Wedding Planner

What To Look For In A Wedding Planner?

If you're a new bride, you've undoubtedly already realised how much preparation goes into a wedding. The typical wedding requires more than a hundred hours of preparation. That's probably more than you bargained for, right?!

The daunting to-do lists that come with arranging your ideal day can feel a bit overwhelming when the early joy of your engagement is worn off.

Getting bids, communicating with service providers, and planning the guest list are all steps in the process of developing and keeping to your wedding budget. Preparing for a wedding is a huge undertaking.

And of course, there's the actual wedding day! Who will be responsible for arranging the delivery of furniture, coordinating with vendors, and handling any unexpected problems that may arise? Are you starting to feel the beginnings of panic over the wet weather, power disruptions, and unexpected visitors? Looking for a Wedding Event Planner? Look no further, Vogue Ballroom have you covered.

In that case, perhaps you might consider hiring a wedding coordinator.

Selecting a Wedding Planner

It's common for wedding planners to provide the following three categories of assistance:

  • Use a wedding planner exclusively for certain aspects of the big day, like the food and flowers.
  • You may rest easy knowing that everything will go off without a hitch with the help of a dedicated wedding planner for just the big day.
  • Aside from assisting with the first stages of wedding preparations, we will also be there to assist with any and all last-minute needs that

What to Look for in a Wedding Coordinator?

After deciding what kind of service you need, and taking your financial situation into account, here are six factors to think about when selecting a wedding planner:

Characteristics of Trust and Personality

Find a planner you click with right away, as this will benefit you immensely. There will be moments when you are more stressed than others and more likely to unleash your inner "Bridezilla" by sending the wedding planner twenty emails in one night covering various aspects of the event. The wedding planner's ability to remain calm and attentive throughout this time will be crucial.

When planning gets complicated, you need to know you can put your trust in the planner. It's not enough that they excel at what they do; you also need to like and trust them deeply.

Portfolio

Look at some of the weddings the planner has put together before, both to get ideas for your own big day and to see if their aesthetic lines up with yours.

A wedding planner's job is to make sure your big day goes off without a hitch, but each planner has their own specialities, so it's up to you to make sure the visuals and the menu are exactly what you had in mind.

Communication

Having open lines of communication is crucial to ensuring that you have a stress-free and enjoyable wedding planning experience. Next, think about how long it will take for the planner to get return to you once you contact them by phone, email, or text. Is there too much on this calendar for you? Are they slow to respond to customers' inquiries? The planner has a responsibility to keep you abreast of developments, and if you know when to expected a response from them, it will help alleviate some of the pressure.

Structure of Pricing

The cost of a wedding planner will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size and complexity of your wedding, the number of people attending, and whether or not you want the planner to just be involved in the planning process from the start. There is flexibility in the pricing, which may take the form of:

  • Payment based on a predetermined amount.
  • There will be a basic rate plus any applicable vendor and service fees.
  • A wage that is paid by the hour

Find out what is included in the planner's flat pricing if that is the payment option they provide. Determine if there is indeed a billing cycle and what it entails, as well as any associated fees. It's crucial to be honest with wedding planner about your financial constraints.

Other Weddings

You should enquire as to the planner's current workload, as well as whether or not they have any other weddings scheduled for the exact same month as yours. When the planner is employed by a large corporation, not only do they likely have many other weddings inside the works, but they also have a vast staff with which to complete the tasks at hand. If they are free agents, you should hire them just for your wedding.

Your wedding planner should give their whole attention to you and your big day.

References

Make sure to ask for examples of the planner's most recent work by visiting some of the weddings they've planned. It is critical to follow up with these consumers to see how their wedding preparations and big event went. Avoid working with a wedding planner who is reluctant to provide recommendations. This contributes to your confidence with in wedding planner and your sense of calm as a result.

Do You Require The Services Of A Wedding Planner?

Wedding Planner

Are you on the fence about whether or not you really need a wedding planner? Of course, hiring a wedding coordinator will add a significant sum to your wedding budget.

There's a chance you're thinking a wedding planner is overkill. Perhaps you're confident that you can handle every aspect of your wedding preparations on your own. Possible, if you possess an infinite quantity of time and years of expertise organising events.

But pause for a moment and consider how you hope to feel on your wedding day. Are you longing to be chilling with a glass of champagne in hand as you prepare to marry the lover of your life? But do you really want to field a panicked phone call about where the cake is?

The job of a wedding coordinator is to handle such such situations constantly.

They had to switch locations at the last minute, and members of the family went missing. They have solved problems such as lost rings, late-arriving guests, and late-arriving vendors.

