Tuesday Tips

TysWife2Be · April 2010

Planner or No Planner???

How do you ladies manage planning your weddings?

For those that have planners, what are the pros and cons of dealing with a planner?

For those that do not have planners, how do you manage everything?

TINAMM · April 2010

No Planner, Instead I am having a friend of a friend help out making sure everything for the reception is set up and straight before we get there,

How did I manage plan early and I really just tried to tackle one thing at a time, and the past week and a half my 1st MOH, I had 2, has been here helping me with all the last minute details. I dont think I would have hired a planner because I cant seem to relinqish that much control over details of such an important event. I am sooooooo anal! I tried to take things day by day as they came, I wrote out a schedule of everyday to hadle at least one wedding thing every few days, like the ceremony that was making sure the vision I had in my hed would match the actuality of it, like the bamboo arch and the way the sheppards hooks would line the aisle, etc. I have not been a bridezilla I have not snapped out on anyone, I have vented a little to my DH and he just tells me don't worry about etc, which has been great.

The biggest thing without having a planner is to make sure you outsource as much as you can, I outsourced my invites(but I assembled them), the program covers(i printed the inserts), the menu cards I did(only one per table), escort cards(I did),the candy/desert buffet(I got the candy, someone else is making the deserts) Im sire youget what Im saying. The other thing is on the day of have a friend that may not be invited or like me a friend of a friend take over those day of duties for you. The girl thats helping me she be helping for 3 hours the at the end of the reception anything that needs to come back to my house the MOH and best man are taking care of. The only thing I am doing the day of is actually picking up my own cake, I know but its a control thing luckily its only a two tier cake. I just need to make sure it is what I expect before it gets to the reception so if by chance its not I am not disappointed or they can quickly fix it.
Okay I think I have tyoed ebough, but agaiun pplan early and take one thing at a time to not get overwhelmed STOP looking at that stupid checklist on here cause it will drive you mad

Spim7 · April 2010

I have a Day of Coordinator. But she has actually helped plan stuff every step of the way and I can truly say that she is without a doubt the best thing we spent money on for our wedding. She has been amazing and so helpful, there are so many little things that I'm glad I didn't have to think about that she took care of.

DSTbride15 · April 2010

I have a planner. She negotiated prices for me, did all my favors, ran some errands for me, etc. I am such a control person that I'm sure she could have done more, but I didn't allow it. She & another soror will set up on the day of, so literally I have nothing to do. I'm 3 days away from my wedding and I took a mental health day just to relax my mind. I literally have nothing to do but browse the mall later today and have lunch with friends. She's handling everything.

Oh yea, chick kept me on budget, which I'm most appreciative of!!

MIABRIDENTAMPA · April 2010

I have a Month of Planner, a month before my wedding she takes over everything, from last minute vendors, payments, day of timeline. But to be honest my planner has been with me every step of the way. Helping me find vendors, using her connections to make sure I get the best price, being my eyes and ears the week of and day of my wedding. I refused to allow any family or friends handle stuff the day of the wedding, because I wanted our people to enjoy themselves. Also if there is no planner or coordinator during the reception tend to come and ask the bride and groom where do I put cards, gifts, etc or even at the end of the night, the bride and groom have to make sure everything is squared away as oppose to an outside entity staying until the last vendor has finished. I picked all the decor, invites, all paper products, and made final decisions on vendors. But to be honest, without my planner, whom has had previous experience with other vendors, Im not sure if I would have made sound decisions. She was honest in telling me about caterers she has worked with in the past that may not be up to par. DJ's that are bit too generic, etc, and florist that tend to charge tons for labor.

