Getting married and is not sure if you want to hire a professional event planner vs. having a relative doing it for free?

 

Some of the benefits of hiring a professional event planner is having the ability to trust in someone to guide you throughout planning your wedding day. Most, often depend on their relative or best friend to lead them down the aisle and in most cases that’s all they are capable of doing; not keeping in mind the logistics or communicating with the vendors the day of, or prior to the event.

 

Keep in mind you are investing in yourself to celebrate you and your soon to be spouse to create memories that last a life time. A wedding is considered a luxury at the end of the day with all the money that is involved, why would you not want to hire someone with experience to execute your main event? That goes for any professional! In other words, you get what you pay for! Think about it, if your relative fails to deliver on your once in a life time opportunity you would not want anything to do with them afterwards. At least with a planner you know when it just does not work for you. There is no love lost or strings attached and you can simply hire another planner, therefore no one’s feelings are hurt.

 

The other downside of having a relative or friend plan your event is that it is too close to comfort. Yes, they may know you, but often when you request for something to get done or for them to follow up on a task they choose to complete it when they feel like it or they are consumed with whatever obstacles are thrown at them in life and what happens? They are unable to deliver, keep in mind event planners’ brands are on the line. As event professionals we would not risk our businesses rapport. With hiring a professional event planner this could all be avoided with simply signing an agreement, therefore, if we are unable to deliver due to an illness, natural disaster, or etc… Your event planner will have you covered by having another reliable event professional step in.

 

As planner we invest the time to get to know our client, their likes and dislikes, their needs, and wants by holding a consultation determining if we are the right fit for you. (It’s okay to shop around to see who is the right fit, but not if you are trying to price match. Remember you want quality not quantity!) We put all of the key information together also known as your vision board to create a presentation and determine your venue and vendors, making sure they are suitable for your needs. The benefit of that is in most cases the planner has already done the work for you by establishing a relationship with the vendor or the facility coordinator eliminating the time it may take for you to find the right company to hire, not to mention if we have already worked with the vendors, we are familiar with their work ethic.

 

Event planners are familiar with who to call at the last minute in moments of a disaster. Prime example who do you think we call when the top tier of the cake falls, when you are short linen, or overall needs help period? Your wedding or event professional! As your coordinator we are able to reach out to our colleagues because we simply have a relationship established with them. Not to mention we are familiar with obtaining the appropriate permits and licenses that are needed for your event, discounts that are not available to the public, the appropriate amount of security for your event, and is aware of any extra items you may need to have for your guests in case if you run out of something. As planners we are your fixers, your confidants, and the main person that you rely on to make it happen! So when you are considering hiring your relative or best friend, think again!

 

Photo by: Images by Winston Photography