// Do I Need a Wedding Planner? // “Oh noo, we do not want to do our [bride and groom] portraits now! We have to go back to our guests and start the reception because it’s getting late, we are hungry, and everyone is ready to dance the night away!“, their stress level was pretty high when the bride and groom announced that to my horror! The wedding started an hour late due to unforeseen problems! And, I literally got only 2 photos of the bride and groom by themselves. Usually, we have at least 30 minutes to create beautiful portraits so our couples have something to look back many decades later. Without a wedding planner/coordinator present at a wedding, it is a challenge for most photographers to keep the timeline under control and get some meaningful shots and details that are telling the story of your wedding day.
Photographers are hired to capture how the day unfolds but it seems that most of the time when there is no coordinator involved who have been working with the couple since the beginning, the responsibility of keeping everything on track falls on the photographer’s shoulders.
With this post I really want to share what every photographer wish a couple knew before the wedding day – what role the wedding planners and coordinators play during your big day and how planning the timeline affects the day itself!
I ALWAYS try to steer my couples towards working with a professional planner way ahead of the wedding day, so everything goes smoothly and there’s no stress for the couple or their families! After all, this is a happy day!!!
Here are the questions/statements I hear from my brides all the time:
1. “Why do I need a wedding planner? My mom/sister is great at directing people!”
2. “I don’t think I need a planner, but the day-of coordinator should be enough!”
3. “We already have a planner, she does it on the side as her side gig, so we are not worried about it!”
So, I’ve interviewed a few wedding planners I’ve worked with in the past to show future brides the value of having a professional by your side throughout planning stages and during the week and the day of the wedding!
1. “Why do I need a wedding planner? My mom/sister/etc is great at directing people!”
Clay Keels, the genius behind Signature Weddings and Events, is happy to share the WHY: “Wedding Planners are like little ninjas, we know how to deal with any and challenges and have solutions to offer. Any and everything about what you want for your wedding we know how and carry out your hopes and dreams. Just convey your thoughts to your wedding planner and BAM its done. Wedding Planners make all of the pieces fall in and fit the right place.”
Kelly Henderson, the talented owner of Make My Day Special, agrees and says: “Your wedding day should not be a day of work for your immediate family members. Hiring a planner/coordinator allows them to be present with you. Your mom and sister want to be with you on the wedding day, sharing in the special moments taking place as you get ready. Those moments cannot be recreated, and if they are busy doing wedding tasks, they will miss out on the some of the most precious moments of your day! A wedding planner will allow you and your family members the freedom to spend the day making memories, not working.”
2. “I don’t think I need a planner, but the day-of coordinator should be enough!”
Kelly Henderson and Clay Keels both agree on one thing – there’s a huge benefit to the couple in hiring a Month-Of coordinator, so the Wedding Day goes great!
Kelly: “In my opinion, there is no such thing as “day of” coordination service…I call this “month of” coordination as we start to work on pulling together plans for the wedding day during the final month prior to their date. It would be impossible for someone to show up the “day of” to coordinate without first gathering the appropriate information and completing the tasks necessary to carry out coordination duties day of. If someone tells you they can, I would be asking extremely specific questions as to how! The final month planning is crucial to my day of coordination services as it allows me time to gather the data I need to create the timeline and ceremony order, to communicate with all vendors and confirm their commitments, and so much more! Whether it is “day of” or “month of” coordination, it still takes planning.”
Clay: “We do not offer just a day-of-Coordination package. Ours is Month-of Wedding Package. You don’t want to just hire someone for day of. You need to have had time to communication what your dreams are for your wedding. You need someone to know before the day of the wedding who your vendors are. What their responsibilities will be. We create a comprehensive timeline for the wedding day and facilitating that timeline communicating with each of vendor. We are the host or hostess of the event for you. It is important for Wedding Planners/Coordinators to know exactly what is going on and are your representative for the wedding. Give your mom, sister and friends the best gift. The gift of spending the day with you. If you have someone for the Month of the Wedding that person takes on the day of wedding responsibilities and they can be with you.”
3. “We already have a planner, she does it on the side as her side gig, so we are not worried about it!”
Clay states it very clear and I hope every bride listens: “When you hire a professional they are bound by a contract to make sure that everything is done correctly and professionally. A “friend” that is doing it as a favor or wedding gift if not legally responsible for everything. Most of the time our friends are friends with family and friends and will find it hard not to be social with them. I mean friends should be guests and treated like guests and not asked to do things for your wedding.”
Kelly is doing a wonderful job describing finding her clients’ reasoning: “My first step would be to find out their why? Why are they hiring someone who does it as their side gig? What is their motivation…is it financial? Do they feel obligated? Was it gifted to them? The reason why is important as it will guide the rest of the conversation. My response would be different based on their why. However, regardless of the reason, I would strongly encourage them to conduct an interview of this person to find out their specific plan for executing the planning service. What can the couple expect the planning process to look like with this person? Can they provide a list of services they will provide as a planner? For example, my contract lists out all services I provide as a planner so there is no confusion about who will do what.”
So, Do I Need a Wedding Planner? (I hope it’s a hard Yes at this point Lol)
To summarize, Arden, the owner of a beautiful brand Arden Sanders Events (former It’s a Shore Thing), wants to deliver this message to the brides-to-be:
“Your wedding day is one of the most special and anticipated days in your life. Hiring a full-service wedding planner will alleviate a lot of the stress involved in planning a destination wedding. Planners like to make the experience fun, and make certain that you all enjoy the wedding day! A planner is your liaison and someone you can trust and build a relationship with. Having an experienced wedding planner involved from beginning to end ensures your planning is on schedule – and your special day is executed as flawlessly as possible, without overlooking a single detail. Once you identify the type of wedding that you envision, your wedding planner will customize your plans, based on your budget, style and needs. They will educate you along the way on all of the elements involved, which will save you time and energy, and keep you within your budget. You will also benefit from your planner’s professional relationships with the wedding vendors.”
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