Why should I hire a Wedding Consultant?

Your Engaged Congratulations!
Now starts the planning process for what you hope will be the wedding of your dreams, the perfect day. So you sit down and start to list all the things you need to do. Venue, Flowers, Limos, officiant, favors and the list goes on. What started out as excitement… now turns into trepidation. This is when a wedding planner comes in and makes the planning road ahead smooth and less scary.
A wedding planner will act as a consultant through the process of planning your dream wedding. Wedding planners will have a list of vendors that they worked with in the past. They will recommend the best vendor to fit into your wedding style and budget. The planner that you choose will work with the wedding professionals that you have chosen; they will ensure that the details are set according to your desires.
Don’t consider a wedding planner an extra expense, consider the planning part of your wedding budget. Your wedding planner will be able to save you money by recommending the right vendor to fit your budget. The value of having a wedding planner overseeing the wedding professionals that you have chosen and the knowledge there is someone there to ensure that your day goes as planned is priceless.
Wedding planners will work with you at many levels. You can select full wedding planning, this will include consultation and management of your wedding plans. This plan works well for individuals who have hectic schedules and may have a hard time devoting to full vendor management and other aspects of wedding planning. There is partial planning that might include consultation and “day of” coordination. This plan works well for individuals who are comfortable with the overall planning, but will need some direction along the way and someone to execute their plans. You may also work out a customized plan with your planner. This can include, “day-of” coordination which despite the name will have the planner working with you the last month of your wedding including the day of the nuptials. You may also ask the planner to help with pre and post wedding events.
In my training as a bridal consultant, I learned one very important principle: value over economy. In essence, what that means is that sometimes you want to save money (economy) and you may choose to ask your Aunt to bake your wedding cake. On the day of your wedding the cake may arrive late , or crooked or possibly something came up for your Aunt and she could not complete the task for you. Having hired a professional baker to take care of the cake, will give you the peace of mind (value) that all would be taken care of in the way you planned.
Consider hiring a wedding professional. Find someone that you are comfortable with; someone that understands your desires and needs. Remember, you will be working with this person anywhere from 10 – 12 months, your personalities should work well together. They are there to guide you and give you perspective based on their experience, however ultimately it is your day and your desires will win. Prior training and continued training will show a professional who is serious about his or her work.
Planners may charge a percentage of your wedding cost, a flat rate, a fee based on the number of guests, an hourly rate. You could ask for a tax id, references or other certification.

Kattia Gordon
www.aleximanievents.com