5 Reasons Why Brides Hire Wedding Planners

I will keep this short and sweet.  These are things I hear most often.

1.  Save money planning their wedding because of a Wedding Planner's relationships with vendors.
2.  Less stress planning because of a Wedding Planner's relationships with vendors.
3.  Don't have enough time to plan a wedding.
4.  Don't want to worry about a lot things on the wedding day.
5.  Mother of the bride wants to be able to enjoy the wedding day.

Recently I was talking to someone in a non-related profession and it was music to my ears what she said.  She said, "I thought that everyone knew that Wedding Planners could save brides money!"  I wanted to take her with me to every networking meeting, or wish that I could plaster that message on every billboard around!  Yes, I love saving brides money...absolutely love it.  I also like to shorten engagements by doing just that!  That alone is less stress.  It's not my goal to change wedding dates, if that makes sense.  I just have been able to make it possible for people to get married sooner!

Wishing you the greatest of days!


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Why Do Wedding Vendors Offer Exclusive Discounts to Wedding Coordinators?

Vendors tell me that they offer discounts to professional coordinators for a number of reasons. When there is a Wedding Coordinator, there will be fewer phone calls to their businesses, they have one person to coordinate with instead of trying to reach a busy bride, or deal with multiple friends and family members.  They know that someone is going to be present for deliveries at a time that is convenient for them and is going to keep a protective eye on their equipment.

At the wedding itself, vendors only have to concentrate on what they were hired to do.  So many times a DJ or a photographer end up adding to their duties things that a coordinator would do but without a picture of the event as it has developed over a longer period of time.  Coordinators can communicate with the vendors to help keep things on a schedule or informing them of changes that are going to have to be made due to key people arriving late and mishaps that are just going to happen because life still happens even if it is a wedding day.  A Wedding Coordinator is there to keep all of them informed of anything that might effect the timeline which has been developed with all of the vendors in mind.  I hear from vendors all the time that their job is made so much easier when a Wedding Coordinator is present.

I don't only work with vendors that give discounts, because many vendors have a great product or talent as well as great pricing.  I enjoy being able to pass on discounts to clients from vendors because it can sometimes make the difference in them getting the wedding they've dreamed of as compared to one they feel they have had to settle for. Clients consistently say that they were reluctant to hire a Wedding Coordinator, but later say hiring a coordinator was one of the best decisions they made.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Greatest of Days Event and Wedding Planning

Tip # 4 for a Trouble-Free Wedding. Space! The First Frontier!

The sooner you have a "guess-timate" of  the guest count established, the least likely it will be that you waste money on deposits on venues that won't be large enough or even a waste of space.  Your choices are limited finding a venue that will hold more than 200 people.  Most brides and grooms tell me they are expecting 150 people.  You might think you know how many people will show up until you talk to your parents and they start spreading the word!  

In some cultures, there really is no way to know how many people are going to show up, so let your caterer know about this.  So by all means have a lot of space in this situation.  There's nothing worse than having your event shut down due to exceeding capacity!

This is important!!

Speaking of capacity and those numbers that they put on the walls telling you how many people can be in that room, in industry terms, it means reception style.  Reception style is when EVERYONE is standing and there are no tables and chairs.  I know, it sounds like the opposite just like having to obtain a banquet permit which is actually for serving alcohol that you have bought.  The human form takes 2-3 times as much space seated as it does standing.  There's your first visual on that difference.  The human form also needs a minimum of 18 inches to navigate between items of furniture.  You'll be happier with much more than this at a reception.

Horror stories that I've actually seen and heard about:

1.  A bride sent out her invitations before she put down her deposit on the venue.  They fell in love with the venue and got stars in their eyes.  A wedding coordinator who is hired to do a full-planning would have never let that happen or stand back and think, "What?!"

2.  Don't just think that it will be okay!  Be realistic.  Everyone wants to enjoy the festivities and not be craning their necks to see what is going on.

3.  See if your venue has supporting beams that will block your guests' vision.  Those among other things cannot be changed!

4.  Please have all your guests in one reception room!   This is such a downer!  Your guests will feel like 2nd class citizens in a smaller room.  Again a Wedding Coordinator who would be in on the full-planning process from the start, would never suggest this.  

It is because of these and many other situations that many wedding coordinators, truth be told, dread some day-of-coodinations.  We're stuck with decisions that have already been made unadvisedly by a client and there's no turning back.  Wedding Coordinators in some respects have a crystal ball.  Most of the time we know what might be a problem.  It's not always a problem with a bride's decision.  On the other hand, there are some venues, plain and simple think they can just open their doors for weddings like any other event.  Weddings are different.  I'll say this again Weddings are different!  If a vendor or venue does not live, eat and breathe weddings, perhaps they should reconsider weather or not they should provide services for weddings.

One of my next posts will be about choosing a venue.  Warning!  It's going to be a long one!

Wishing you the greatest of days!!

Janis Flagg

Greatest of Days 

Event and Wedding Planning, Design and Officiating

http://greatestofdays.com/services.html

Feel free to leave a comment so that I know what you are wanting to read.  I'm here to help, but I need to hear from you!  I ♥ U!

DIY Weddings! Decisions, Decisions!

This is an introduction to a series of blog entries you will be able to read that will serve as a reality check to make sure that your DIY decisions are really going to save you money or not.  We'll cover one type of vendor at a time.  Also, there will be some alerts on having friends or family take on specific roles that professionals usually do at a wedding.  This isn't to say that they wouldn't have spectacular talent or  that there aren't some things that you've always dreamed of doing on your own for your wedding.  I just want you to look out for your own best interests.  This is not a day you can do over!  Perfection is a lofty goal and perfection is different things to different people and most would admit it is rarely achieved 100% of the time. That is life!  Relax and enjoy!  

Many people will tell you that they can perform particular tasks for your wedding.  You might be surprised at how you can make things so much less stressful by hiring a person who does this for a living and don’t assume anything on their prices.  Most professionals will find something you will be pleased with that will fit your budget.  Here's a tip!  Remember these people have to make a living and showing respect for their profession will make you a lot more points than starting out with trying to get their price down before you even talk to them.  The perfect vendor is not always someone with a storefront.  It might be someone you would never ever know about!  A Wedding Coordinator can give you a selection of vendors to choose from including those you would never know about!  

We all want to save money whenever we can, but if we end up paying more in the long run or creating a bad experience, what are we really saving?  Everything boils down to what you don't know can hurt you. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you should know about various aspects of your wedding if you don't use professionals. You might want to really stop and take the time to consider the costs in time and money.  Stop... and be honest with yourself first to make sure that you are not making a decision you will regret years later if you hear yourself making any of the following statements.

“I can do that!”  

“I have a friend who does that!”  

“That looks easy enough to do!”  

“I don’t think that will matter”. 

“I don’t have the money for that”.

“I think that _____ would enjoy doing that!”

"My brother has a band".

I look forward to helping you make a decision regarding the option of DIY or non-professionals for your wedding.  We'll talk about invitations, photography, music, flowers, wedding gowns, food, selecting a venue, decor, favors, wedding coordinators, alcohol, bar tending, officiants, cakes and who knows what all else!!  Stay tuned!

You may use this material as long as you include credit and a link to this Greatest of Days Blog and the Greatest of Days website.

Wishing you the greatest of days!

Janis Flagg