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If you are attempting to plan a complicated wedding where an extraordinary amount of details have to be coordinated, hiring a wedding planner can save you a significant amount of time - and stress - and sanity - and ensure that all elements of your wedding have been taken care of properly. When it comes to a service business like wedding planning, time is money - so plan to spend some money for the planners time while keeping in mind that you are paying for time that you would have to spend doing it yourself. Additionally, you are paying for their experience and knowledge to save you money and to make sure that all of the details of your wedding are handled properly.
SELECTING A WEDDING PLANNER,
CONSULTANT OR COORDINATOR
The recent "work at home" business boom has created companies who offer rapid
"certification" programs for wedding, party and event consultants, coordinators
and planners. For a few hundred dollars you too can become a "certified"
wedding or event planner. Unfortunately, there are a number of
inexperienced "planners" and "consultants" and "coordinators" running around
with "certified" stamps on their foreheads hoping that people will buy into
believing that "certified" means "experienced". Selecting an
experienced planner, consultant or coordinator is essential if you are going
to have a worry free and problem free wedding. There are just too many
details that can easily be overlooked or messed up to trust your wedding to
someone who has never planned a wedding before. Be sure to inquire about the
planner's experience and the number of weddings they have coordinated.
Ask to obtain several recent references from the wedding consultant or planner so you can check their clients satisfaction level. If they are not willing to share several recent references with you, don't waste time. Move on to another wedding planner.
Services that are offered will vary and can range from simple consulting services to make the job of "doing it yourself" easier, to complete "start to finish" coordination of your wedding. A consultant usually takes a more passive role and may simply offer "guidance" in areas where you may not be familiar while allowing you to do it yourself. On the other hand, a full service wedding planner or coordinator will provide more "hands on" expertise and take an active role in planning and supervising your wedding, handling everything from working with you to establish a workable budget, to selecting the best suppliers at the best price, to addressing and sending wedding invitations, to on-site supervision of the components of the actual wedding. Depending upon your budget you will have to decide which level of service is right for you.
When you speak to different planners, take notes and determine your comfort level with the specific planner. Do they seem to listen and understand what you have in mind?
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Inquire about their fee structure and obtain
a written outline of the fees or an estimate of the costs involved. | |||||||||||
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Find out specifically what you are getting
for your money, which areas they are taking care of and which areas they are not
taking care of. | |||||||||||
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Do they charge by the hour or based on a
specified percentage of the total event cost? (A percentage based fee is
not really a preferred arrangement since the planner makes more when the event
costs you more which offers the planner very little incentive to save you money. |
| Ask if, in addition to the fee they charge you, they also receive a fee from the vendors they contract. If your goal is to receive the best value, planners who charge vendors should probably be avoided since the fee they charge the vendor sometimes (frequently) is "built in" to the vendor's charges to the client. That is pretty much like paying the planner twice, isn't it? (This same rule also applies to wedding and special event facilities who have an "approved" vendor list who receive a fee from the vendor for requiring the client use their services.) Remember though, just because a facility may have a vendor list does not mean that they automatically charge the vendor a fee. This is a question you will need to ask the facility. Payment of the planner's fee is another issue to be discussed initially. Normally, the planner will charge a retainer in advance that covers either a percentage of the anticipated total or a specific number of hours of service. The balance is payable either in periodic time billing amounts, prior to the wedding, or at the conclusion of the reception. Avoid paying 100% of all fees up front unless you know the planner has a rock solid reputation. From a practical standpoint it is usually best to reserve final payment until the conclusion of the event, just in case something goes wrong due to negligence on the part of the wedding planner. Payments to vendors contracted on your behalf by a planner will either be paid by you directly or paid by the planner from funds paid by you to the planner. When paying the planner for services provided by contracted vendors, be sure to obtain the original invoice copies rather than paying from a statement. DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PLANNER Go To The Popular Searches Wedding Planning Guide Index Copyright©1998... - Hospitality Networks, Inc. |