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 and take the fun out of it. With a full-time job or other commitments, finding time and energy to plan can be challenging, even with a helpful family member or bestie. But what happens when a family member’s opinions become too much or the wedding weekend arrives and they want to enjoy the fun and not “work” on the wedding the whole time? 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.
Wedding planners are industry experts who can offer invaluable resources to create a personalized, beautiful, and seamless event while respecting your spending plan. 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 Carver Coordination, offer a variety of packages ranging from Wedding Management to Full Service Packages. 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 20-30 hours on a wedding 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:
Wedding 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
Creates a comprehensive wedding weekend timeline and layout to share with vendors as well as you and your wedding party
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 spending plan (no Budget B words here!)
Connects you with professional & TRUSTED vendors to bring your vision to life and will review all contracts prior to signing
Communicates all details and logistics with vendors throughout the ENTIRE planning process
Helps create a cohesive design based on your vision and budget and brings it from Pinterest and Vision Boards to real life
Is there to guide you during the planning cutting down on the numerous decisions needing to be made
Creates a comprehensive wedding weekend timeline and layout to share with vendors as well as you and your wedding party
Is onsite on the wedding day directing vendors and ensuring the timeline is being followed and the day runs smoothly, making sure you are intentionally enjoying the day!
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:
Sews back the groomsmen’s broken bowtie or broken bridesmaids dress
Makes an extra boutonniere when one breaks
Fashions a bustle out of safety pins and thread underneath your dress when yours breaks
Wipes down your ceremony chairs after unexpected rain shower
Places umbrella behind altar for wedding party if it looks like it might rain
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
Makes sure you have your room key/phone/wallets at the end of the night before you leave
Stops the band from warming up/doing sound check during your ceremony (if reception is close by)
Stops drunk guests or unplanned guests from getting on the mic to give a toast or speech
Calls Uber for intoxicated guests
Makes sure you have chairs with arms (and your guests actually use them) if you are doing the Hora
Handles all big family/friend personalities and gives them jobs if you need space from them
Brings emergency kit for you and your guests: bobby pins, allergy cream, sunscreen, super glue, tums, floss etc. (we have over 100 items in our on-site kit!)
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.
“My husband and I were clueless about weddings and planning going into it, so we hired Stacie to guide us. There’s so many fine details that you don’t think about, but Stacie thought of them all. She was even fully prepared for our day-of emergencies. Her efforts allowed us to fully enjoy our day without worry.” -Megan & Jonathan (Fort Collins, CO)
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Realizing a planner sounds good right about now? We’d love to chat and answer any questions you might have about hiring a planner. Contact us here to schedule a quick zoom call!
photo credit: Lauren Finch Photography
