do I need a wedding planner?

aniadenver

We are a couple from Denver who LOVEs New Orleans. We've been there several times and always can't wait to go back. That's why we picked NOLA as our wedding destination. We just got engaged in October and were thinking about getting married in the Fall of 2011. Everyone from our guest list will be from out of town. We want to get married in French Quarter.
I am not sure where to start.... I was thinking about getting help from a local wedding planner.
What do you guys think? Anyone planed their wedding being out of town by herself? Any ideas? How much wedding planner even cost?

Thanks for all the help!!!!

NatMarie2689

Wedding planners can be very expensive.  I am a local here so I'm not using a planner, but since ya'll are out of town, you may want to see if you can find a planner thats not too expensive.  But to be honest, I have been using these boards for EVERYTHING!  Read through the boards and write down ideas and vendors you see and research them!  New Orleans is a great place to be married and I am sure you will love it down here no matter what.  Good luck

mromag1

I think you definitely need a wedding planner.  Mine has made the process so easy.

Chelsey504

I think it's really a question of time vs money. I would have liked to have a planner, but in the end it was too pricey, and I wanted the money for the wedding itself. 

My FI and I are both from NO, but we're planning the entire thing long-distance since we both live in Chicago now. These boards have been a great resource. I would say it is definitely feasible to do it yourself, but it takes a lot of time and energy. 

But if you are not so familiar with the area to begin with and have the $, I would say a planner will make your life a lot easier!

NOLAbrideinDC

i am an OOT bride living in DC and i dont have a planner. But i have lived in new orleans all my life so I dont think I count! ha! but that being said, i agree with chelsey and have found all of my vendors from recomendations on this site. I would say save your money! happy planning!!

lexicon82

I am an OOT bride who is originally from New Orleans.  I hired a wedding planner just because I felt like I needed someone on the ground for me at all times.  I definitely could have done the planning on my own but my wedding planner made it much easier and much less stressful.  I guess I'd say that if a wedding planner is in your budget, I highly recommend getting one.  However, if you can't afford one, it is doable without one - especially with the help of websites like this one.

In my research I found most full service wedding planners charge around $5000.  If you don't get a full service wedding planner, depending on what is provided to you at the venue you choose, you might want to at least consider paying for a "day of" coordinator.  Some venues do a good job of providing someone who can serve this function for you, but if they don't - it's good to hire someone else who can worry about all the details on your wedding day so you don't have to.

Queen Jane

i agree with at least a day of coordinator. i am planning from OOT also. we know a lot about NOLA, but it is good to have some help. we found a planner with a package that includes "consultation" by phone and email for all the planning, but not the legwork, and does the day of coordination beginning 2 weeks out from the ceremony.

also. if you are planning for nxt fall, i would start booking big things now since those months are very popular. if you don't absolutely need a saturday wedding, maybe settle for a friday or sunday which could save you some many and give you a better option as not as many vendors will be booked. we are going with sunday 10/23/11

good luck!

kbsmom1

KB was an OOT bride also....from Atlanta.  The boards were a great source for vendors and ideas.  Most of what we planned came from here.  But we did hire a day of coordinator.( Michelle Adams)  She did soooo much more than that.  Actually saved us more money on a few things than what it cost us for her services.  And for the day of ..we had nothing to worry about.  But yes it is possible to plan from oot.....most of the research was done by me and KB and Z made final approvals on everything....we worked well together and I didnt over reach..when final choices had to be made we set up a weekend for face to face meetings and then they choose what fit for them.  Also made lots of "research" trips...it was tough but somebody had to do it..loved every min. of it!!!!

meredithcheek

i'm an OOT bride planning my wedding as well.  i got engaged oct 2009 and i'm getting married in a few weeks.  its doable.  i haven't heard great things about many of the NOLA wedding planners so i figured i could either spend my time managing the planner or actually planning my own wedding.  i chose the latter.  same sentiment as everyone else, these boards are really helpful so ask away!

alyss21mom

We are also from OOT.  Daughter is in med school in Nashville and we live in South Florida.  We started out thinking that we would choose an "all-in-one venue"  that provided a coordinator.  We arranged a planning weekend in New Orleans.  Right away we started running into difficulties.  Some of the venues we wanted to see were closed for vacation, many of the coordinators were booked with weddings and unable to meet with us.  After a lot of research and phone calls, we managed 3 definite appointments and a couple of inviations to stop by and look around but no meetings.  We decided to go ahead and meet with a wedding planner just in case.  We met with Brittani (Michelle Adams' daughter) with Unique Weddings.  We liked her right away -very down to earth and obviously very knowledgeable.  It's a good thing we did, because ultimately my daughter and her fiance just didn't feel like the inclusive venues were right for them.  After a lot of agonizing, we realized that it only made sense to hire Brittani.  My daughter and her fiance scheduled one more look around trip.  Brittani had 9 different places for them to see that were available on her dates.   They have decided to get married in Jackson Square - something we would not attempt without a planner and they are thrilled with their decision.  Brittani has given them a lot of ideas and having her has opened up a lot of possibilities that we didn't have before.  I don't know about other planners but Unique Weddings offers different levels.  We went with the medium package - we didn't feel like we needed help with the rehearsal dinner.  My daughter is much calmer and so am I.   One other bonus - it's so easy to get carried away and Brittani has kept things on track and I didn't have to be the bad guy.  Advise from her is "neutral" so to speak.   She has been a huge help already and really we are just getting started.  Hope that helps.

