Massachusetts-Boston

How to get started? Wedding Planner?

Hello everyone! I just recently got engaged and think the wedding will be in MA in the fall of 2014. I have two questions, the first is how do you get started in what you are looking for in a wedding? I'm not sure to even start with the knot. Is it best to browse pictures and just see what I like? And I'd also love to know if people have MA wedding planner recommendations with websites. Thank you so much! 

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Re: How to get started? Wedding Planner?

  • Congratulations!!

    The way I started was to work on my guest list. After I had a rough idea of how many people I would be inviting I started looking into venues. We knew we wanted something outdoors and had a rough idea of budget. A lot of venues have coordinators there so hiring an outside DOC may not be necessary based on your venue. I would definitely read reviews on here, wedding wire and yelp when selecting any vendor for the wedding. 

    If you're not sure what you'd like I would probably go through some magazines and pinterest to get some ideas of what you want. You can even browse local venues to see if you like the look of that space and maybe work around that. 
    imageWedding Countdown Ticker
  • Congrats! If you really don't have any idea about what type of wedding you want, I'd look at some photographer blogs and figure out styles you like. Definitely a good idea to get an idea of guest count, and then visit some venues which fit the theme you've discovered you like from browsing blogs, pinterest, etc.

    For me, the first thing I booked was the venue. Once you have your venue, it will be a lot easier to book everything else, buy your dress, etc. because you'll have an idea of the kind of style you're after given the style of the venue.
  • I would say that first you need to have a rough guest list and an idea of budget. Find out what you and your Fiance can afford and if your parents are contributing. Then write down all of your friends and if they would have a plus one, your family, hsi family etc. It doesn't have to be exact but you want to figure out a rough estimate.

    I pretty much scoured every venue on the knot and contacted the ones I liked to get prices. I had a spreadsheet going that tracked venue fee/bar costs per person/hors douevres cost/plate cost per person and summed it all up to compare prices and if they were in my budget set up meetings with them. I ended up seeing 3 venues in a day and made my decision from that.

    I kept my dates flexible and ended up choosing a Saturday next August, but really was open to any Saturday during the summer. 

    I don't have a planner or anything, but my venue has a Day of Coordinator.
    Anniversary
  • As with the others, we first made a guest list to get a rough idea, then started looking up venues. Aside from being in the city (Boston or Cambridge) I didn't know what style to look for, so we made a pretty big venue list. We went to see about 10 of them. I thought it was a great experience--you learn a lot from the people who show you around, and also you figure out pretty quick what you like and don't like. We made sure to see venues that were hotels as well as places that were more like function halls, places that did a "full package" as well as places where you have to bring in everything separate.

    The vast majority of places we had the reaction of "I can see why someone else might want to get married here, but not it's not right for us". We saw one place we really liked, and one place we just loved. It was a struggle to decide between them, but we went with the place I loved. I figured I'd just keep thinking about it if I picked the other, and didn't want that to happen. 
  • A wedding planner is useful if you are busy, need ideas, and want more than just your reception managed well. Planners handle vendor screening, contracts, wedding day scheduling for things like hair and makeup, backup plans for rain, logistics for wedding guests, collecting final payments, and decorating advice in terms of whats realistic, in your budget, and necessary. They're really useful if you have the budget for one and can also help to act as a liaison between you and overbearing family when planning can get difficult.
  • We have found the Boston Bridal Lounge to be a great resource.  We joined their couple's club soon after getting engaged.  They aren't planners, but they vet vendors, offer great suggestions and keep you on track in the planning process.  I'm a pretty organized person, and I still found it invaluable to have someone help me stay on track and know where to look this year!
  • I had an appointment with the Boston Bridal Lounge and I didn't see the point if they weren't even helping on our wedding day. Just my two cents though.
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