Hi there!

I was recently asked to give some insight on the importance of wedding planners for Aldabella Photography to blog about and to send to their current brides!  Of course, I jumped on it!

I wanted to share the questions and responses with y’all!  Enjoy!

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We are so excited to feature wedding planners and the importance of hiring a planner.  We’ve added questions that we felt are a good starting point, but please don’t hesitate to add a few more that we may have forgotten.  As soon as we have this information back, we’ll be featuring you on our blog!

Thank you for taking the time to give our clients and us a little more insight!  

1.  So many locations have an onsite coordinator, what’s the big difference between an onsite coordinator and what you do as a wedding planner?

PWE:  This is a great question and is something that is constantly brought up.  As a wedding planner, we are with the bride from day one.  We act as the backbone of the whole wedding, where as the onsite coordinators are truly there to make sure the venue is taken care of, the food is coming out on time, to lock up once the event is over and make sure the venue is still standing, etc.!  The planners  are at every vendor meeting, we’re organizing transportation, organizing the guest list, etc.  We put out the fires before guest even smell the smoke!

    2.  What are the biggest misconceptions people have about wedding planners?

PWE:  We are worth what we charge.  Our time that we spend on each and every detail that goes towards every wedding is so valuable.

3.  With the number of weddings you’ve planned, what are some of the things you’ve handled “behind the scenes” that would’ve otherwise been dealt with by the mother of the bride or bride?

PWE:  Like I said earlier, we put out fires before guest even smell the smoke.  For instance, I had a shuttle bus scheduled to pick up 55 guests at the hotel to take to the ceremony.  When I got a call from the driver 5 minutes before the bus was suppose to arrive saying that they had broken down 20 minutes away in rush hour traffic, I handled it by calling my back up.  The back-up was there 5 minutes late…but he was there to take the happy guests (who had no clue what the dilemma was or that there even was a dilemma) to the ceremony!  If there had not been a planner there, the mother of the bride or the bride would have been dealing with this situation.  They would have been completely stressed out, wouldn’t know who to call, etc.  We are there to make sure every detail is executed seamlessly!

4.  When a bride hires you to help plan her wedding, how do you help keep them on budget while being able to add a planner to her wedding day?

PWE: When I first meet with a bride at our initial consultation, one of my first questions is about budget.  Once I know a number that they are absolutely 100% not willing to go over, I source out my vendors accordingly.  

5.  As a planner, you’re expected to bringing their day to life, how do you do accomplish this?

PWE:  When I first meet with my couples, I always ask how they want their guest to feel after they leave?  What is the lasting impression that you want your guest to leave with?  Once we have that open communication, I do everything I can to implement those answers into the wedding day.  By bringing the bride’s day to life, we’re bringing ideas and visions that the bride/parents/groom has been dreaming about for a long time.

6.  Why is it so important to hire a planner vs having a family member or close friend help plan the wedding or orchestrate the day of?

PWE:  Don’t you want your family members to enjoy the wedding?  If you have a planner, they can.  Your mother is not going to your wedding to work, they’re going to your wedding to watch their daughter marry the love of their life.   Family members and friends of the couple, shouldn’t have to lift a finger at any wedding.  They shouldn’t have to arrange for transportation or schedule all of your vendor meetings.  Weddings are a once in a lifetime experience that should be enjoyed!  

7.  Many people want to plan their own wedding and therefore don’t want a wedding planner.  How do you approach this topic?

PWE:  I can’t stress this enough, the bride shouldn’t be setting up tables and chairs.  She shouldn’t be queuing the DJ or band on when to play the first dance or when to play the processional music right before she’s about to walk down the aisle.  She should be relaxing, hanging out with her bridesmaids drinking mimosas and getting pampered and ready for her big day!  There are professionals to make sure your wedding goes according to plan.  We strive off of making every event look effortless.  Please hire a planner, even if it’s just day of coordination.  You don’t want to look back on your wedding day and remember it as a stressful experience.  You want to look back on the day and remember it as beautiful, magical, flawless and perfect.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer just a few questions about wedding planners and the common misconceptions.  If you have additional pieces you’d like to add, please feel free to add them!

xoxo Haley!

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