Archive for the ‘Wedding Planners’ Category

Planner in Your Budget

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Whether you’re spending $3,000 (far below average, even in the
least expensive areas of the U.S., but I know several people
who’ve done it quite successfully) or you’re spending $30,000
(only a bit about the average cost of a wedding today, so average
means plenty of people spend more), you still need a budget.

A budget isn’t necessarily an attempt to spend less. It’s a plan
for where you’ll spend the money you do spend, regardless of the
amount.

I hope you’re among the lucky few who can afford to spare no
expense when planning the wedding of your dreams. On the other
hand, I know some fairly wealthy people, and I don’t know anyone
who didn’t angst to a certain extent over the cost of their
wedding.

Most people simply can’t afford or just would rather not to empty
their savings and run up their credit for their wedding.
Weddings have this somewhat scary habit of being rapidly followed
by even MORE expensive things to spend your hard-earned money on,
more permanent things, like buying a house and having a baby (or
2).

Trickier still is the fact that many brides (the traditional
planners of weddings) are marrying a bit later in life, when
they’re well ensconced in a career and don’t have their weekdays
free for interviewing wedding vendors and sampling cake.

Do Wedding Planners Cost or Save?

Of course professional wedding planners have to be paid, so in
that way they obviously cost you. However an argument can be
made (and is made, both by wedding planners themselves and by
brides who’ve been happy with their professional planners) that
having a professional wedding planner can save you money in other
areas. An experienced wedding planner is involved in several
weddings each year. This means that they’ll have ongoing
relationships with certain wedding vendors, and it behooves those
vendors to cut the wedding planner a break on prices, so that
she’ll continue to use their services at all of the weddings
she’s involved with.

-Aside -

Not that it affects your budget, but it also behooves wedding
vendors to keep wedding planners happy with the service the
vendor provides. As an individual, you’re not likely to see
these vendors again after you finish your wedding (at least not
for a good long while, preferably not ever). A wedding planner,
on the other hand, will see these vendors again and again; she’s
a repeat customer for them.

Vendors will, of course, value a repeat customer more than a one
-time customer. They will convey this value with financial breaks
and extra-good service. If push comes to shove, they may convey
it by giving a wedding planner something (such as service on a
popular date or that includes a hand-to-find item) that they have
to take away from an individual bride. I know a bride who was
promised a wedding venue for a specific date and then a week
later the venue canceled on her, because they had a “repeat
customer” who wanted that date and was willing to pay extra. My
friend was not given the opportunity to pay extra or to outbid
the repeat customer. She just lost the date.

Wedding Planners Costs

Monday, December 26th, 2011

A wedding planner will arrange almost everything that is needed for a wedding and a reception just the way you want it to be. You will be given good advice on how to go about arranging things and also how to keep the costs low. But all this comes with a price – the fee that you will pay the wedding planner to get things done for you. What it will cost you for a wedding planner is based on what services you need the wedding planner to fulfill. Wedding planners can arrange for weddings, receptions, get your wedding invitation done, help you with wedding favors and even help you arrange for your honeymoon. The more services that you want the wedding planner to provide the more will be the cost.

A major chunk of the planning and money goes for the venue, decoration and the reception. A wedding planner can give you various ideas to make sure that the things that you need is within your budget. If you are going to go for a famous wedding planner then the costs are bound to be more. So before you select a wedding planner make sure that you look into all the different wedding planners who are available in the city and compare their rates and services. A good affordable wedding planner will act like an understanding partner and help you with all the aspects of the wedding. But be clear what you want the wedding planner to do before you get the cost details. More often than not, people end up with a situation where the final cost is much more than what they had planned for.

A wedding planner can help you lower the cost of the wedding when compared to what you would do if you plan the wedding yourself. This is because the wedding planners will be able to get the lowest prices on the stuff required as they tend to have good contacts with all the providers in the city. A little bit of extra money that you will pay the wedding planner will only help you to make the wedding even better than what you had dreamed off. Have a good working relationship with the wedding planner and they will get you the best prices and that too without you having to go through the stress of arranging everything. All this will happen if you hire a reliable, good and efficient wedding planner.

Wedding Planner Purpose

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Most people rely on movies like “The Wedding Planner” to form their definition of a typical wedding planner. For the most part, J.Lo as a headset wearing ”star of the show” is fantasy when it comes to being a wedding planner. Unlike Matthew and Bridget’s unlimited budget, you will be hired for your budgeting skills. But your bride will be stressed and this is where you DO shine. You will be called upon and hired or not hired based on your abilities to perform under pressure, like there is no pressure. Learning your role in brides’ and grooms’ weddings is the first piece of the wedding planning puzzle. Below is a list of the 3 most recognized service selections your clients have to choose from. We refer to these as ”packages.” However, I am here to tell you, if you want to excel past the cookie cutter wedding planner, then it is up to YOU to define these packages by adding your own pizazz to your unique services.

Wedding Planner – def (n)

A person who creates magic, pulls answers out of hat, and performs a flawless wedding (without sweating).

There are many services a wedding planner can provide to a bride. Depending on the bride’s needs and personality, it is up to the wedding planner to service her client’s needs. Not only is it important to meet the client’s expectations, but exceeding their expectations will enhance your referrals to help you find your next client.

Full Service Planner

A full service planner is able to really help the bride from literally the beginning to the end of her planning. From the moment the groom pops the question the bride comes into the planner’s office to begin the journey. This bride is often new to the area, gets overwhelmed easily, doesn’t like to make decisions, or is very busy in her career or education. A planner’s main responsibility is to be the representative for the family and keep communication lines open amongst all parties involved. Becoming the mediator is often a crucial role in this phase of the planning process.