mpzimmer

We got married on 10/2/10, and live in Houston.  Hiring a wedding planner was THE BEST money we spent on the wedding.  Seriously.  It wouldn't have nearly as much fun if we hadn't had an expert and her staff by our sides throughout the process.  Ours was about 8% of our budget, but she MORE than paid for herself.  I love to plan events, and have thrown many great parties, but we decided to get someone else's help who is in NOLA and knows more about the city than us.  BEST DECISION WE MADE. She got us discounts with certain vendors and truly allowed me to ENJOY the planning process.  The best way I can describe it is that I was able to focus on overall concepts (lighting, decor, my personal style), and she did all of the leg work by finding the right vendors and the right places.  I didn't have to attend any vendor meetings in NOLA ( i did attend a few, but I didn't have to!) and she helped me get the most for my money.  Once the rehearsal dinner, welcome party, and reception were over, I just left!  They did all of the picking up and then delivered my stuff!!  On the day of the wedding, I literally had NOTHING to worry about because she brought 4 people to help her and everything went perfectly!  She even babysat our sick flowergirl so that her parents could have fun at the reception! 
Bottom line, if you're an out of town bride and want a wonderful and stress-free wedding, I would highly recommend a planner.  They pay for themselves and it makes your day so much nicer and more memorable!

We used Get Polished Events.  Good luck!!

aniadenver

I've got to admit, I'm very torn... I would rather spend the money on the wedding rather that percentage of it on a wedding planner. We are paying for everything ourselves, so every penny counts. But at the same time, I wat this wedding to be perfect and flawless.
 Over all I am a calm person, but I like when things go as planned, when they don't I may stress out a little, and in this situation even freak out! hahaha
I am a flight attendant, so frequent flying to NO is not a problem. I can check out venues and taste food, etc.  Plus, I can't believe how informative the know website is! 
I should probably go with the "day of"" service wedding planner just for the piece of mind in the most important time and day!

Queen Jane

i know, its a tough decision. just last night i was second guessing on just getting the day of coordination or getting the consultation as well. personally, i'm going to get the consultation just in case i get too flustered with everything and have lots of questions. it's $1000 total, 500 for day of and 500 for the along the way consultation. even if it only helps me out finding hotels and getting together an OOT package for my guests, that would be worth it to me. and definitely the day of also.

redwards16

You definitely need a wedding coordinator. I just got married in NOLA and live in Chicago.  It was the best decision I made to hire a day of coordinator.  I hired Christina Caruso who was absolutely amazing. I was able to just show up and enjoy the wedding - and everything was perfect. I highly recommend her.

immarried0610

I say yes! I was clueless and there was way more work than I thought. I've been to a million weddings and didn't get the concept of hiring a planner until I was three months into planning and my hair was falling out from the stress. I used Nikki, with 318 Designs and I'm glad I did. I probably would have cried the whole wedding and not for happy reasons.
Jordan

couture events

Hi,

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Couture Events is a professional firm that offers custom event planning to capture every detail of your most precious event.

The ability to handle the overwhelming details of an event should not be left to one.  We specialize in creating an experience that is filled with emotion and your personal style.

For more information please visit:
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Thanks,

Monique

WED572011

Yes! I'm an OOT bride and to be honest I really didn't want to deal with the stress of planning a wedding in nola way from texas. We both work 12 hour days and with that alone we felt like we couldn't do this all by ourselves. We hired Nikki who owns 318 Designs and I'm happy we did. All I do is go into my virtual office and everything is there. I heart Nikki! I highy recommend 318 Designs.

Queen Jane

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_need-wedding-planner?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:2268f3b3-19ac-4229-a687-9a381f5b6cadPost:10fda20b-8b9d-41fb-88d4-6b22b7932348">Re: do I need a wedding planner?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi, My name is Monique and I am an event planner. Couture Events is a professional firm that offers custom event planning to capture every detail of your most precious event. The ability to handle the overwhelming details of an event should not be left to one.  We specialize in creating an experience that is filled with emotion and your personal style. For more information please visit: <a href="http://coutureevents.webstarts.com" rel='nofollow'>http://coutureevents.webstarts.com</a> Thanks, Monique
Posted by couture events[/QUOTE]


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