When organizing your wedding vendors, hiring a dedicated event planner can seem like an unnecessary expense. But when you consider the value of their service—the undivided attention and support of an industry expert—it becomes clear why event planners are so worth the investment.
Ultimately, you’re not just hiring a human PalmPilot. You’re hiring someone to help manage your own stress and expectations, making a world of difference in your own enjoyment of your wedding day.
COVID-19 Event Management
In the last year, event planners have proven more important than ever.
A typical responsibility of an event planner includes managing your preferred vendors. Coordinating menu tastings? No problem. Creating the day-of schedule and managing vendor check-ins? Done and done. Advising against flambéed signature cocktails? Your event planner will have you covered.
It is their role to advise and plan for these myriad moving parts for which, otherwise, you would be responsible—demanding that your attention stray from the enjoyment of your day. Handling vendor coordination alone can very quickly come to feel like a full time job. (Indeed, it is—hence the role of the event planner!)
But since the onset of the pandemic, the value of this work has become ever more clear. Managing changing health restrictions and industry best practices has been a challenge for even the most seasoned planners.
By hiring an event planner for your big day, you’ll be able to rest assured that your event meets any necessary COVID-19 restrictions, that your vendors will show up on time, and that everyone will be safe as you celebrate your marriage.
Built-In Contingency Plans
When things go wrong—and they will go wrong—your event planner is there to save the day. For every challenge, from a veil delayed in shipping to a vendor who mistakenly sourced veal instead of venison, your planner will know what to do.
This is where the true value of your planner becomes apparent. These troubling moments, sometimes liable to induce a pre-wedding panic attack, can be tackled by an expert. Not only is your planner responsible for logistical matters like vendor coordination, they’re there to help ease your stress and worry.
One way they do this is by creating contingency plans. They’re so versed in both the flow and pain points of weddings that they can see trouble from miles away and will have a time-tested tool kit on hand to resolve any emergencies.
Let someone else spend the final weeks of your engagement worrying about things that could go wrong. Instead, know that being able to revel in the joy and love of those weeks is an experience that will stay with you forever.
Trusted Wedding Expertise and Guidance
The thing about experts is that it’s hard to become one unless you’ve done that thing many times. And, given the nature of weddings, very few people ever reach that level of experience delivering this very special day.
Except for event planners.
That experience comes with many perks.
For example, your event planner knows the market rate for vendor goods and services. As such, they can help you avoid very costly mistakes, spot red flags in contracts, and even help you negotiate better prices from your vendors. They can offer invaluable advice based on experience and first hand knowledge to make your day the best it can be.
Additionally, your planner likely has a vast network of industry contacts that they trust. Far from hiring a wedding band off Craigslist, your planner will know which acts are reliable, have great sound, and are worth the money.
So if you’re stuck for which caterer or photographer to hire, your planner can advise. They can get you in with hidden gems or with those well-known vendors with a years-long wait list. Simply having this treasure trove of vendor information on hand will change your wedding day for the better.
Committed to Perfection
If you’ve ever had to hustle your chronically-late sister out the door or remind your absent-minded cousin of your dinner reservation (for the fourth time!), you know the pain of coordinating the people you love.
Now imagine this challenge on your wedding day. On a day that should see you thinking about nothing except your new spouse and your delicious cake, your event planner will make sure everything—and everyone—runs on schedule.
Event planners are logistical mavericks and well-seasoned industry pros. If you’ve scheduled your wedding portraits to run straight into cocktail hour, your planner will sneak in ten minutes for a snack and a glass of water. If your speech time limit is 2 minutes but your Dad loves to tell stories, your planner will (kindly) keep him on track.
The goal is simple: wedding day perfection. From ensuring hors d’oeuvres reach every corner of the reception room at regular intervals to reminding the photographer of your preferred shot list, your event planner will have your back.
Planning a wedding yourself is not impossible—not by a mile. But tapping into the experience, knowledge, and expertise brought by event planners can be the defining factor of a truly perfect wedding day.