Wedding planner... worth it?

starlite21l

Okay, so I live in VA and am planning a wedding 6+ hours away in OH.  We were considering hiring a wedding planner in OH to help us coordinate everything.  She would help us accomplish our vision, with vendors, with discounts and with all the day of issues.  I have heard that hiring a wedding planner basically pays for itself when you consider all of the discounts you are getting.  Any thoughts... suggestions?

Thanks!

ellone400

I couldnt do it with mine. i have  a friend thats a wedding planner

girl2bewed

Some do offer good discounts, others dont, so make sure you are working with one who can. In your situation because you aren't in the same place your wedding will be I think it would be benefial to hire one if you can afford it.

I almost hired a Day of coordinator but we were fine without

kjhharris

I have one and haven't found that it pays for itself; we've probably gotten 15% of her fee in discounts.  

The reason to do it is the simplicity it offers, and for keeping your stress level low.  Mine contacts each vendor I'm interested in, checks availability, sets up meetings, goes to meetings with me (or in my proxy in some cases), asks the questions I wouldn't know to ask, negotiates the contracts, AND lets down the vendors you aren't going to work with.

I travel a lot for work (10 day business trip less than a month before the wedding), so having an expert handling all of this gives me peace of mind, and has kept me from becoming a bridezilla.  Does it come with a price tag? Yes.  Is it worth it? IMHO - yes.

starlite21l

thanks ladies!!

sprat85

We planed our wedding at a location that was about 2 hours away.  The first thing we did was hire a wedding planner.  My finance (now husband), and family didn't think we needed one.  Our planner, did in fact pay for herself.  She gave us suggestions for vendors (multiple for each type), who she knew was within our price range and could so what we wanted.  Once we would choose one she would negotiate the contract.  This helped as she got better deals than we could have ever gotten on our own. 

Additionally, we are still getting compliments from our guests about how smoothly our wedding went, all due to our planner. If you can afford one, I highly recommend it