[ad_1]
What is a Wedding Planner?
Essentially, a Wedding Planner is a professional whose expertise and contacts can turn your wedding into a day of absolute perfection. He or she is the lynch pin for your event; the one who will locate the services and suppliers you require; who will negotiate contracts; mediete and manage the various companies involved in your day and ensure that everything runs like clock-work. Popular alternative job titles may include Wedding Coordinator, Wedding Consultant, Wedding Designer or even Wedding Specialist. I will use the terms interchangeably throughout this paper.
The job of planning weddings is great fun. However, as with any other job in this world it is not all plain sailing. Planning a wedding with the expectation that it will be a day to eclipse all others can take an unbelievable amount of time and effort, to say nothing of the stress and worry! There are ups and downs, periods of great joy and times of immunity stress and pressure. Weddings are events that are dreamt about: some brides have imagined walking down the aisle in a pure white dress and a tiara for 30 years or more! It is certainly a challenge unlike any others you may have come across before. And when you add both work and a hectic, pre-wedding social life to the equation, often the feat seems monumental. It is an honor not to be taken lightly.
Why Use a Wedding Planner
Nowadays, with so much to do and such relatively little time to do it, employing a professional wedding consultancy is increasingly seen as a sensible way of including a stress-free engagement and potentially flawless wedding. In the USA it is the norm: the majority of couples getting married used a Wedding Planner. It is a huge industry providing couples with an invaluable service during a period in their lives when stress and worry should be banished and time is of the essence.
Slowly but surely couples in the UK are waking up to the realization that a Wedding Planners are not simply a luxury reserved for the rich and famous. Nowadays a good Consultant is just as familiar with organizing a small and intimate family gathering of 12 as an extravagant party of 500 or more. Using their expert knowledge of the industry together with extensive databases and links to leading suppliers an established Wedding Planner will have the foundations on which to build a perfect wedding. They will give you unfettered access to every supplier in the country that fulfills your requirements. Without otherwise instructed, their priorities lie solely with the couple, their wedding objectives and the all-important budget. And when you find a Consultant whom you trust and feel comfortable with, you may be sure that these elements will be managed wisely.
The very best Wedding Planners possess a diverse set of skills. They are extremely practical, versatile, knowledgeable and resourceful. It is their job to assist both the bride and groom in the run up to the Big Day. On the day itself, it is the Bride who is center-stage, while the wedding Planner works tirelessly in the background.
During the planning process they will bear the brunt of the daily chores. They will design, plan, coordinate and manage the event from behind the scenes, thereby giving couples valuable time to relax and enjoy their engagement and look forward to their dream wedding.
The Wedding Planning Process
As with most wedding consultations, we will usually start off by sitting down with the couple in order to learn exactly how the clients envise their wedding day development, from the moment they wake in the morning to the time they leave the party amid an explosion of fireworks at the end of the night. Although we often see the groom shying away from the initial planning process, we always try to encourage his input. It is vital to try to get him 'on board' as early as possible, for you can be sure that 2-3 months down the line – when many of the major decisions have been taken – he will begin to show an interest and realize that maybe this wedding lark is not as dull as he had at first expected! Regret is a terrible thing and something that we only learn about with hindsight!
Once the all-important Wedding Plan or Brief has been compiled, it is the Wedding Consultant's job to start locating the suitable wedding venues, suppliers and wedding services. Naturally the wedding venue is the primary concern. Once this is shortlisted, inspected and booked, the other required wedding services and suppliers can be sourced and shortlisted for the client's consideration. Although the Wedding Planner will source all avenues and services and offer knowledgeable guidance and advice, the choice as to which companies to use will be determined by the couple. There should not be any pressure performed by a Wedding Planner at this time. If it happens that you do feel pressured, one might assume that the Planner may be on commission from the said supplier, so be insistent and remind your Planner that their role is to assist, not to decide!
Once all the suppliers have been selected, the set designed, the budgets are met and timelines have been finalized, it is usual for the Planner to assist with the rehearsal and then exceed the wedding day to make sure the needs of the bride, groom and wedding party are met.
"Can I Justify the Added Luxury of a Wedding Consultant?"
It can often be the case that a Wedding Planner can save you money. They can negotiate special discounts with the venue and other wedding services which will then be passed on to you. Alternately, if a discount is not attainable, they can source you a fortune or supplier that offers a high quality service at a competitive price.
Wedding Planning Fees
Price structures are set according to the couple's needs and since each wedding is unique, it is often the case that so too are the Wedding Coordinator's fees.
- As a 'rule of thumb', for full coordination of the entire event one is usually charged a portion of the wedding budget. Percentages vary from consultancy to consultancy but are usually somewhere between 10-15%. Minimum fees are usually applicable.
- A bride that requires a Coordinator to assist on the day itself is usually charged a set rate or an hourly fee. Again fees vary from company to company and sometimes from season to season. As an approximation, one would expect to pay upwards of £ 70.00 per hour for a reasonable coordinator on the day of the wedding.
- Alternately, you will find that there are various packages for couples that have specific sourcing and / or contract negotiation needs. For this service you may be charged either a fixed rate or a percentage of the specific budget allocated to the said service – for example, if you have set aside £ 3,000.00 for a photographer, the Planner's fee could be 10% or £ 300.00. Again, fees fluctuate from Consultant to Consultant but quite the amount you pay will reflect the amount of time and effort spent dealing with your personal requirements. It will also depend upon how long the Consultant has been in business. Naturally those new to the industry have to charge lower fees in order to compete for business.
- Other services you may find on offer include assistance in the 4 week run-up to the Big Day, thereby managing any last minute stresses and minor problems that so often arise. Alternatively Wedding Planners can manage the invitations and RSVPs or even source the wedding rings and honeymoon.
You will find that just about anything and everything is possible. You are only limited by your imagination and of course the budget! The first of which can be expanded under the guidance of your Wedding Planner, if you so wish. The latter should in most cases be firmly adhered to. However, we do advise you to allow yourself a backup allowance of up to 10% of the budget, to cover any unforeseen circumstances and situations along the way. The final finishing touches and last minute attention to detail can make the difference between an average wedding and an exceptional wedding and it is the finer details that are often overlooked if you are planning your own wedding.
Conclusion
A Wedding Planner's primary function is to design, coordinate and project manage a client's dream wedding, from conception to realization, according to the client's wishes and requirements.
We have seen clearly that wedding planning is a complicated, time consuming and often stressful task to undertake. It is a job best left to professionals.
[ad_2]
Source by Sam Ketterer
