PRO-TALK — WEDDING PLANNER’S
What do Wedding Planner’s Actually Do?
Once upon a time, there was a little person, dreaming about their magical Wedding Day. This little person dreamt about who they were going to marry (Ricky Martin, Larenz Tate, or Morris Chestnut for me!), what they were going to wear (Elie Saab or Zuhair Murad for me!), what the flowers will look like (magical and colorful), and which castle they wanted to get married in (Versailles maybe?)!
Welcome back to reality little person, now playing the role of big person a.k.a. responsible adult! Weddings cost a lot of money, dreams cost nothing, and Wedding Planner’s can bring those dreams to life! That’s why you need to hire a Wedding Planner.
The term “Wedding Planner” has become a universal term like “Google”. Before you begin to think about who to hire for your wedding, let’s talk about the differences in the types of “Wedding Planner’s” that are out there.
There are three types of wedding professionals:
Wedding Designer
Wedding Planner
Wedding Coordinator
Wedding Designer
The wedding designer is a professional visual artist in many respects. Their role in the wedding is to take the blank space chosen for the wedding, and together with the inspiration from the couple, design and reimagine the space in a whole new way. It’s like taking a room with 4 white walls and creating a rainforest themed dinner party in it. You wouldn’t even know that underneath the forest were 4 white walls.
The wedding designer does not take part in the details of the wedding planning process. The focus of the wedding designer is providing guidance for the perfect color palette for your wedding, designing the layout, perfect lighting, beautiful florals, unique furniture, and client-inspired décor. Everything you see, (other than the food), is part of what the wedding designer does.
Some Wedding Planners with an exceptional eye for design also offer design services alongside their wedding planning packages. It’s important to ask your planner if these services are provided for you if it’s something important to you.
You should hire a wedding designer if creativity and décor are on top of your priority list for your wedding. Additionally, if you want to have a wedding with a specific theme, then hiring a wedding designer would be the right direction to go in.
Wedding Planner
The wedding planner is the captain of your wedding planning ship. Their role in the wedding planning process consists of handling the A to Z of the wedding, as well as the Z to A in anticipating any challenges that may come on the wedding day.
A professional and experienced wedding planner will make the wedding planning process fun and stress free for you if things are communicated properly to them and the right questions are asked from the planner and the couple.
The role of the wedding planner is to handle all the logistics of the wedding and bring your vision to life. Wedding planners take their years of experience, their creativity, their network of vendors and put a team together to make wedding day an amazing one for you and your guests.
As mentioned earlier in this article, there are some wedding planners that provide design or styling services, helping with the creative aspects of your wedding day. If this is something important to you, make sure to discuss whether your planner offers design services beforehand.
Here are a few things a Wedding Planner will do for you during the wedding planning process:
Schedule and attend venue tours for the perfect wedding location.
Refer professional vendors and negotiate contracts.
Schedule and attend all meetings with vendors.
Create a detailed wedding timeline and to-do list.
Design and create a wedding reception floor plan.
Schedule and attend menu tastings.
Coordinates hotel room blocks and transportation.
Organizes and manages the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.
Manages everything on Wedding Day. Their role on event day is to ensure all vendors deliver what they are contracted to do, wedding timeline is followed, and everything goes smoothly. The wedding planner should be the first one on site, and the last one to leave.
Hiring a wedding planner is worth the investment if you want the least possible amount of stress that comes from planning a wedding. Hiring a full service wedding planner can get costly depending on the size of your wedding, and the location. With that in mind, some wedding planners offer different levels of service, so it’s always beneficial to call and inquire.
Wedding Coordinator
A wedding coordinator is, simply put, the glue that holds things together on wedding day. The role of the wedding coordinator is to make sure that there are no puzzle pieces missing, and that nothing is forgotten on wedding day.
The wedding coordinator will meet with the couple about 4 weeks before the wedding, take over and review all contracts, create a wedding timeline, and make sure each vendor knows they are the point person on wedding day. The coordinator will also do a site walk through with the couple to go over all the logistics for the big day. The coordinator will be in touch with each vendor, discuss details of their contract, confirm arrival times, and ensure all questions are answered for them. Additionally, the wedding coordinator will assist the couple in dispersing vendor final payments and tips. At this point, the coordinator is the key player on wedding day, making sure everything is flawlessly executed.
On wedding day, the coordinator will be the first to arrive and last to leave, ensuring that the wedding day was executed without any challenges that affect the guests and wedding party.
