Fantastic Wedding Planners and Where to Find Them
How to find the perfect one in a sea of wonderful wedding planners
Ah, the engagement! What a splendid moment!
Or so they say.
I don’t really know first-hand because my husband didn’t propose, in the end I told him that we had no more sisters left and then… well, it’s story for another time, I guess!
So… Your partner popped the question and you’re beyond ecstatic, you can’t wait to call them your husband or wife or whatever, and you really, really want to have a party you and your guests will remember for the rest of your lives. You can already picture it: a marvellous ceremony, complete with laughter and happy tears, a mouth-drooling reception with delicious food served in teacups for your Alice in Wonderland dream, timeless photos in a TARDIS photo boot, sending the guests happily away with Felix Felicis potions as party favour… Maybe Rains of Castamere as first dance is a bit much, but, hey, you love that song!
In your mind, it’s already perfect.
Your families and friends are happy and they all want to support you. Sure, we all have that aunt or cousin that says “I’ll help you!” and starts dumping ideas straight from the ‘80s (or the ‘70s). Which is great, if you want a Stranger Things themed wedding (or a Hippie styled one), no kidding, I swear, I love all themes, but… maybe that is not what you want. And maybe, you’re not sure about what vendors to choose, because they all seem so brilliant at what they do (and they probably are), but you don’t know if they are a good fit for what you really want, and you’d like to be certain that that day everything will go as planned. Or at least, that it won’t be you the one solving any problem should arise.
Thus (look how serious thus looks), you’ve decided to look for a wedding planner.
Fantastic! But…
There are tons of Wedding Planners…
How do I choose the right one?
Well, isn’t that a good question?
So, grab a cup of tea, a glass of water, or a snack (or anything you like, really), sit comfortably and let one of them guide you on how to choose one of these wonderful wedding planners!
First – Research!
Look up their website to see if you like what they do. You’ll notice that every Wedding Planner has a style and you might be more at ease with someone used to the particular effect you want to get. For instance, you might need someone who knows the difference between a Tie Fighter and a X-Wing. Or someone that can list every single shade of pink of every rose in existence.
As a bonus, this will let you take a peek to their reviews, and what their former clients say about them. In other words, you’ll have an idea of what is like working with them, and it’s always useful to have more information.
Second – Close encounters of the fifth kind (ie: call them)!
Don’t hesitate to contact the Wedding Planners and talk with them! Even better if you can meet in person (well, maybe not in this period… phone call it is… Or a videocall!). You’ll want to know it’s a good match for your style and personality: you’re going to spend a lot of time talking with your Wedding Planner, and they will be your go-to person for any doubt, any problem, any idea that comes to you.
They will be the person you will send a message saying “I found the earrings!” and expect an honest opinion, and even one two days before the wedding, at night, saying “My aunt Marge doesn’t want to sit next to my godfather Sirius, what can I do?” and who will answer with the right solution for you. Or the one you’ll want to send your mother-in-law with that last-minute idea that would mess the entire timeline (I talked about it a couple of weeks ago). So, go! Explore if your personalities are a good fit and you’ll see that it’s time well used.
Third – Ask Questions!
It’s not the first rodeo for your wedding planner, but it usually is for the spouses. And even if there might have been previous marriages, well… it depends on how much time has passed or, maybe, simply, you don’t want to make a repeat.
So, ask questions about the services, about what they include, dig deeper into their style and personality. Ask for the fees for the different services you asked for, and ask if they have a contract and what it entails, and what their retainer and payment rules are.
Contracts bind and protect both the client and the vendor, so they’re particularly important. Ask if they’re ok with working with vendors you found or you might have already chosen.
Fourth – Be forthcoming with your budget!
We don’t want to know your financial history since elementary school, but being very clear about the wedding budget is so important. Because this way the Wedding Planner can tell you if it’s compatible with what you have in mind, and suggest solutions.
If you don’t have a budget because you have no idea how to do that, I help you with that in this article. Remember: be aware that each decision you take (maybe a venue instead of another) can change the take on that budget.
Fifth – Once you’ve chosen, trust them!
Wedding Planners are not there to crush your dreams, they’re there to make them soar. But sometimes, what we have in mind doesn’t match realistically what we can actually do. Trust their expertise if they warn you against something, and trust their creativity to make up for what they have advised against with something you hadn’t thought about, but that is even more awesome.
I promise it’s worth it.
So, I hope these will be useful to you, and I hope you’ll get to work with the person that best fits your needs. And If you want to explore if I’m that person, book a consultation with Magical Vows and we’ll discover it together! You can just click on the reassuring blue button at the bottom!
Bonus: if you’re curious about other wedding planners other than me, I totally second looking on reputable websites! Here in Italy I am a happy member of Associazione WPI, and my colleagues are all wonderful people, full of talent and ideas!
Credits: Pink flower Photo by Asad Photo Maldives from Pexels
Surprised Spouses: Gianni Presenti
X Wing and Tie-Fighter: Star Wars
Cover Photo: Anathema Device from Good Omens, and photo by Ekrulila from Pexels