Wedding planners have witnessed it all and can easily roll with the punches.

You can rest assured that the money you spend on a wedding planner will be more than worth the money you save on stress. They have worked with money for years and can advise you on how to allocate it most effectively.

Professional wedding planners also tend to have extensive professional networks. They'll be able to advise you on the best vendors to work with given your budget. Every bride would be lucky to have these!

Selecting the Best Service

If you're considering hiring a wedding planner, it's a good idea to first determine what it is you need.

Perhaps you need someone to handle every little detail with you, or you'd just want an extra pair of hands (or 10) on the big day.

In most cases, couples can pick between two packages from their wedding planner. Full wedding planning & coordination are also included.

Though both programmes might be lifesavers, they provide vastly different sets of features to help you realise your ideal wedding day. Before choosing a choice, you should give some serious consideration to what it is you require assistance with.

Check out our ultimate list of Wedding Planners in Melbourne to help you organise a stress-free wedding.

Complete Wedding Planning

If you're having trouble keeping track of everything related to your wedding, full planning may be what you need. There's no way you can handle such a massive project on your alone.

It's also the most practical choice if you have a limited amount of free time owing to work, family, or other commitments. A big wedding planning services is money well spent, especially if you are arranging your wedding from another country or state.

What's in it?

The services of a full-service wedding planner will be retained right from the start. Your wedding planner may help you with the finer details, such as developing a guest list, sending out invites, and keeping tabs on who responds.

The wedding planner also will meet with you for a comprehensive consultation to determine the specifics of the wedding day's aesthetic and the resources required to make your vision a reality. Then they go ahead and make it happen.

You and your future spouse should sit down and talk about what you want your wedding to look like before anything else.

Thus, you and your wedding planner can be on the same page as to the specifics of your ideal wedding day.

Once the specifics of your dream wedding have been nailed down, your wedding planner can begin her investigation. To do this, you will need to find sources to provide quotations and communicate with the best suppliers for your needs.

Your wedding planner should serve as the main point of contact for all of your vendors, from florists and stationers to cake artists.

Then, when you've reviewed all of the quotes, your wedding planner may make any required adjustments and begin scheduling services. You won't need to make make phone calls or sift through any email exchanges, but you'll still be kept up to date.

A wedding planner also will handle the day-of details for you.

Your wedding will have a detailed run sheet that lays out the schedule for the whole day. From when to begin setting up for the ceremony to when to begin the speeches and first dance, your run sheet will have it all.

If you're already feeling stressed out from reading this list, maybe it's time to look into hiring a professional wedding planner.

What isn't included

Hiring a full-service wedding planner does not imply handing over all of the reins to them. Your wedding planner may lack the resources to complete some responsibilities.

Many future Mrs. do not realise that wedding planners not the same as wedding stylists. However, wedding styling calls for a distinct set of abilities than event management.

It is important to keep in mind that the hired wedding planner is there to take care of all that has to be done on the big day.

In addition to being fantastic leaders, they are also exceptional communicators, organisers, and delegators. They are excellent with data and can't live without their spreadsheets and schedules. This is a distinct function altogether whenever it comes to the aesthetic parts of your wedding, such as choosing a colour scheme, making a mood board, or making your own wedding favours.

Make sure to inquire with your wedding planner ahead of time if they offer a style service or know someone who does if you need help with any aspect of your wedding's aesthetic.

A good wedding planner would be able to take your ideas for the day's aesthetic and atmosphere and choose appropriate vendors to make them a reality. When you have a firm vision in mind, you may not need the help of a stylist at all.

Your wedding-specific Pinterest board will come in handy at this point. Create a vision board that showcases the aesthetic you want for your wedding and share it with your planner. We hope these helpful hints for using Pinterest in your wedding preparation will inspire you to create the perfect board.

You shouldn't count on the wedding planner will help you out with mundane tasks. Don't count on the wedding planner to perform errands like picking up dry cleaning or mailing packages.

Day-of Coordination

Maybe you've already put in the time and effort. You're confident in the progress of your plans because you've secured your suppliers and established a reasonable budget. Nonetheless, have you considered the logistics of the day-of setup?

What's in it?

If you have a detailed plan for how the day should go but could use an extra pair of hands (or ten! ), a "day-of" coordinating service is the way to go.

Don't immediately assign this task to the chief bridesmaid without considering the time and energy commitment involved, as well as the likelihood of at least one unexpected development that will need to be addressed on the day of the wedding. What an unfair burden to put on the person who should be sharing your joy on this special day!

Hiring a wedding coordinator for just the day of the ceremony will relieve you (and your family members) of any and all of that pressure and duty.

