The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Wedding Planner

So picture this! You’re right in the eye of the storm of wedding planning when your saving-grace maid of honor says, “Well why don’t you just hire a wedding planner?” For some, this is the lifeline they need! With busy schedules, juggling responsibilities, and overwhelming pressure to plan a perfect dream day, a full or partial-service wedding planner will pay itself back tenfold.

If you are super organized and enjoy planning your own wedding, you might think “I’ve got this!” Maybe you don’t need a wedding planner or have no idea what a “day-of” coordinator is. Well, today we’re going to break it all down for you and list the top pros and cons of hiring a wedding coordinator.

Pro: You’ve Got a Professional Running Your Interference

“Ummm hey, the cake showed up with the wrong initials.” No one wants to work on their wedding day! What should be your hours to enjoy mimosas and getting ready with your lovelies can end up being some of the most frantic without a coordinator. That morning time you spend getting ready are the hours that we are helping your vendor team load in, set up, and ensure your vision is executed to perfection. As you and your love are capturing those First Look moments together, we are putting out the finishing touches of your programs, guest book, and welcome sign.

While you walk down the aisle and celebrate that joyful ceremony with friends and family, we are lighting candles, ensuring cocktail hour food + bar are set for your guests to enjoy, and waiting for you at the end of the aisle to make sure remaining photos go off without a hitch. And that’s just the beginning of what we are taking care of behind the scenes. We want you to enjoy a day full of love and laughs with your closest friends and family. From our own weddings, we know a day-of coordinator is the magic that makes those moments happen.

Con: You Already Have So Much Free Time In Your Schedule. Who Needs Any More Help?!

Ok. Maybe the cons are a bit of satire :). Believe it or not, those final few weeks before your wedding day are actually the busiest weeks of the whole wedding planning process. This is specifically why we start six weeks out from your wedding day! From the moment we come on board, we’ll sit down together and make sure we capture all the details you’ve worked so hard to plan and ensure we completely see the vision you’re wanting to bring to life.

We’ll fit all those pieces together, along with the details from your assembled vendor team, and make sure those roll well into a wedding day timeline that we assemble for you. Within the month leading up to your big day, we have established ourselves as the main point of contact for your bridal party, family, and vendor team. We will field all of the final details, making sure nothing slips through the cracks: final guest count, layout, specialty meal options, pick up of all your personal decor items, and more.

Since the last few weeks are so detailed intensive, as the bride it’s so nice to be able to ask our opinion and/or ask us to step in and manage it. You’ll be able to spend those moments leading up to your wedding on what’s most important —meaningful time with friends, family, and each other. But truly, there is a con hidden in here!

You have to relinquish some control to allow your wedding coordinator to step in and manage these details, which can be difficult to do (Type A, Enneagram 1w2 here, I GET IT.) Be prepared and willing to let control go of all the details you’ve worked so hard to plan; this will allow your wedding coordinator to best support you through those last few weeks and on the day of.

Pro: Your Vendors Work Better as a Team When They Have a Captain

Your vendor team has no doubt told you how much they appreciate your bringing a day-of coordinator on to the team. Having a coordinator leading up to and on the wedding day allows them to establish a single point of contact who knows all of the details for the day. This allows them the chance to bring your vision to life without each being pulled to answer questions and coordinate other vendors outside of their category.

Unfortunately, without a day-of coordinator, your photographer ends up asked to fill that role which means their time is now split between what you are paying them to do and what they’ve been asked to handle. We are firm believers that photographers are a key vendor to your wedding and should be allowed the opportunity to solely focus on you and the memories y’all are creating. Even better, we don’t just disappear between now and the wedding. We’ll follow up through phone or email monthly to see how the planning is going!

We are a quick text away as you need vendor recommendations, or even email over your invites proofs and we’d love to be an additional set of eyes to make sure all looks well. You also have a personal planning portal you’ll get access to — Checklist, Guest List manager, RSVP tracker, Seating Chart creator, Budget manager, and more. We can see all of the work you’re doing on the back end and know right where to pick up and offer suggestions throughout your planning, or which vendors to reach out to directly to assist in answering detailed questions.

Con: You’ve Seen It All Already, So You Don’t Need An Expert On Your Team

Blizzard? Thunderstorms? Pandemic?! No problem! What sort of wedding planners would we be if we weren’t prepared for every worst-case scenario that came our way?! And considering the current pandemic situation our industry has found itself in, we can officially add to our resumes that we’ve seen it all. Well, short of a Zombie Apocalypse, but we’ve got backup plans for that scenario too. The con hidden here is that yes, hiring a wedding planner or coordinator is an additional expense.

In all honesty, though, it’s crucial to have an experienced wedding coordinator on your side. For Whatever Is Lovely Events, this is not only a job but a passion. That passion has allowed us to stay in this industry for some years, well equipping us for many of the emergencies you might (but hopefully won’t) face. And while asking a dear friend or family member to act as your contact person for the day of might seem cost-effective short term, long term it could end up costing you more, as that individual isn’t as experienced or well connected as a professional in this industry would be.

Pro: You will love working with these lovely ladies ‍♀️

Friends don’t let friends plan their weddings alone! Y’all, we are the perfect team to have by your side because we’ve been there and we get it. Planning and coordinating our weddings alone gave us such a unique perspective as to why it’s crucial to have at MINIMUM a day-of coordinator. So why the lovelies?! Not only do we have a unique perspective from our brides’ point-of-view (did you catch our own lovely Nikki’s destination wedding down in Florida recently?!) we consider ourselves a top resource for this industry. Over the last four years, we have focused on building an extensive vendor network, continuing education to best serve your wedding day and we’ve refined our focus to events looking for an experience instead of a production.

With us you get an advocate and a friend. A gal in your corner you trust to manage all the details you’ve worked so hard to plan. A voice to speak for you while creating the wedding that tells your specific love story. Women that love to chuckle and joke over the stresses of wedding planning.

If you’ve been with us for any length of time, you’ve heard our story, and know that we are absolute fans of making sure each wedding has at minimum a day-of coordinator no matter the size, style or budget of the event. Wedding days are a never-ending ride of details and moving pieces! We’ve been there. All alone. So we get it. Our goal is that the knowledge from our mistakes will help make your wedding planning journey a breeze. Not convinced you need a wedding coordinator yet? That’s ok! We’ve opened enrollment for our wedding planning system — Utilize the same tools we use for each of our clients: Checklist, Timeline, Budget Tracker, Guest List, Seating Chart, and a whole slew of features to assist in the wedding planning process.

Because friends don’t let friends plan their weddings alone. We got you, babe.