Why You Should Hire a Planner: The Vendor's Perspective

I have been talking about this a lot lately and it is easy for me to tell everyone getting married that they should hire a wedding planner. It is my job and I love it but I also want to help education others on how having a planner or coordinator involved can ease stress on their big day. Here are a few examples of how other wedding vendors view events where a planner is involved and why they agree that a planner can be a great addition to your team.

From a linen specialist:
"The top three solutions to a stress free wedding day is organization, selecting reputable vendors and hiring an event planner. Your event planner will be become your most valuable asset. She will give you guidance from hiring your vendors, staying on budget, and even figuring out the logistics throughout the day. Her creativity will help you to achieve what you envisioned for your event but didn't know how to develop it into a cohesive look. As a designer and linen specialist, I have see many events with and without an event planner- it was evident when a planner was used. Let your event planner, such as Michelle, take care of the details for one day while you concentrate on. . . the rest of your life with your new husband."
                                                                                 ~ Connie - Chair Cover and Linens Collection

From a photographer:
"There are many reasons I enjoy weddings with planners but the biggest reason that it helps me out is just how relaxed and available the Bride and Groom are on the day of. They don't need to be setting up or tearing down anything, no need to be running any part of the show just enjoying it.. and each other. Keeping everyone on schedule is also a huge help.  Things can run behind quickly on a wedding day and when things fall behind it is usually your portrait time that gets cut into, keeping on track is very important for those beautiful creative shots that are so treasured after the big day."      ~ Amanda - Arrae Photography

From an officiant:
"If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. This belief leads people to hold on to too much. Unfortunately, people who cling to this belief often become an organizational bottleneck. Everything has to be done by, or through, them. It is hard for some brides to emotionally detach themselves from every aspect of their wedding, so they decide to take care of it all. Those are the ones that end up extremely stressed out, things don't turn out the way they wanted, and ultimately they didn't enjoy their wedding day. Realize your limitations both talent-wise cash-wise and time-wise. Deciding to go with a professional will save you heartache, because it can't be redone."   ~ Carleen  - With This Ring Wedding Ceremonies

(photo by Michael Terri Studio)

From a DJ:
"The best part of having a planner is we, as DJ's, have only one person to have as a contact through the night.  When you have mothers, sisters, best men, maids of honor, that all think they know what should happen and when and how must happen can get things all messy. A planner makes sure everyone is doing the right  things at the right times. All things happen at the right time as the bride and groom want the night to go. We only have one person to talk to THE PLANNER." ~ Dave - Thunder Mountain Music DJ

From the Paper Product expert:
"I do all that fun paper stuff that comes in the mail all the way to table numbers at the reception. Being slightly new to the wedding world, I too am learning the value of a planner! There's more to it than just a few phone calls the florist and sending you down the aisle. They step in and make sure each vendors roll is being filled properly. And it goes both ways for me: the planner will follow up with me to make sure the invites are shipped out on time, that I send her the programs to bring to the ceremony, that all the name cards are there and set up the way the couple want them. They keep the vendors on track and updated as we aren't in the process from start to finish as the planner would be. On the other hand, I can communicate with the planner about a printing issue I'm having and run it by the bride, that I would love to have the photographer shoot my paper products so I can use them for my portfolio or that another meeting is needed to go over design for a specific item. The planner becomes the liaison as they have developed a deeper relationship with the couple, knows them a bit better than the vendor usually and can smooth any issues that seem to be developing between them and the vendor. Having a planner to work with would be such a breath of fresh air as we all have our own ideas on how things should be and in the end the planner knows the client the best!"
                                                                                              ~ Christie - Paper and Ink Designs

To read more about how a planner can help you, please also read Myths About Wedding Planners and Why  You Should Hire One.