If you can't pay for a complete wedding planning service, this is a more economical alternative. Day-of coordinating options are affordable enough for the do-it-yourself bride.

About four weeks before the wedding, a day-of coordinator will take over. At this meeting, you will go over every detail of your wedding with your coordinator and entrust them with the task of making sure everything goes smoothly.

Floor plans and a seating chart, as well as any relevant supplier contracts and invoices, will be sent to you upon handover.

Going forwards, your coordinator will be in touch with all of your vendors in the months leading up to the big day. Based on the details you provide, they will draught a schedule for your wedding.

Your wedding coordinator will not only oversee the day-of physical setup of all venues and details, but will also communicate with all of your vendors to ensure everything goes smoothly and according to plan. They'll be aware of when, where, and what your suppliers will be bringing.

As the host, your coordinator can welcome and direct visitors, start the music for the ceremony, and keep everything moving along according to plan. Your coordinator, and not you, will address any queries or issues that arise on the big day.

What isn't included

There's a good reason why day-of coordination is offered as a distinct service. As you can see, the experience is vastly different from working with a full-service wedding planner.

The role of the coordinator is to ensure that the wedding day which runs well and according to plan. Don't count on your organiser to help you set a budget, research vendors, or find an photographer at the very last minute.

Nothing has anything to do with the service you had hired them for if it has nothing to do with the timetable and timing of your wedding day.

There's also the possibility that you'll have to take care of some extra work when it comes time to pack up after the wedding. Day-of coordinators often clock off once all guests have been securely escorted out of the building. Your platform, rather than your coordinator, may be responsible for any cleanup or storage obligations.

Your coordinator may also be unable to help with styling duties on the big day. Get all your DIY projects finished and your styling supplies ready in plenty of time for the big day.

Don't bring a basket with tissue paper to the venue with the expectation that someone will break it up into confetti for you first thing in the morning. Your wedding planner won't have to spend too much time on that considering all the other tasks they have to complete.

Ask the proper questions to find your greatest fit.

Wedding Planner

Asking questions before making a reservation is the best approach to ensure that you receive the superior service you require.

Whether you're hiring a whole planning team or just someone to help out on the big day, make sure you ask all the right questions to ensure you get what you need.

It would be helpful if you inquired about anything that could result in extra charges. Typically, this refers to any duties that will require your wedding planner to put in more effort in terms of time, distance, and money.

Location visits and site inspections are good examples. Your planner may charge a fee to cover travel expenses if the venue you've selected is outside of their service region.

All vendors and caterers that need to begin setting up the day before the wedding, as well as any ceremony rehearsals, must do so at least one day in advance. Additional costs may arise if your planner needs to spend more time onsite in order to meet with any of these vendors.

A consultation, in either person or by phone, should be requested before any service is selected. Finding out if your planner is a good fit for both you and your significant other might be done best during an initial meeting.

You'll also learn more about the depth of your interpersonal bonds. Do they help you relax and become excited about the wedding? Or are you getting the impression that something is not quite right? Looking for the Top Wedding Planner in Melbourne? Look no further and check out our ultimate list of Wedding Planners here.

Wedding Planner Interview Questions

Learning About a Planner

  • Is our proposed wedding date still available? If so, can you foresee any problems associated with that day (bad weather, guests' inability to get here, venue availability, etc.)?
  • Motives for entering the wedding planning industry?
  • Tell us about the wedding that was the most difficult for you to plan and how you overcame the obstacles you faced.
  • Just how good are you at figuring out solutions to difficult problems?
  • Please rate how well you can express yourself.
  • Have you been officially trained as a wedding planner? Where did you earn your certification if so?
  • How long have you been in school?
  • Do you belong to any organisations devoted to weddings? Do you have to meet annual education requirements to keep your membership?
  • For what length of time have you been operating? Have you registered your company?
  • It was wondering how many elaborate weddings you've organised. The last time you did what?
  • When it comes to weddings, about how many clients do we take on annually? In the month that we're getting married, how many guests do you anticipate?
  • Do you spend all day, every day organising weddings? Do you have another job, and if so, what is it?

Work with the Venue

  • Where we're going to do our event, have you really worked there before?
  • Is there a plan B in case of rain if our celebration is outside? (Tell me about a time you had to deal with bad weather and what you did.)
  • Using Outside Suppliers
  • Do we have to use only the service providers you endorse, or can we find somebody to work with if you haven't?
  • How much, if any, do the companies you recommend pay you for sending business their way?
  • Would you be present throughout all vendor meetings and help us check all vendor contracts for accuracy?
  • Do you plan to bill us for all of the vendor costs, or will we have to pay them individually?
  • On the day of the wedding, could We give you the final payment for the vendors and have you hand it out to them?
  • Will you take care of any problems that emerge with vendors before, during, or after our wedding, or are you responsible for this?

