wedding planner

sammy_wheeler

trying_2_b_good wrote: »

Think of the thousands of weddings each year that go to plan without a hitch, and without a wedding planner.

exactly

Tiara_2

From what I have heard at wedding fairs, some wedding planners can save you money over and above their fee, as they are able to negotiate better deals on various suppliers due to having trade contacts etc.

It is a lot of money, but then if they can make you savings and provide you with peace of mind on the day, then to some people I can completely see why it is worth having a wedding planner

sammy_wheeler

but then i have managed to get discounts etc- its not that hard and its certainly (to me ) not worth paying someone else to do
if the venue is able to lower its prices- then it can to you to!

Tiara_2

Ahh but suppliers may well be willing to offer better discounts to planners who use them regularly all year round, rather than a one-off agreement with you or me

If the op has the money and feels the additional peace of mind on the day is worth the price tag, then I don't see why she shouldn't hire one. Just my opinion

sammy_wheeler wrote: »

but then i have managed to get discounts etc- its not that hard and its certainly (to me ) not worth paying someone else to do
if the venue is able to lower its prices- then it can to you to!

zcrat41

Hi,

One factor to take into consideration is time and how much of yours its worth!

Yes, doing it all yourself is brill but if you do any kind of professional job I think it must be so hard to do - the only way people I know can do it who work 10 - 14 hr days is that there Mum does it. Yes, it would be poss if you do a 9 - 5 office job where you get a lunch break etc. I'm lucky now that I work for my mum and dad so I've been able to do stuff in the week.
If I had my old job as an Area Retail Manager there is no way on God's earth I'd be able to do this without taking probably a days holiday a week in the run up to the wedding. (I've got 3 weeks to go now.) BUT we are also doing it all ourselves; organising caterer etc so by having it at a venue you could make life a lot easier.

It also depends on the number of people your having. We've got 120 day guests which I think is a fair bit more work than say 40. And cost. My cake is £300. Made by a friend in the village. I've seen the receipts for the ingredients and she will make about £20 on in but its a 3 tier fruit cake to feed 120. Want a cheaper one, yes you can but it'll be sponge and small. In terms of quality you do get what you pay for.

Don't be put off by everyone's negative comments. Everyone's different and everyone's needs are different. What works for you won't work for another and may seem like a waste of money.

Good luck whatever you decide

ZC

trying_2_b_good

Tiara - thanks for your points. I hadn't thought about the savings to be had & agree that it could well be worth it. Put like that, it could be worthwhile - but just for peace of mind, perhaps not. And since the OP's planner is only getting involved 8weeks before, all deals would have already been done, so wouldn't make any good deals????

fawny

Hi,

We are using a wedding planner, but we are getting married in Lindos so would be really hard to do it ourselves. So we are happy to pay for one as I know she is going to be worth it, but I would not have one here.

strawberryx

I think if your venue don't offer someone to co-ordinate on the day personally I would also be inclined to hire someone to do this!

I'm lucky as my hotel is small and my co-ordinator sets up on the day, talks to me beforehand, will set up a table with me beforehand to see how I want everything, will take a list of my suppliers, etc. But, if they didn't do this I would want someone to pull it all together! I wouldn't want to be at the venue in the morning co-ordinating it all and I would worry if it was left to suppliers just turning up and putting the cake where they wanted, etc. I would need one person there all the time who knows where I want everything telling the supplier.

As for the cake, I also think £300 is good! Especially for a 7 tier cake! We've been quoted between £150 - £400 for the cake we want, depending on the final design and I thought that was really good!

However, I'm a very picky person and worry if I don't know everything is going to be exactly how I want it all!

LEJC

I find the whole idea of a wedding planner a little strange...I can understand having one to sort out a foreign wedding...language barriers and a different system fine but the thought of employing one for a wedding here does seem to me an expense too far...
Possibly if you discuss this topic on another wedding site you would get a different or even more positive response purely because I assume that its an expense that can easily got rid of and in essence of MSE the concensus is how can I achieve my perfect day at a price I am happy with...brides therefore find its one of the first things that can be binned in favour of DIY!....

The one thing I cant understand though is why the planner would only get involved in the last stages...surely if you have sourced your wedding its an added complication to hand over all your planning to a seperate source so close to the end....if something does go wrong with a bit that the planner is dealing with who sorts that out..and surely you'll end up spending equally as long on the phone to the planner negotiating what happens so why not you phone the supplier direct...

If you do opt for a planner then presumably you will spend time researching a good one ...so clearly you do have time and you are handing over the finer details of your wedding to a stranger to deal with....could I not make a suggestion that if you are time poor that you delegate a few tasks to a family member or bridesmaid...I cant help but think you could buy someone who is associated with the wedding and has time to check on the details and oversee the finer points a much nicer thank you present with the £400 you will have saved on employing a planner..

Good luck with your wedding I'm sure you will have the best day of your life with or without a planner...

aarchk

Ignore the naysayers on here.

As someone who didnt get married in a convential venue (reception was big empty barn which I had to decorate the day before) I would have LOVED a planner to help me on the day. I was persuaded that it is such a waste of money and people will help me by doing things the way I wanted them. I was sooooo wrong. I had rubbish flowers in the church with huge horrible displays when I wanted simple jam jar arrangements, none of the tables were set up properly on the day (we couldnt do this the day before because of bats and owls in the barn) and a million other things that went wrong which still annoy me more than a month later.

Obviously everyone else on this forum has a load of perfect friends and family, venue coordinator there on the day etc etc and therefore doesnt need one, but if you want one and can afford it / justify the cost then go for it.

I was quoted £250 for on the day help only and and extra £150 to help the barn set up in the afternoon before the wedding.