Hiring a wedding coordinator is for the couple that is organized and detail oriented. It’s for the couple that wants to be in control of the entire wedding planning process, and wants someone to oversee the day of so they can enjoy their big day.
A Few Pro-Tips To Keep In Mind
Whether you hire a wedding designer, wedding planner, or a wedding coordinator, here are a few tips to help the process go as smoothly as possible.
Book ASAP
The pandemic messed up a lot of things for us planners and our clients. We have had to schedule and reschedule so many times, that dates are very limited for 2021–2022 — and even moving into 2023! We highly recommend checking in with a planner that you want to hire and confirming that the date you want is available on their calendar. Typically, once you’re engaged, we recommend booking a planner within the next 3 months.
Budget! Budget! Budget!
As we mentioned in our previous blog post, budgeting is key to know what you can and can’t afford for your wedding. Knowing the reality of where you stand financially will help the planner refer you in the right direction to vendors that can work with your budget, big or small.
According to an article found on Brides.com, “Planners tell us that, for the most part, full-service wedding production and design runs approximately 15 to 20 percent of the total wedding cost, depending on the planner’s experience, what region of the U.S. they’re based in, and how much time your wedding demands. A wedding director generally will cost at least 25 percent of what a full-service planner would charge (so if the total package is $10,000, you can expect to pay $2,500 for a limited-service package). You probably can expect to pay between $2,000 and $6,000 for a qualified wedding director and $8,000 and $30,000 for a wedding planner or designer.”
The most important tip I always guide my client’s before they start booking their vendors is to make a list of what is the most important to them for the wedding. When you know what is most important, you spend accordingly for other expenses that will always come up.
The second most important thing I advise my clients on is to not skimp on food and beverages. Food and beverage make the event experience so much better, and your guests will feel appreciated, and have a blast!
At the end of the day, we want your wedding planning process to be fun, memorable, and most importantly stress free. Find a wedding planner that makes you feel at ease, and hire that person! I promise you, it’s worth the investment! Happy planning!
We offer a complementary 15 minute phone consultation for our clients, and answer any concerns or questions they may have about planning their wedding. We talk, connect, and quote you in the same day! Please call or text to setup your consultation today! (323) 301–3019 or www.planitla.com. We can’t wait to talk Wedding with YOU!
As an added bonus, here is a list, in no particular order of some additional things a wedding planner will do for you. If you would like to add to this list, please send us a message at www.planitla.com or DM us on IG @planitla and we will add your comment to the list!
Wedding Planner’s will assist with…
Location Scouting
Earning your trust to make your vision come to life
Playing the role of a professional third wheel
We listen to all your problems from personal stressors to family drama and find ways how to incorporate the quirky personality traits of our couples in their wedding.
Matching our clients with vendors that are suitable for their taste and price point
Warning our clients why it’s not the best thing to hire Uncle Joe who bakes a cake once a year to do your wedding cake
Bringing solace and relieving stress from an already overwhelmed bride
Taking on challenges that you would never see coming had you not had the experience in the business
Wedding dress shopping and always bringing the champagne when the right dress has been chosen
Negotiating contracts
Hiring the best vendors that we have relationships with who will take extra care of their clients because they like to work with us
Creating a budget, a realistic one, to let you know how much an actual wedding will cost.
Invitations and announcements
Finding the perfect date that works for your schedule
Guestlist management
Planning the ceremony and ensuring everyone knows what to do
Photographers and videographers — matching clients with the right style of photo and video to best bring out the style of the couple
Menu’s and Food Tastings — teaming you up with the best caterers that work with your budget and helping curate a menu that will keep your guests satisfied.
Music and entertainment — helping to provide the best options for your vision to keep the moment alive at your wedding.
Putting out fires when nobody sees it coming
Having an emergency kit to solve little problems
Supporting all performance vendors with background items they may need
Watching out for unwanted wedding guests
Saving a slice of each cake for the bride because she loves her wedding cake and wants to enjoy it for breakfast the next day.
Bustling the bride’s dress
Freshening up the bridal party faces before they walk down the aisle.
Make sure a dinner plate and salad are placed at the sweetheart table prior to anyone else so the bride and groom can eat.
Make sure important members of the couple’s life get a photo together.
Saving the day when no one knows there is a fire in the kitchen.
Continuously checking on the bride and groom to make sure they are fed, hydrated, and happy. Addressing any concerns that they may have noticed.
Always moving around, checking on guests, and making sure everyone is having a wonderful time.