Work Description

  • Tell me about the planning services you provide. Organisational alone (i.e., taking care of the wedding's logistics like the floor plan and timeline) or Design as well as Logistical (i.e., realising the client's vision and handling all the wedding's logistics)?
  • If you're in the business of coordinating events, do you know somebody who could help us with the setup? (NOTE: Floral designers, as well as vendors who specialise in design, typically provide full-service event design.)
  • Can we do some of the planning on our own, or will you be handling everything? Put otherwise, what exactly are our responsibilities in terms of the planning?
  • When our wedding day arrives, will you be there in person to oversee everything, or will someone else be there to do that? How many helpers do you plan on hiring?
  • Who will take over the wedding planning if something happens to you and you can't be there? Tell me about their experience and training.
  • When will you be arriving and when will you be leaving the day of the wedding?
  • To make sure everything is broken and all suppliers have left the venue after our wedding, will you stay there until the job is done?
  • Will you give us a wedding schedule as well as a location map?
  • Do you offer a la carte services, or do we get a tailored solution based on our needs?
  • Can you tell me how many consultations and calls are included of our package?
  • Do your prices include the rehearsal dinner?
  • Will the wedding dinner and the day after brunch be planned as part of any of your packages? If not, are you willing to offer that assistance and the corresponding fee if we choose to add it to our agreement?
  • We was wondering if you offered any honeymoon planning with your packages. In that case, would you be willing to offer that service and include the associated fee in our contract?
  • Does any of your programs include of helping me find the wedding dress and the clothes for my wedding party? Or else, would you be willing to include that option and its associated fee in our contract?

Starting the Process

  • How soon after we book can we anticipate receiving the contract?
  • Will you offer us a breakdown as to how the money is distributed once we offer you our budget?
  • Will you provide us with a new quote and revised contract as our plans evolve?
  • Just how much do you typically charge for your assistance? Pay per the hour, a set percentage of the total, or a flat fee?
  • Please provide an itemised breakdown of what is covered by the price quoted.
  • How do you prefer to be paid? Can I pay with a credit card at your establishment?
  • Can you tell me what kind of a down payment I need to make to secure your services? What is the date that we must pay off the balance?
  • Is there anything we need to know about costs that your proposal won't cover?
  • Can I get a refund if I change my mind?
  • Give me a list of references, please. It is important to remember that any seasoned organiser should have no trouble providing you with contact information for previous clients. Those interested in a full inventory can go here:
  • Featured here are reliable Event Coordinators and Wedding Planners. All of them passed our rigors testing with flying colours! We're recommending them to you because previous brides and grooms have informed us how much fun they had working with them.
  • Do you have samples of your work, including wedding photos and videos, that we can look at?

Conclusion

No matter how prepared you are for the big day, it is always a good idea to hire a wedding planner. One of the nicest things you can do for your big day is to invest in the services of a professional wedding planner.

One should keep in mind that not all event organisers are created equal. Before settling on a planner, it's crucial to have a thorough understanding of their services. This manner, you can zero down on the ideal scheduler for your needs.

Doing your homework and asking the proper questions will help you choose the ideal wedding planner for you.

Content Summary: 

