Planning a wedding can be an exciting journey, but as you start thinking about all the details, decisions, and research involved, it can quickly become overwhelming. With a full-time job or other commitments, finding time and energy to plan can be challenging, even with a helpful family member. But what happens when a family member’s opinions become too much or the wedding weekend arrives and they want to enjoy the fun? This is where a wedding planner can step in and alleviate the stress, guide you through the decision-making process, and ensure that you and your loved ones can fully enjoy the day.
So what does a wedding planner actually do? Wedding planners are industry experts who can offer invaluable resources to create a personalized, beautiful, and seamless event while respecting your budget. A planner allows you, and anyone else involved in the planning process, the chance to focus on the overall details and what most consider the “fun” parts of the planning process (menu tasting, design, etc.) while they handle the logistics and back and forth details with the vendors involved.
Many planning companies, like SAEP, offer a variety of packages ranging from event management to full planning. These packages may vary between planning companies, however, at the core of what all these packages include is ensuring the wedding day runs smoothly. Sounds simple, right? The reality is your planner will spend anywhere from 30-40 hours on an event management package and 150+ hours for a full-service package -and around an average of 12 hours straight on your wedding day alone! Let’s briefly break down the high-level difference between an event management package and a full-service package, and what a planner might be responsible for in each of these offerings:
Event Management:
Starts helping you with the planning process around 3 months prior to the wedding
Assists in communicating final details and logistics with vendors you selected
Is onsite on the wedding day directing vendors and ensuring the timeline is being followed and the day runs smoothly
Full-Service:
Is with you from the beginning, sometimes even before you have selected a date and location
Assists in establishing a vision and realistic budget
Connects you with professional vendors to bring your vision to life and will review all contracts
Communicates all details and logistics with vendors throughout the entire planning process
Helps create a cohesive design based on your vision and budget
While planning packages offer many essential services, there are countless other tasks that your planner can do to ensure a stress-free and enjoyable experience for you and your loved ones. Some of these unknown services are
Makes sure you get appetizers, dinner, and your favorite beverage in hand all night
Magically gets all your personal items packed up and where they need to go post-event
Makes sure there is a plate and forks by your cake before you cut it so that your ceremonial slice has a place to go
Makes sure that champagne toast is actually poured by the caterer before the DJ announces it’s time for toasts
Helps out photographer/videographer to get the perfect shot (throws veil in air for wind blown shot, holds extra lights, crouches behind you holding dress so it doesn’t get dirty, etc.)
Ultimately, a wedding planner is an essential investment that brings expertise, experience, and peace of mind to your special day. Trust your planner and know that they have your best interests at heart.
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