Choosing a wedding planner

Weddings now a days can be very expensive and stressful, and with couples getting married older most have careers and other things demanding their time and just can sit down and plan a wedding. Wedding planners are great for many reasons, they often know the best vender's; be it florists, photographers, halls, churches, stores. As well as they know all the little secrets of the business like where to buy wedding favors for inexpensive but make it look like it cost a fortune. Wedding planners have been trained to deal with stress as well as trained to know when to do things and the proper etiquette of who pays for what and how to set up a proper budget so you stay on target of how much you want to spend.

Wedding planners are trained to know colors and often are great at color CO-coordinating and brainstorming great ideas for themes and such. Most couples think a wedding planner would cost to much when in reality hiring a wedding planner is very economical. Most wedding planners have their own vendors that they work with and are able to get discounts for their clients which helps lower the prices. They are good at negotiating for maybe a free dessert with the catering company or have the hall throw in the chair covers. Ideally a wedding planner should in the end pay for itself in the sense of a wedding planner should be able to save you enough money and headaches that in the grand scheme of things they have paid for their services in your savings.

Wedding planning is a great business however, be wary as many call themselves wedding planners but few have gone through professional training or have enough experience to be fully reliable. Now it's ok to have a wedding planner who is planning their first wedding and it's yours everyone needs to start somewhere and if they have had formal training then they know to an extent what they are doing. Here is what to look for in a wedding planner when considering hiring one for you wedding

If you pick a wedding planner from the yellow pages, or Internet or by word of mouth see if they offer a free consultation. Most wedding planners will offer a free consultation in which they will sit down with the couple and review what it is the couple wants in their wedding and their budget. This is the time to watch for key elements in the planner.

-Take a look at where they will meet you, if they have their own office or are willing to come to the house, or perhaps at a snazzy cafe. A wedding planner that asks to meet at Starbucks isn't maybe as professional as someone who offers to meet you at your home or their home or office. However, most wedding planners work out of their own home so it may be a possibility to meet them there.

-Watch to see how they are dressed. Remember this is a job interview on their part in a sense. You are the client and are looking to employ their services so they should be taking this as serious as any job interview. Do they come dressed in a suit or classy attire or a sweatshirt and jeans?

-They should have a portfolio of what their services are and how much they cost. Again this is like a resume. They should have clearly written on a printed paper the packages they offer, whether they will be employed for just the wedding day, or just for consulting, or for the entire time from start to finish of the wedding. Their prices should be clearly indicated as well as a business card attached.

-You have every right to ask for references if you like.

-The planner should be ready with a pen and paper and should be asking what you and your partner are looking for in your wedding and how much you are willing to spend. They should be engaging with you and your partner and giving their professional opinion in what he/she recommends and how he/she is willing to work with the color themes you would like. They should be taking notes.

-They should have a list of her vendors that she has worked with in the past and although they may not provide you with the list unless you have chosen to employ their services you need to know that he/she has vender's that know her.

-Ask questions, see how modern they are, in the fact of does he/she know of websites that can help you in your planning? Does he/she know of websites for posting pictures of your wedding? Etc..
-See that at the end of your consultation he/she shakes hands and make sure you walk away with some kind of business card and information so that you can make a good decision of who to hire after

Never be afraid to have four or five or more consultations with different wedding planners this is your special day and if you are going to be spending money on hiring someone make sure you are happy with who you hire.

Questions to ask.

-Do you have a business card? (this should be offered right away)

-May I see a list of your services that you offer and your prices? (be a little weary of a planner that is not willing to give her prices, after all you do not want surprises after the planning and wedding are done)

-Do you have references that I can contact? (if there are no references, with the exception of a new person starting out walk away!)

-If this is your first wedding, is there someone with experience you can contact should you need to or who can work with you? (most new planners out of school will know a few old timers and can often get some help be it calling or have an more experienced planner there, and that should not come as an extra cost to you, but should be for them to split their earnings)

-Our colors that we have chosen are.......and......what do you see in terms of how to decorate and flowers and such, or my theme is......what do you see in terms of decorating and such? (let them tell you, see how much they know about colors and see how creative they are.)

-Can I see a list of vendors that you work with? (you may not be allowed to keep the list but at least know that they have one and have vendors they work with)

-Our budget is 50,000$ can you meet that with what we want for our wedding? (let them tell you how you can stay on budget)

-Go through all their packages that they offer with them; for example.
- If we choose you for just the wedding day what does that entail and what do you do exactly?
- If we choose you for the whole thing start to finish what does that entail and what do you offer and do?
- If we choose just consultations how does that work?
- And so on....

-What are your hours of business that I may contact you? (it's important to remember especially if this is a home based business that they do not work around the clock so only calling between 9am-6pm would be best)

After you decide on a planner that you like phone them and inform them that you and your partner are choosing to employ them for which package lets say you have chosen to employ them for the whole thing start to finish. Make sure you set up another meeting right away at the earliest convince possible. This is the time to review your contract and make sure they do work by contract. You should be able to review the contract, understand it and remember never, never sign anything unless you understand it. If there are any things you don't agree with then come to an agreement with your planner have it fixed and then when you feel it's ready sign it.
Your next meeting is where now they will inform you of which vendors they recommend, they will start looking into things for you specific theme and colors. Above all make sure that they give you a checklist of what gets done when; When the hall should be booked, when the flowers should be ordered etc..... You will all decide on the date, the time, as well as how big it will be and who will be paying for what. Everything should be going according to the checklist as time goes by.
You and your wedding planner should not have to meet more than once a week to once every two weeks. In the beginning it will be longer spans of time as the date gets closer you will find that you will need to meet more often and as you all visit halls, florists and such you will find that you will have to at least call your planner and fill them in on what you have chosen if you do not want them there with you.

Some couples want to take their wedding planners everywhere with them others prefer to do the initial decision making alone and then just fill the planner in at weekly meetings. This all should be discussed at the first consultation after you have chosen to employ them before you sign the contract.

Once the wedding planning is underway you should see:
-That the wedding planner is useful to you in the sense of their ideas and vender's and such.
-That you are staying on budget (at least mostly)
-That you are all happy and getting along.

-That everything is going according to checklist and is getting done on time.
-That you still feel in control of your wedding.
-That everything is running smoothly and orderly.
-That the planner is easy to get a hold of (however, remember they are your planner not your slave so calling them at three in the morning is not acceptable. They have set hours for phone calls and do have their own lives as well as other clients, so make sure you are reasonable always allow 24 hours for someone to return your call or emails.)

Once the day of your wedding arrives your planner should be there early starting at the brides house and then if the bride and groom are close by then they can go to the grooms or else an assistant should be sent to the grooms and the two can talk via cell phones. He/She will have all the vender numbers and if you so choose she should be given all the checks to distribute to each vendor as things are delivered. Make sure this is decided a head of time whether you want to give out the checks or your planner. To make it easier the planner is the best one to do it since they most likely will be dealing with the vender's.

At the end of the wedding it should have been decided a head of time who takes the gifts and money and where they should go. Whether it be the brides mother and father or the groom's mother and father or a friend. This should be decided so the planner can make sure everything is it it's rightful place before everyone leaves the hall