Now, I know that many people don't want to spend the money on a professional wedding planner and I get it. They think that this is part of the budget they can save some money on. Or maybe they think they will hire that new wedding coordinator in town that only charges $500 for day of coordination but only has planned her own wedding so far.
Before you think about not hiring someone or hiring someone based off of the cheapest price, I want to tell you about the areas that a professional and experienced planner can save the day! Below I will explain a few ways they will work behind the scenes to make your day run smoothly, and sometimes you don't event know about the mishaps that occur
1) Missing Items - You would not believe the number of weddings that I have planned that have missing items. Someone left a box of decor at home, the groom's ring didn't come in in time, the unity candle fell out of the car and broke when unloading, the ring bearer pillow accidentally got taken home the day of the rehearsal and didn't make it back to the wedding. A good wedding planner has a back up, or at least a plan, to fix these situations. We always have backup candles in our emergency kits and can quickly transfer the ribbon from your broken unity candle to a regular pillar candle and save the day. We have asked the best man to loan his wedding band to the groom for the ceremony's ring exchange. We have back up pillows and baskets in our emergency kit to use for the forgotten ring bearer pillow or flower girl basket. A professional wedding planner is ten steps ahead when thinking about resolving these small problems, not to mention worth their weight in gold to save the bride and groom from stressing!
2) Family Drama - You know what I am talking about! Maybe it is a divorced set up parents that don't get along with one another, or that one uncle that always seems to have 1 or 10 drinks too many. A wedding planner will plan for these things! Discuss them in advance with your planner so we can make plans to have a seating chart that all parents are happy with. Or, we can tell the bartenders when to cut off a certain someone before it is too late!
3) A Vendor "OOPS" - The photographer shows up without the revised photo list, the DJ has the old play list with the incorrect first dance song, the caterer has the wrong time listed for dinner service! A professional wedding planner sends out a very detailed timeline with all the correct information to all the vendors before the wedding. This way everyone is on the same page! We also coordinate and lead all the vendors on the wedding day, so you don't have mass confusion!
4) A toast gone all wrong - Have you ever been to a wedding where a toast went on for about 10 minutes too long? We know! If I get the "look" from the bride or groom I rush over to the DJ and ask them to start up the "Academy Award" style music to cue the exit!
5) A Stained Wedding Dress - Cue the wedding emergency kit we wear like a fanny pack! We use oil free makeup removal pads to take out lipstick stains from a wedding gown.
6) A Collapsing (or exploding...yes, exploding) Wedding Cake - Sometimes the cake's supporting structure can't hold the weight. We will notice this subtle lean and adjust the cake cutting time accordingly, so there won't be a huge collapse! (The exploding cake? Well, that was a cake with lots of alcohol baked in, sitting on a theater stage with the HOT theater lights shining on the beauty. The cake started to bubble...and boom)
7) A Rainy Ceremony Space - Wedding planners will always have a contingency plan in their head for a chance of rain. Even if the weather forecast only shows a 10% chance of rain. We will quickly make the call to change if need be!
8) A Fainting and Pregnant Bridesmaid - We always remind the bridal party to wiggle their legs because we don't want them to lock their legs and pass out! But, sometimes they forget to do this and lock their knees. Unfortunately, this usually makes you light headed and can lead to you passing out. Yes, a pregnant bridesmaid collapsed but we had smelling salts to help her wake up and have her sit out the rest of the ceremony. So, our PSA, don't lock your knees!
9) A Grandmother who falls down - Probably my worst wedding memory to date. The sweet grandmother fell while walking to the front to be seated. We quickly moved into action, found a wheelchair, called the paramedics, and reprimanded the usher for not catching her! Grandma ended up staying at the wedding with a few bruises and a scraped knee, but she had a wonderful night at the wedding and said that even a fall couldn't make her miss it!
10) A Screaming Flower girl - She looks so beautiful and has practiced 1,847 times twirling around in her dress. But when it comes to show time she freezes and breaks out into a scream that competes with a wild banshee. We quickly move in to remove her from the scene! Or bribe her with a lolly pop we have on hand!
All of this, and much more, we have experienced and know can happen at any wedding. So, why take the chance? Spend that little bit of extra money to make sure you have a professional wedding planner by your side at your wedding! You only get to have 1 wedding, you get 1 chance to do it right. Hire the planner. You deserve it.
You deserved to exit your wedding with no regrets! Hire that wedding planner!
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