Wedding Planner Advice

GApeachOH

My fiance and I are debating back and forth whether or not we want a wedding planner. We both decided that we could use a little bit of stress relief, and we were offered a custom package for $555, because her husband is friends with my fiance.
We are on a budget, and I made purchases that were necessary, but added up quickly. (Vases and other base decor for $60 for tons of stuff, it was a steal). However, after evaluating our budget and what was left to spend, we are squished for money. So, now I have to figure out other ways to cut.
Is a wedding planner really worth having? My MIL2b says no. I feel the opposite. And, I don't really know anything about timing or even getting married at all outside of our religious requirements...

So, as you can see, we are kind of in a pickle...

MissOwl

i think that having a day-of-coordinator is the best choice i've made yet. i have a sense of calm knowing that i won't have to deal with setting up the reception and taking care of last minute details. i can truly enjoy the day. the package you were offered is very reasonable. i honestly think it is worth it. 

good luck deciding!

GApeachOH

My MIL is just basically making me feel guilty about it. MOB is not in the picture... Just FYI.

osuchica85

With the exception of day of coordinating, which I understand why people get to do.... I am sort of confused on how much help a wedding planner really is. I mean, the way I see it is a middle man just increases the chance of things being messed up.

I don't see that having one decreasing stress that much because I would assume you still want to make all the decisions. Quite frankly, the things that are most stressful to me right now are trying to decide details that the wedding planner is not going to make the final decision on (i.e. stupid stuff like lanterns vs. pomeranders, calla vs. dahlia, trying to decide if I want to include so and so as a bridesmaid, etc). She might have suggestions based on her experience what looked/works better though.

Some might say they get discounts but I think all the discounts you recieve will be countered by the cost of a planner. So the way I see it is why would you pay for that?

I would pay for a doc though. I think they range 200-400....actually that's just what I vaguely remember from other posts on the board so I might be way off. So I guess in the end, her price is probably worth going for. I guess it depends how tight the budget is though. Maybe she would be willing to just be the doc for alot less too? Or maybe you can recruit someone that you were thinking of having as a bridesmaid (but didn't) to help out the day of to relieve stress.

skibunnyk

We are using a wedding planner and so far, she has been a GOD SEND!! Although it is an extra expense, it is well worth it. It will allow you to relax and have peace of mind on the big day.....and allow you to focus on why your there in the first place That, to me, is pricelss. She has everything from handling the vendor contracts to negotiating little add-ons with the vendors. For example, we have a block set up at one of the hotels that's very close to our venue and she was able to set up a shuttle service with them that will take the guests staying at that hotel to the venue for the wedding, then back to the hotel after the reception. It's little things like that that's made it all worth it.

tiffanydaniels

I am not using anything and honestly so far it has not been too bad. My wedding venue helps with the time line and all that stuff and you have your bridal party make sure everyone is there and set up. I just cannot afford that.

JMS842

My mom thought it was a frivolous, dumb idea to have a WP, that is until she saw how much stuff there is to do before the wedding. Now, she is so incredibly relieved that she 'gave in' to my request to have a WP. We laugh now that we could have never done it without the help of a WP and ours is AMAZING! She has a few different packages so check her out! Sabrina at Joie de VIvre! Her website is jdveventsllc.com  Good luck!!!