony and reception will be too.
I love being apart of weddings where I know the game plan and whats going to happen ahead of time, it makes my life so much easier and I can focus more on my job rather than whats next to come. The more vendors know whats changing or whats coming up, the better we are able to adjust and get the job done right.
I’ve covered weddings where I didn’t have a clue what was taking place because the couple didn’t communicate with me and they turned out horrible because no one knew anything, not the DJ, the venue owner, no one.
If you want a smooth wedding day, having the wedding planner can make all the difference with the vendors, how your own stress level goes and making it a fun day rather than a worrisome day.
Most wedding planner will communicate well to vendors, to you the bride and groom or couple and you will have a lot more time to focus on you and your spouse than wondering fi the cake baker arrived on time and if the DJ is going to play the right song at the right time.
We highly suggest that you invest in a planner and invest in one long-term not short-term, it will help EVERYONE involved in your wedding day.
If you don’t know where to start, head to Facebook and search for local wedding groups in your region, you can simply use this example to find some to start looking over.
“ISO a wedding planner or manager for my wedding. Looking for a full-time planner and my wedding budget for them is about $1,600. We’re planning a fall wedding next year.”
