Choosing a good wedding planner

Wedding planners, the people mandated to run your wedding day to your expectations, can leave you crying if you happen to fall in the hands of the wrong ones.

But there are some things you can do to try and reduce the risk of getting a ‘bad’ wedding planner.

• Ask for references especially from people who have directly engaged with the planner. For example, ask a former bride to introduce you to her MC or friends and family who engaged with the wedding planner. They will give you proper feedback about the competence of the planner.

• Don’t depend 100 per cent on the planner. Ask close friends and family to work with him or her on the day to ensure everything runs smoothly and as per your specifications. The planner is merely doing a job whereas, your family and friends love you and will go beyond the call of duty to ensure everything goes according to plan.

actual wedding

• Ask to attend two or three weddings where the planner is at work before you make a final decision. Is she calm? Is everything going smoothly or is she rushing around like a headless chicken because she was not well prepared? How does she interact with the wedding party and guests?

• Do not necessarily rely on the suppliers advised to you by the wedding planner. Some planners favour some suppliers because they receive a commission from them and not because they are the right person for your wedding. Select your own suppliers who should then work with your wedding planner.

• Hold joint meetings with all the people working at your wedding so they all understand their roles. This also helps them get acquainted with each other as they will act as a support system to the wedding planner.

• Get your financial planning in order. Plan to pay a deposit to secure the services of all your suppliers, and then, just before the wedding, give them post-dated cheques for the final amount. With the wedding planner, make the date at least a week after the wedding. For the photographer and the video supplier, arrange to make payment once you have seen your pictures and watched the DVD.

Enjoy planning

• Enjoy planning your wedding with your planner. If you are not having fun or do not think you will enjoy every minute of your special day, do not be afraid to change planners. Get someone you can be free to talk to without the fear of them disregarding your opinions or talking about you behind your back with vendors or employees.

• Go with your gut feeling and look at simple things, like how well your personalities click or clash or how she talks to you. Anyone can have experience, certification and beautiful wedding pictures but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be good for your wedding.

Should you have a better or worse experience, thanks to your wedding planner, that you feel other brides need to know about, drop me an email.