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Five Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner

You’ve got a ring on your finger…and now what?? ..let’s talk wedding planner shop for a bit with epagaFOTO’s studio manager and professional wedding guest (as a 20-something who seemingly goes to weddings seemingly every weekend!), Janae Trotter.

So you just got engaged and you’re swimming through Pinterest and other wedding websites trying to plan the most unforgettable wedding of the year. You hit a point where you’re not sure whether you should be pulling pallets out of the dumpster or renting a grand ballroom. You begin to wonder if it’s actually important to have a wedding when you can drive to the courthouse and get ‘er done in an hour.

“I don’t know what I’m doing!” you scream. The idea of running away to Puerto Rico for the duration of your engagement begins to call to you.

Here’s the thing; the DIY trend that has taken over wedding websites seems so friendly, so simple, even kind of sexy…and it CAN be. I loved searching through antique stores for milk glass vases to DIY some of the decor at my wedding. It was therapeutic, actually. However, I couldn’t be more thankful for my planner taking care of the menu, what times the caterer arrived, how we were wrapping the bread for dinner, how many tables we needed to rent, who was bringing the photo booth backdrop…literally all the nitty gritty details that come with a wedding that a bride shouldn’t have to think about. It was SO nice, freeing, worth it. Having a wedding planner not only ensures that things happen on your wedding day, but also helps the planning process run smooth so that the bride can spend time focusing on the huge life change that’s about to happen. 🙂

Here are five reasons why hiring a wedding planner is the best wedding decision you’ll make:

 

1. Wedding planners can help you stick to your budget.

I don’t know about you, but I am NOT good with money. When it comes to big picture things especially, I’d rather just ignore the numbers and hope I come in close. A wedding planner can look at your budget and help you move everything around to get the day you really want without going over. Having someone with an eagle eye can really help stay on track, especially when you have a family member hell-bent on using over half the budget on napkins.

2. Wedding planners already know the best vendors.

The swimming through pages of vendor profiles on wedding websites to find *the one* is O V E R W H E L M I N G. Most wedding planners work with vendors often enough to know your personality / style / budget and hook you up with tried and true vendors that you will love. Over half of our bookings come direct from wedding planners that have been referring us for years. Wedding planners are also great at translating wedding talk and helping debrief after a vendor meeting. When interviewing a venue, florist, caterer, etc. there are times that you will leave and wonder WTF just happened. Planners are great at helping you decided who you want to book for what, and keeping you sane while going through the process.

3. Wedding planners can kick Pinterest’s ass.

When I was a bride, I had a general idea of how I wanted my wedding to look and feel, but had no idea how to make it happen. My planner was able to come up with beautiful decor that was completely our style. Sure, I had ideas for certain things, but if all your ideas just stay swimming around your head, you won’t get anything done! My planner was great at coming up with a few ideas, fleshing them out, and then letting me pick my favorite. (Hiring a coordinator is also a great way to politely get out of the DIY-fail crafts that well-meaning loved ones offer you).

4. Wedding planners can track all the communication.

Do you know how many emails go into the wedding planning process? Do you know how often you have to check in with your florist / caterer / dj before the wedding? *mini panic attack*  Your wedding planner can do all this. They are communication gurus….knowing when to check in, remembering what you said, and keeping you up to date with what’s next.

5. Wedding planners know how to schedule your wedding day to flow perfectly

…and then handle itso you can enjoy yourself! If you aren’t hiring a full-service planner, you should at least invest in a day-of planner to help with this. No bride should be receiving calls about the chicken dinner while she’s putting on her dress. A wedding planner will sit down and help you line up the day to flow seamlessly and comfortably. She will also see to it that your day HAPPENS as it’s supposed to. I hardly saw my planner on my wedding day because she was this little ninja flying around and making sure everything got done as planned.

I can’t recommend a wedding coordinator enough. Not only do I work in the wedding industry, but I’m also a 20-something and have witnessed my fair share of weddings in the past few years AND got married myself last February. The weddings with the least-stressed brides always had planners! Again, I’m not dissing on DIY weddings – my own wedding had TONS of DIY elements! But here’s the thing…You only get married once. You deserve to enjoy the process, not pull your hair out from it (plus most brides like having their hair done on their wedding day…which is hard if you pulled it all out over planning).

I encourage you to let go a little and invest in a wedding planner for your big day. You deserve it…and you won’t regret it!

xoxo,
Janae

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