  • The typical wedding requires more than a hundred hours of preparation.
  • Preparing for a wedding is a huge undertaking.
  • Looking for a Wedding Event Planner?
  • In that case, perhaps you might consider hiring a wedding coordinator.
  • It's common for wedding planners to provide the following three categories of assistance: Use a wedding planner exclusively for certain aspects of the big day, like the food and flowers.
  • Aside from assisting with the first stages of wedding preparations, we will also be there to assist with any and all last-minute 
  • After deciding what kind of service you need, and taking your financial situation into account, here are six factors to think about when selecting a wedding planner: 
  • Find a planner you click with right away, as this will benefit you immensely.
  • When planning gets complicated, you need to know you can put your trust in the planner.
  • Look at some of the weddings the planner has put together before, both to get ideas for your own big day and to see if their aesthetic lines up with yours.
  • Having open lines of communication is crucial to ensuring that you have a stress-free and enjoyable wedding planning experience.
  • The cost of a wedding planner will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size and complexity of your wedding, the number of people attending, and whether or not you want the planner to just be involved in the planning process from the start.
  • It's crucial to be honest with wedding planner about your financial constraints.
  • You should enquire as to the planner's current workload, as well as whether or not they have any other weddings scheduled for the exact same month as yours.
  • Make sure to ask for examples of the planner's most recent work by visiting some of the weddings they've planned.
  • Avoid working with a wedding planner who is reluctant to provide recommendations.
  • Do you require the services of a wedding planner?Are you on the fence about whether or not you really need a wedding planner?
  • Of course, hiring a wedding coordinator will add a significant sum to your wedding budget.
  • Perhaps you're confident that you can handle every aspect of your wedding preparations on your own.
  • But pause for a moment and consider how you hope to feel on your wedding day.
  • The job of a wedding coordinator is to handle such such situations constantly.
  • They'll be able to advise you on the best vendors to work with given your budget.
  • If you're considering hiring a wedding planner, it's a good idea to first determine what it is you need.
  • Check out our ultimate list of Wedding Planners in Melbourne to help you organise a stress-free wedding.
  • Complete wedding planning If you're having trouble keeping track of everything related to your wedding, full planning may be what you need.
  • The services of a full-service wedding planner will be retained right from the start.
  • Thus, you and your wedding planner can be on the same page as to the specifics of your ideal wedding day.
  • Once the specifics of your dream wedding have been nailed down, your wedding planner can begin her investigation.
  • A wedding planner also will handle the day-of details for you.
  • If you're already feeling stressed out from reading this list, maybe it's time to look into hiring a professional wedding planner.
  • It is important to keep in mind that the hired wedding planner is there to take care of all that has to be done on the big day.
  • Make sure to inquire with your wedding planner ahead of time if they offer a style service or know someone who does if you need help with any aspect of your wedding's aesthetic.
  • When you have a firm vision in mind, you may not need the help of a stylist at all.
  • Pinterest board will come in handy at this point.
  • Create a vision board that showcases the aesthetic you want for your wedding and share it with your planner.
  • You're confident in the progress of your plans because you've secured your suppliers and established a reasonable budget.
  • a "day-of" coordinating service is the way to go.
  • Hiring a wedding coordinator for just the day of the ceremony will relieve you (and your family members) of any and all of that pressure and duty.
  • If you can't pay for a complete wedding planning service, this is a more economical alternative.
  • About four weeks before the wedding, a day-of coordinator will take over.
  • At this meeting, you will go over every detail of your wedding with your coordinator and entrust them with the task of making sure everything goes smoothly.
  • Your wedding coordinator will not only oversee the day-of physical setup of all venues and details, but will also communicate with all of your vendors to ensure everything goes smoothly and according to plan.
  • What isn't included There's a good reason why day-of coordination is offered as a distinct service.
  • As you can see, the experience is vastly different from working with a full-service wedding planner.
  • The role of the coordinator is to ensure that the wedding day which runs well and according to plan.
  • Nothing has anything to do with the service you had hired them for if it has nothing to do with the timetable and timing of your wedding day.
  • There's also the possibility that you'll have to take care of some extra work when it comes time to pack up after the wedding.
  • Your coordinator may also be unable to help with styling duties on the big day.
  • Get all your DIY projects finished and your styling supplies ready in plenty of time for the big day.
  • Ask the proper questions to find your greatest fit.
  • All vendors and caterers that need to begin setting up the day before the wedding, as well as any ceremony rehearsals, must do so at least one day in advance.
  • Finding out if your planner is a good fit for both you and your significant other might be done best during an initial meeting.
  • Wedding Planner Interview Questions Learning About a Planner Is our proposed wedding date still available?

Frequently Asked Questions About Wedding Planner

After choosing the type of service you require, apart from your budget, below are the things to consider when choosing your wedding planner:

  • Personality and Trust. 
  • Portfolio. 
  • Communication. 
  • Pricing Structure. 
  • Other Weddings. 
  • References. 
  • 21 Comments.

The 5 Biggest Problems with Wedding Planning

  • Finding Your Vendors. 
  • Meal Selection Tracking. 
  • Wedding Budget.
  • Bridal Party. 
  • Seating Chart.

These skills include financial management, project management and effective people management and are essential to plan and executing an event successfully.

Things That Go Wrong at Events

Speaker content is poor (offensive, not funny, dry, etc.) Transportation mishap (falls through, late, accident, etc.) Something in the venue breaks (pipe burst, flooding, etc.) Rooming issues (not enough rooms, last-minute cancellations, wrong room assignments, etc.)

Being a wedding planner can be challenging–and it's often regarded as one of the most stressful jobs! There's a lot you're responsible for as the wedding planner, and events can be stressful to manage.

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