Wedding Planner?

mary9449

I posted this on my local board as well, but I wanted to know what you ladies thought as well. Did you hire a wedding planner? If so, are they helping with the entire event or just day of and what was your reasoning? If not, what made you decide against one?

Rethany

I did not hire a wedding planner.  While my life is hectic enough, I wouldn't mind doing the planning on my own.  Also, I don't think I would want to hash out the money for someone to do something I am completely capable of doing.

MaryLaura13

I know LaurenNYC has mentioned several times how much she loves her wedding planner... try PMing her

SheilaDancer43

I have a wedding planner. I wanted one to begin with, but I didn't think I would be able to fit it in my budget. I found a package deal with my ceremony, reception site, food, full bar, cake, DJ, and Wedding Planner all included. It was an awesome deal and I got everything I wanted. I knew I wanted one because I am planning a wedding in my hometown, which is 9 hours away from where I am living for school right now. With the planner she makes all if my appointments with vendors and basically does everything for me. Plus, on the day of the wedding if anything goes wrong she will be there to fix it and make everything go smoothly. I you can afford it I would say do it!!

michellep1

I didn't hire one because I know myself and I'm way too much of a control freak to give up any details to someone else.  Luckily this hasn't caused any problems yet!  I also have had my last semester of grad school to get a lot done, so I might have more time than most people that work full-time jobs. 

However, my reception site does come with two full-time wedding consultants.  I really principally work with one, and she acts more like a day-of coordinator I believe.  I guess the hotel company's owner (the Radisson) really likes to emphasize weddings so all of their hotels are required to have two full-time wedding people.  She's basically my contact person but on the day-of she oversees everything like setup, transitions, cleanup, etc. 

I can definitely see the need for a wedding planner if you are planning a wedding in another town or are very busy at work or just don't like all the nitty-gritty details of it.  Like MaryLaura mentioned, LaurenNYC is planning a wedding in a town she isn't currently living in and I know its been really helpful to her!

diamondx423

I have one and I can't imagine what I'd do if I didn't, but I am planning a wedding in a different state then I live. She helps keep me on target and on budget. I actually can get discounts from many vendors due to her connections. Its reassuring to know that if something goes wrong on the day of 1) I won't have to fix it and 2) I probably won't even know something went wrong until after we get home from our honeymoon.

julbgordo

We're not hiring one primarily for the reasons PPs have already stated.  I can't justify paying someone to do this work for me when I would fully enjoy doing it myself and our venue provides a wedding consultant who basically acts as a day of coordinator and is also very helpful with vendors throughout the planning process.

I have nothing against coordinators, especially if you are getting married in an unfamiliar location (destination) or just don't have the time to do it yourself.

I do have many coordinator horror stories from my brother and SIL from their wedding this past August.  Their coordinator was HORRIBLE and took really bad advantage of SILs parents.  I won't go into details, but if you hire a coordinator, just make sure they fully understand your vision AND your budget.  Also, you always should have the final say in what YOU are paying for.

sprtychick10

I am not having one but that was a personal choice for us. One of her best friends from work volunteered to be the day of coordinator so we don't have to worry about the minor details. 

LOTON01

I have hired a day of coordinator. I knew what vendors I wanted and planned on using so I didn't see the need to have a planner do that for me. However, I want no one to have the stress of making sure the room is setup and looks like I want it to the day of. It wasn't that much money and in my opinion the few hundred dollars it is is so worth me not stressing that day. I get 15 hours with her before to go over things. I am so glad I did it.

niecie_jeff

I have hired one as well. She will just be the day of coordinator. I know the vendors I want to use, so I didnt see the need to spend all that money on one to do everything for me. I decied on the day of coordinator so that I will not have to worry about anything that comes up, I can just relax and enjoy my big day! 

CvilleClaire

I'm hiring one.

A good one can save you money by negotiating your contracts for you and getting the costs down.  Apparently, some vendors will cut deals with planners that they wouldn't cut with us.

I'm going to pay about $1800-2500 to work with one of two reputable firms here...I have to narrow down the options ini the next few weeks. 

I'm a control freak myself and I know that without help, I'll obsess over things so much that I won't enjoy myself as much as I would hope to.

slbinpink

A wedding planner came with my venue package. If it hadn't come with I wouldn't have gotten her. But I'm glad I have her! I let her know what I want, and she makes sure it's all going to happen the way I want it to. :-) I like that!

I also like that no one but her will have to worry about anything the wedding day. We all just have to show up on time and get dressed!

sjw10

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_june-2012-weddings_wedding-planner?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20Club%20BoardsForum:3ae4d68d-f10a-4dec-8810-da13c14a7b86Discussion:caca800e-6482-41f8-961c-a1f4d8b7c495Post:405c90aa-34ed-443d-8069-4161edb7bbb2">Re: Wedding Planner?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm hiring one. A good one can save you money by negotiating your contracts for you and getting the costs down.  Apparently, some vendors will cut deals with planners that they wouldn't cut with us. I'm going to pay about $1800-2500 to work with one of two reputable firms here...I have to narrow down the options ini the next few weeks.  I'm a control freak myself and I know that without help, I'll obsess over things so much that I won't enjoy myself as much as I would hope to.
Posted by CvilleClaire[/QUOTE]

<div>I hired one for the same reasons. She has already been helpful in selecting a venue and negotiating our contract, as well as making suggestions for photographers we might like. Having done some event planning for a previous job, I knew I wanted someone with vendor contacts and relationships. I didn't want to make myself crazy trying to do a ton of research on every decision (because that's the type of person I am), so I like that I have an experienced planner who can narrow down my options.</div>

midgetthemighty

I'm not having one personally because I don't feel the need to pay someone to do something that I am enjoying doing. I have plenty of friends and family already helping and really don't see the necessity in the extra expense.

MMRoberts11

I'm not hiring one.  My FI and I have everything under control on our own and we can set up the centerpieces and everything at the venue the night before. 

DrPB2b13

Sometimes I wish I was hiring one, other times I'm glad I didn't.  I'm enjoying the process of finding vendors and working with them, but when it comes to some of the nitty gritty details and I don't know anything I really wish I had someone!

I did ask my FSIL to help me out with some of these, especially as she's planned her own wedding previously - it does help with the whole "I don't know what I'm doing" thing

TeamMoriarty

we're not hiring one because i have always wantd to do the leg work for my own wedding.  one of my best friends is going to be our "coordinator" which is great because she's super type A and organized and also lives in the area that we are getting married (we don't).  so she will be there to wrangle people for photos and worry about things so I don't have to.  I think I'm getting the best of both worlds.

anayajami

We are going to hire one partly because we want our wedding to be as perfect as it can be. We both know that that is a little too much for us to do. He is a manager at work and I run after our two children so...I am planning on doing several DIY things but overall I really want her input.