Without question, the most important player on your wedding squad is your planner. This is the person you’re hiring to make your wedding mood board a reality and put all the pieces of your perfect party in place. The right planner turns wedding dreams into reality; but the wrong one can lead to disaster—missed deadlines, uninspired designs and unexpected costs are just a few major stressors that come along with a bad wedding planner.
A wedding planner is going to be one of the biggest investments for your wedding day, so it’s important you invest the time into researching and reviewing professionals to find your perfect match. Here are five things to look for before saying yes to a wedding planner.
A Solid Portfolio
You need to see the work and be able to assess the wedding planner’s level of experience and expertise. A robust website and active social platforms are key—you want to be able to see a good selection of their work and get a feel for their style, quality, and attention to detail. If you feel you need a deeper dive than what is presented online, ask to see more samples of weddings they have worked on. Planners who are just starting may have a limited portfolio which is understandable, but if you are looking at someone claiming to have years of experience but little to show for it, proceed with caution.
Sharing References
Hearing first-hand how your prospective wedding planner worked with other couples to plan their wedding is a critical step to take before hiring. Don’t rely solely on online reviews but ask the planner to provide you with references so you can chat with past clients and get a sense of their experience working together. If there is a hesitancy to pass along contact information to you this could mean trying to hide sour past relations and denote a lack of client satisfaction or service issues.
Communication Style
Is the pro you’re considering on their game when it comes to communicating with you? This is something you will realize very early in the game and if you feel it’s off, move on. Some obvious alarm bells: slow response to email or phone calls and vagueness about process and details. A person who is unresponsive or lax at keeping in touch with you will cause you nothing but headaches as you get into the throes of wedding planning.
Open To Your Creative Ideas
A wedding planner is there to not only support you, but creatively encourage and develop your ideas. If you feel in your initial meetings this pro is not listening to you, what you want and your priorities, and instead pushing their own personal agenda (and preferred vendors) it’s not a match. This relationship is all about collaboration and you should never feel pressured or railroaded into doing something that’s not on brand for you.
Transparent Pricing
You want to feel confident about what you are spending your money on with your wedding planner because it’s a huge chunk of your budget. That means transparency is essential when it comes to pricing and fees. If you feel there is vagueness in the conversation about price, and the contract you are presented with is not super detailed and itemized with a precise breakdown of service costs, you should be wary. You want to ensure all fees, payment plans, and cancellation policies are clearly outlined to you, and you fully understand what you are signing on for. Never be afraid to ask tons of questions, it’s your day and your money. —Alison McGill
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