Are Wedding Planners really worth it?

I don't think a full wedding planner is worth it in my opinion, but I would highly recommend a Day of Coordinator.

You better believe they are, if they're really good. Newer ones are usually a step above useless and get in the way.

After planning my own wedding for 15 months, I really don't think anyone needs a full-time wedding planner unless you are having a lavish affair. When I say lavish, I mean a $80k-plus wedding.

A DOC though? I am certainly happy I hired one. I didn't need vendor discounts because I had already hired all of my vendors when I hired her, but she did EVERYTHING. Between her and the staff at my venue I wasn't stressed at all.

I paid $1800 for her and two assistants for 10 hours of assistance on my wedding day. She began to work with me 6 weeks before my wedding.

My wedding planner is a Godsend haha. Though I have received slight discounts from vendors, I didn't hire her to save money. I wanted a wedding planner because I didn't know the first thing about planning a wedding when we got engaged (and neither did FH), we are long distance planning, and I don't have the patience to deal with vendor issues. She streamlined the process for me and has made the planning process super easy. I also won't have to deal with anything in the weeks leading up to the wedding or the day of. She will steam my dress, filter calls to other people, etc. My role the day of will be to just have fun!

All that to say, I don't think the purpose of a wedding planner is to save money - its to remove the headache or time consuming nature of wedding planning. Certainly not a necessary expense but totally worth it to me.

Everyone is different! I work two jobs and my BMs and MOH live all across the country. There's no way I could work out decorations and take care of the day-of coordination all on my own. My planner took over those two roles, but we didn't contract for a full-scale wedding planner - just decoration and day-of coordination.

If you need someone to help you find venues, communicate to vendors for you, set up appointments, etc. - then get a wedding planner.

If you want someone to assist you with the vendors three months out (this varies), and help organize on the day-of, then hire a day-of coordinator.

With all of the wedding planning sites and reviews online, I don't think a full scale is worth it. But that's a decision only you can make!

I don't have experience with one, but I know some venues will offer you a wedding planning or coordinator for free. They have lots of wedding experience. Use them if your venue offers one, especially if your budget doesn't allow for you to hire one.

I managed to survive without one. Then again we are both super organized and planners who really wanted to make sure our guests were taken care of. But we also did not care for all the small details like decor etc.

However a DOC or someone to completely run the show end to end is 100% worth. You can spend all the time you want before the wedding, but the day of, you NEED to enjoy it, yourself and each other and everyone who attends. Don't work on the day of. Up until then, you can do what works for you.

Wedding planner, no. day of coordinator, yes

I agree with others who have said that a wedding planner is not necessary. I didn't feel that it was that hard to figure out the venue, catering, photos and that type of thing.

However, I cannot recommend a Day-of-Coordinator enough! They generally take over about a month before the wedding and confirm all the details with your vendors and remind you of all those little things you might otherwise forget. I'm only a week away from my wedding and my DOC has been a Godsend.

I personally do not see the benefit of a planner with all of the sites like WW and whatnot available to you.

I have a DOC as I am having a DW. I do not see the use of a planner. I imagine they can save you money but not what you are thinking you will.

I think I depends on you. I personally enjoy researching and planning, I do plan on having a day of coordinator.

I think at least having a DOC is worth it. I would not want to be running around worrying about everything and everyone being where they need to be that day. Our resort includes a wedding coordinator and she has already been great. I haven't had to worry about anything.

I was able to plan/hire all my vendors pretty easily, but after thinking about the "day of" logistics I knew I couldn't do it all by myself even if I wanted to, so I got a reputable DOC, but with the DOC package I get unlimited contact with her and she takes over the planning 2 months before the wedding and deals with the timelines, vendor coordination and decorating. It was a good chunk of change but in 10 years from now I'd rather remember how great my wedding went instead of the stress of everything/day of, and that's more important to me.

ETA I was thinking about renting out a parking lot for private use for wedding guests which is $300, she knows the owners and it will be $175 so if they have a good vendor chain they may be able to save you money.

I have planned my entire wedding myself so to me no but not everyone likes doing that type thing.

Personally, I have really enjoyed the planning process and have not really been stressed at all. You only get to plan your wedding once! Having said that, if you are really stressed and not enjoying planning, then it might really be worth hiring someone to take the weight off your shoulders.

I did just hire a DOC, and am SO GLAD that I did. They are taking care of so many things that would've been a major headache for us the week/day of our wedding. They will have a team to pick up and deliver all the extra decor to our reception venue (welcome sign, escort cards, card box, random stuff). They will also pick up everything that we've rented or need to keep once the reception is over. We are renting some vases and things from them that are WAY cheaper than buying them ourselves. They are very experienced and professional and will make sure all vendors and decor is in place before any guests get there. This is a huge relief for us and means we will literally not have to worry about ANYTHING the day of our wedding. Worth their weight in gold!

I love my wedding planner. She's my wedding fairy godmother. I wish I had hired her sooner. I wouldn't hire one just to save money on other vendors. You'll be disappointed. I value my planners expertise in the industry, especially in my region. She has already proven her worth by managing some misunderstandings with the venue. She's been in the industry for a long time and commands respect. She's very protective of her clients. You certainly can plan a wedding without a planner. But you don't have to be a millionaire to use their services.

Thank you so much guys! I will go ahead and consider a Day of Coordinator ^_^

My wedding planner is currently saving my sanity. I'm stressed with her - I can't imagine if we hadn't hired her. Plus, she'll act as the DOC and have an assistant to help her. Kind of amazing really - but for us, once we told the venue we wanted to have a planner, we were assigned one that's used to working with the venue

I would stay away from using a wedding planner. When I first started planning I hired one and paid a deposit and honesty she was useless. Maybe because she was new but who knows. After working with her I realized that she over embellished her "quality of services" I ended up having to do everything myself. After having to find my own cater, dj and other smaller things with not one suggestion from her I had to fire her. I really wish that I would have used that money on something else. Once I got organized I wasn't as stressed out, and a lot of vendors I have spoke to have been flexible and worked with me on a price.

I'm having a month of coordinator, and in all reality she's my 2 month of coordinator. My venue requires a month of coordinator, and I'm really excited that I won't have to worry about the small details leading up to the wedding.