Comments on: To Hire or Not To Hire: Do You Need a Wedding Planner

By: The Manolo Week in Review » Manolo's Shoe Blog

The Manolo Week in Review » Manolo's Shoe Blog — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:53:04 +0000

[...] Twistie… I was in my twenties when I first heard of wedding planners. My first thought was ‘what a ridiculous idea!’ because it never occurred to me that anyone would need someone to tell them how to get married. [...]

By: Jackie

Jackie — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:54:58 +0000

I really think that wedding planners are terrific for very busy brides & grooms. Like most of my friends, I work full time in a high power (demanding) job. Being able to delegate the details has been wonderful. I’m still overseeing every detail, but rather than spending my own time getting floral quotes for a Phaelanopsis orchid bouquet & matching centerpieces, I have someone else doing it. My wedding planner is amazing! Kind of like a personal assistant for my life. Question: can I keep her when the wedding is over?

By: Dynamite Weddings

Dynamite Weddings — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:33:36 +0000

The good thing is that nowadays most event coordinators offer different packages to fit most brides. They have basic consultation packages that are just for when you have questions, day of coordination, or full service. Their industry input is always valuable no matter how you utilize it. We sent a questionnaire to recent brides asking “What Would Have Made Your Day Easier” and 50% of the responses were “hiring a wedding consultant”.

By: C*

C* — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:50:12 +0000

I planned our entire Pennsylvania wedding while living in Utah with hardly any problems. We spent about 10 days physically in the town we got married in during our 16 month engagement. Was it difficult? Definitely, but do-able. That being said we did hire a Day-of coordinator and handed everything off to her the day before the wedding. She was awesome and we didn’t have to worry about any details the entire day. It was an expense I would gladly do again.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:16:43 +0000

One of my cousins hired a planner for her destination wedding. She really needed someone with local expertise to help her out. It never crossed my mind to get one. I love planning parties so my wedding was like the ultimate challenge for me.

As for Day-of planners, my family started the tradition several weddings ago of the Trusted Friend, a cousin or close family friend who’s not in the wedding party to help out as a production assistant of sorts. It helps to have someone other than your mom or MOH helping you out “backstage.” And it’s just fun for us to include one more person into the big day.

By: Dianasaur

Dianasaur — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:27:55 +0000

I didn’t even consider hiring a wedding planner. I’m pretty easy going and knew as long as I had planned every detail out ahead of time, I wouldn’t really freak out the day of if there were any snafus. But the one thing I didn’t want to risk at all was having any personality clashes or anything like that on my wedding day. I’ve heard so many horror stories from friends who had wedding “planners” that came with the location and were way more focused on their agenda than making the day great for the bride. I know there are some great wedding planners out there, but I knew I could do a great job myself.

By: 7nina

7nina — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:55:51 +0000

Beacuse of my FILs health issues, I’m getting married in their state, so I’m hiring a planner. My FMIL offered to plan, but I shudder at the thought-she’s a lovely woman, but we have very dissimilar tastes. I am nervouse about doing this, as I’m a micrmanager too, but I just can’t see any way around it. I do wish I could meet with them in person rather than just phone/email, but not happening. if circumstances were different, I would never do it. A Day of coordinator maybe, but not a planner.

By: Twistie

Twistie — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:49:37 +0000

That’s something I didn’t even think of, Sterlingspider! I really ought to have, too, because I’ve seen a few weddings where family feuding got out of hand. Some families do seem to need a UN negotiator to keep from killing each other over major family events.

Yeah, NtB, I would have driven some poor wedding planner to drink, too. I was definitely better as a solo act. Not only was I micromanaging things, my tastes are extremely quirky and my priorities are often…unique. I think it was a kindness on my part not to hire a wedding planner. Then again, the wedding was being held quite close, was not particularly big, and was being held on a half-a-shoestring budget. Things might have been very different if I’d been getting married in another state, trying to see to the needs of five hundred guests, or dealing with feuding families.

By: sterlingspider

sterlingspider — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:58:01 +0000

A friend of mine is getting married next summer and is already having gigantic issues with one of the FMILs.

Several people have suggested that the only way they managed to get through their own weddings without killing one or both mothers was by using a wedding planner who for them acted as a mediator more then anything else. I imagine that having a stranger around does a lot to keep discussions civil with the more image sensitive parties as well.

By: Meg

Meg — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:33:22 +0000

I had a planner, of sorts — we did our wedding at the MGM Grand, so we basically got a booklet that said “based on your package, here are your options” and it was all dealt with in house.

It was perfect for me — I got to make all the decisions I felt were important, but other than finding a place to have the post-wedding lunch, had no real jobs to do.