Friday, October 9, 2009

Choosing Your Wedding Planner


Getting married is one of the most exciting times of your life.  It can also be one of the most stressful with all the planning and preparation involved.  For this reason, every bride and groom should have a wedding planner to handle all the challenging and stressful responsibilities and have time to enjoy their family, friends, and most importantly, each other.  So, how do you choose the very best wedding planner?   Well, first of all, be careful in choosing the words "very best".  What went extremely well for one, may have been a living nightmare for someone else.  So again, how do you go about choosing?  The first step is to determine what kind of wedding planner you need:  a Wedding Consultant, Coordinator, or Director?  The Wedding Consultant will advise you on the latest trends, proper etiquette, budget preparation, and recommend reputable vendors and suppliers.  The Wedding Coordinator will plan and organize your entire wedding with your prior approval of selected vendors and suppliers.  All you have to do is approve or disapprove her recommendations in the planning process, and say "I do" on the final day. The Wedding Director will coordinate and direct the wedding rehearsal ceremony, the day of the wedding, will announce the bridal party at the reception, and will supervise the vendors and suppliers to ensure everyone is on time, in place, and doing their job.  After you have decided on the type of wedding planner, you then need to do a detailed interview of the one you've chosen.  Make a list of questions prior to your interview and listen very carefully to the responses given.  Ask for references, portfolios, etc. However, one of the most important points to remember in choosing your planner is just because someone has "X" number of years experience, does not mean that you will be given quality service.  I like to relate this to hair stylist.  However, before I make my point, I have to say I have the "very best" and most reliable hair stylist, and all hair stylist do not fall in the category that I'm about to mention.  There are a lot of high quality stylist out there that do an awesome job.  At any rate, how many times have you made an appointment to get your hair done at, let's say 10:00am.  After a long wait, the receptionist finally wakes you up at 12:45p.m and directs you to your stylist.  At this point, you've totally forgot where you are, and stumble your way to the back.  Your stylist quickly begins to work on your hair and several others at the same time; washing, styling, etc., and she's so overbooked that she doesn't completely wash out all the chemicals leaving you with chemical burns.  My point with all that being said, is just because your wedding planner has years of experience, doesn't mean that you'll get quality service.   Be very careful in choosing your wedding planner and make sure she comes with reliable references.  The most reliable wedding planner will make every effort to go above and beyond your expectations to make sure your wedding day is the most exquisite and elegant day of your fairy tale dreams and desires.  She's working as a true professional to ensure your complete satisfaction and wants to maintain her honesty, integrity, and commitment within the community.  Keeping this in mind when choosing your Wedding Planner, you may very well have chosen the "very best" Wedding Planner for your special day.

Happy Wedding Planning!
Subrina