:To Hire a Wedding Planner or DIY?

No not "The Wedding Planner"  the movie starring J-Lo. There are real life people who plan weddings and other events for a living. 

You may be completely unsure on how to even begin planning a wedding or you may not even feel like going through the motions that is wedding planning. This is where hiring a Wedding Planner may come in handy for you. Before deciding whether or not to get a wedding planner you should follow the first two steps I suggested in my other posts, especially the budget one. Wedding planners will either take a percentage of your wedding budget or they will have an outright price that you yourself may want to include in your overall budget.

A Brief Life Experience Story
I actually debated for about an hour on whether or not I wanted to hire a wedding planner. Now I wasn't debating because I didn't know anything about planning a wedding or that I didn't want to. I simply considered it because I knew it meant that I had someone on the day of the wedding who will coordinate the day and decorate the venues while myself and my wedding party only had to worry about getting ready and being on time. I chose not to for a couple of reasons, the first being that my Maid of Honor had recently gotten married and I knew I could count on her for anything, and the second reason being it just simply was not in my budget to pay someone to help me plan my wedding.

What does a Wedding Planner actually do?
Well a wedding planner is simply there with you and your fiance every step of the way. They are also going to help you stay on budget and even tell you, with tough love, "No you can't have this because it is not within budget." (Even after saying that they cant force you not to buy something.) They will set up appointments for you with venues and bridal salons. They can help you find the perfect hair and make up professional. They can be there to help you envision your theme for the wedding and so much more. Like I said, on the day of the wedding they are your wedding coordinator. Making sure they greet guests and everything works out smoothly so you do not have to stress out on the big day.

They can also be there to see things that maybe you don't. For instance, you told them about this venue that you absolutely love and so they go with you to check it out. You are in love with this venue, it is within your budget, it seems perfect. However, your WP notices that they do not have a back up plan if it rains and the ceremony is outside. Your WP will point it out and help you make the decision to either rent a tent which may be out of your budget or to keep looking at venues.

They also manage the dates for you and keep you on schedule with your planning. Maybe there was an appointment you forgot to put in your calendar, your wedding planner with contact you and remind you several days ahead of time. They will also call to confirm the appointment so you do not have to.

You are going to wind up spending somewhere between $1,000-$3,000 on them so they will make sure they are worth the money and be with you whenever you need them. (I mean, they better, they aren't cheap.)

If you are like me and you feel confident in wedding planning and want to plan your own wedding then you can just simply DIY; but, hiring a wedding planner does have its perks. It is simply up to you to do the research on who is in your area that can help you plan your wedding.

I hope this post was helpful in figuring out if you really need or want a wedding planner.

Thanks so much for reading and have a fantastic day!