You’re getting married!! Congratulations! Hopefully you are just as excited about planning your wedding as you are about your engagement…but chances are you are feeling a little trepidation as well. After all, there’s a lot to organise and you probably have big expectations for your wedding day.
So, where do you start? Well, hopefully you have already had a chance to check out our nifty wedding planning guide and are feeling more confident about the steps you need to take. But while some couples thrive on the planning that goes into a wedding, many find themselves overwhelmed by the details. If so, you should seriously consider hiring a guardian angel (aka wedding planner) for your big day.
Wedding planners are master tacticians whose feathers never get ruffled. They’re creative visionaries with extensive industry connections. They’ll help you stick to your budget, liaise with suppliers, manage RSVP’s and oversee the coordination of the day itself. Trust us, by the time your wedding is over, your wedding planner will be your (second) best friend in the world.
Contrary to many couple’s expectations, having a wedding planner doesn’t mean you are going to spend more money overall. Naturally you have to pay for their services. But the trade-off is less stress, more bang for your hard-earned bucks, and a hassle-free wedding day.
Planning any kind of event can be kind of stressful. Have you got enough food? Will you run out of wine? Are people going to mingle? Add in a few dozen of your closest friends and family, a sizeable chunk of money and your undoubtedly high expectations and your wedding day can quickly become the most stressful party you have ever planned.
Plus, if you guys are like literally every single couple we have ever met, there is a good chance that one of you will be shouldering the bulk of the planning. Think about the last time you went on holiday. Who booked the tickets, found that cute guesthouse and researched a special restaurant to visit? If that person was you, then guess what? You’re probably going to be carrying the load here too.
Hiring a wedding planner might initially add to your outgoing expenditure but they can end up saving you a bomb. Industry contacts and ongoing relationships means wedding planners will often be able to get you more bang for your buck with the other vendors. They’ve got the inside track on shortcuts and wedding hacks that can save you serious money. What’s more, they are used to managing budgets, negotiating costs, and helping clients prioritise ‘splurge’ items. Staying on budget is their job. Combine this with the sheer amount of man hours you will save in the planning process and a wedding planner suddenly seems like an awesome investment.
Our Canberra wedding planners have been around the block a few times and they’ve got extensive contacts within the local wedding industry. They will help you assemble the dream team of wedding vendors to bring your vision for your wedding day to life. You can rest assured knowing that your suppliers are trusted within the industry and can be relied upon to deliver results.
Most of our Canberra couples are trying to plan their wedding around all those other little things in life. You know, like work, raising kids and having a social life! Even if you’re keen to plan this shindig yourselves, you simply might not have the time. Researching suppliers, chasing quotes, perusing contracts and coordinating the day itself are all time-consuming tasks. A wedding planner will do the hard yards for you.
While it’s tempting to enlist the help of friends and family in planning your wedding, we would advise against giving them big responsibilities. Especially anything on your wedding day itself. Why? Firstly, because if something does go wrong you are putting your people in the awful position of feeling like they’ve ruined your event. And secondly, you want your mates to enjoy your wedding, right? Saddling them with big responsibilities means they won’t be able to fully relax and enjoy the moment with you.
This doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help! Your mates will be happy to help you shop for your wedding outfits, scout potential venues with you and sample catering options (natch!). Just leave the tactical details to the professionals.
On the morning of your wedding day, you should feel pleasantly nervous with anticipation, not distracted by last minute scheduling issues, communication with vendors or fielding questions from the venue. Your wedding day itself if when your guardian angel really makes their value known. They will seamlessly coordinate vendors, corral guests and ensure your vision for the day is executed perfectly. Your only job is to look fab and have the time of your life (oh, and say ‘I Do’).
There are some folks out there who would never dream of outsourcing their wedding planning and some who would happily hand the whole thing over to a professional and simply rock up on the day. Most of us fall somewhere in between and that’s why it’s important to stress that there are different types of wedding planning services available. Depending on your time and budget constraints, you can be as involved as you want to be. A wedding planner can assist with some (or all) of the following:
So how do you know if you really need a wedding planner? If you fall into any of the below categories, then it’s something to consider:
At the end of the day, you have nothing to lose from having a chat with a wedding planner and discussing the different ways they can help. Check out our awesome Canberra wedding planners and start a conversation. You won’t be sorry.