Cons- Sometimes she has tried to change my mind on how I want things to look, or how we should set this or that up. However, once I explained my vision she accepted and makes sure she executes everything according to how I wanted. Hands down the best $700 we have spent in this wedding thus far.

smooth84 · April 2010

I have a planner.
Pros: She's really been a big help with vendor recommendations and helping me stay in budget. Since most of my family and girlfriends live OOT its nice having someone I can share ideas with in person. I really enjoy having her go on the appointments with me. She will help with anything I ask. She basically keeps us on schedule. I know she will be a HUGE help as I get closer and especially day of.

Cons: There really aren't many cons..I knew I wanted a planner even before I got engage since our lives are already so busy. She is a great investment!

mandikaykay · April 2010

No planner, but I have all the help I need from my aunts. I love it! I wasn't interested in someone else trying to impose their vision on us. We knew what we wanted, so we just took our time and are getting everything accomplished little by little. My dream is to coast into this wedding.

KSTURGIS · April 2010

No planner really. BUT.......My bff has her own event planning company. She refused to plan my wedding since she is in it. But she made all of her files available to me and gives me great advice. Plus Ive helped her out on a few of her larger weddings and events. So I kind of already had a good idea of who I wanted to work with. So I kind of sorta dont have a planner, but I do.

Honestly once you get the majors, venue, caterer, recption and photographer out of the way, it will be smooth sailing. The details after that are your vision, so its all up to you not the planner.

TysWife2Be · April 2010

Although I have a planner, I feel like I can do things myself...

As you ladies have said, its your own vision that you want to get across so to be honest I dont think I will necesarily be using her services...

Mypasmita · April 2010

I really wish I had a planner. I am always traveling and i have a 2-day wedding and logistics that most weddings don't have. I would have let the planner handle the wedding day and I would have handled everything else. Would have kept my samity

But since I think I am superwoman, i did everything on my own. Big mistake i think.

I however have a DOC. So far she's been useless, but I am not complaining. I hired her for the day of. Though her contract says unlimited emails and phone support/contact... But i know she will be good on the wedding day

gatineaubride · April 2010

No Planner! My aunt (dad's sister) organises lot of events in our community so she is like my wedding planner. She knows me well so I don't have to explain everything and we have a great relationship!

eagles347 · April 2010

I had offers from two aunts (one of mine and one of his) and both had experience, but I decided to hire an unrelated professional because she knows the area better and works with vendors there frequently and because I want them to be stress-free on the day of the wedding. I agree with the pp who said that if she wasn't so particular, the planner could do more...that is the case with me. I like to handle my own business, but I like that she does a lot of leg work and if I just honestly don't have time to take care of something, I can have her take care of it. She is handling all of the not so fun tasks as well...setting up appointments, locating items for me to make decisions on, arranging transportation, researching new vendors when my first few options tick me off, etc.

I haven't discovered any cons yet, but I will keep you posted.

tamtam7 · April 2010

I do not have a planner but I have a DOC. I am using my DOC as my planner, kinda. She has been giving me tips on what to include in the program and vendors, etc. I pretty much check out the wedding blogs and turn to you guys for additional advice. So far so good. Some days I wish I had a planner and wonder how much easier my life would be with one, but other days I think it will be just fine. My family don't really care about half of the things I stress over.

eagles347 · April 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_tuesday-tips-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:852f523e-6e1b-4306-92f6-e819b068c45dPost:43d6ff51-4c88-44f5-9dda-2bc077ba0df7">Re: Tuesday Tips</a>:
[QUOTE]I do not have a planner but I have a DOC. I am using my DOC as my planner, kinda. She has been giving me tips on what to include in the program and vendors, etc. I pretty much check out the wedding blogs and turn to you guys for additional advice. So far so good. Some days I wish I had a planner and wonder how much easier my life would be with one, but other days I think it will be just fine. <strong>My family don't really care about half of the things I stress over.</strong>
Posted by tamtam7[/QUOTE]

Random, but I really needed to read this. Definitely the case for me and I've been totally ignoring this fact.

rodeo417 · April 2010

No planner for me but the manager at the venue reminds me of what needs to be done. She is i guess my DOC?

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