Are Wedding Planners really worth it?

I don't think it's worth it unless you're having a lavish party with more than 150-200 guests.

I planned my wedding in 3 months. It's small, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference if I had 10 people or 75 - the venue I picked is the same, the difference for planning purposes is only the extra $$$$ I would have spent for food and drinks and number of centerpieces.

Hire a DOC sure, but wedding planner? Only if you're having a skys-the-limit budget and a huge guest list

I should mention that I didn't know anything about weddings when I got engaged in March. Like I'm not even from this half of the planet and have no idea what the traditions are. But with pinterest, a few wedding magazines and WW, it really didn't take me very long to learn.

There's nothing unusually stressful about vendors. I had this weird interaction with my florist once, but everything else has been like booking a regular hair/dining/hotel/activity reservation. More questions and back and forth sure, but certainly very manageable.

Literally, all I did was message 20 vendors per category in my area for availability on my date. Of the ones left available, I tossed the ones clearly out of my price range, ranked the remaining without looking at price. Then of the top 3, picked the cheapest (or the second cheapest if the difference wasn't too much and I liked the second one better). That was it.

I hired a day of coordinator and i couldn't be happier! They go over everything! She even covered topics and questions that i didn't even think of. She has been through my whole planning process every step of the way and i couldn't do it without her. I Highly recommend hiring one. life is so much easier.

My planner is really a month of DOC. I honestly don't know what I would do without her at this point. I don't want to be creating and managing timelines or contacting vendors anymore. The closer the wedding gets, the more thankful I am we hired her.

The day of your wedding, do you want to be receiving calls from all your vendors? Do you want to be directing what time they come, and where they should set up? If anything goes wrong, do you want to be contacted? I don't. I want to get my hair and makeup done, sip mimosas and be excited to see FH.

I wish I had!!! It's been so much to organize! Also, friends and family will help but they get tired of talking about everything after awhile. So, it's worth the money for peace of mind!!! I am usually a very calm laid back person, but have been on the verge of panic attacks multiple time throughout this process. I am having a day of coordinator at least.

Here's my take on weddings planners.

First of all, they'd better be damn good, and they'd better have a nice list of verifiable clients. Their websites must reflect their own work -- their own clientèles' perfectly, beautifully executed visions -- not photos of what they say they can duplicate. Check references. They are easily faked. All someone needs is a different IT than the bride/vendor. Sorry, but that's the truth. Look for ratings that aren't all five stars. All of us deal with clients who are far more particular than their budgets' should allow, but still...all if fair. If everything is stellar, and you don't see a single rating below five stars, ask yourself why.

Who needs a wedding planner? Most brides do beautifully with a DOC, and if she's a real professional, she'll make the day flow like water. However, a wedding planner is asking for a lot more money than the typical $400 - $800 that a DOC is asking for. If you, and your future spouse, are very busy -- and I mean, working over 60 hours a weeks -- then maybe you need a wedding planner, and with your income, you can afford it. If you are a high level professional -- a doctor, a lawyer, a professor, you get it -- then your weeks (and probably, your weekends), are full, and just because you're getting married, that doesn't mean your clients are going to ease up on their demands.

If you're that lady, then yes, hire a wedding planner. If you're the lady who holds down a F/T job and has a few kids, a dog, and a house, you can get almost everything you need at an all inclusive venue and a competent event manager. Who knows? If your venue is great, you may not even need a DOC. Weddings are pulled off all the time without them.

I only suggest them to a certain type of bride.

I think it depends on the person. By the time I realized I wanted a planner I had all my major vendors booked including my honeymoon. So no a planner would not have saved me money or time. I followed all the vendors I researched on IG and Facebook and once they had any specials I booked them. I saved $1500 doing this. I'm also doing no diy and I found an all inclusive venue that will take care of almost all the details.

I think Rachel nailed it. I've worked with some really excellent ones, and some who were worse than not having one at all. One of my May weddings, I don't know WHAT anyone would have done without this amazing planner. She was a month of coordinator and was present for the day. There was severe rain, venue flooding, and even a mini tornado during dinner break. She kept it all running like clockwork, communicated with us vendors prior, and was like Terminator. Nothing was thrown at her she didn't have a solution for. I don't know what they paid her, but she was worth all of it. Oh, and if she asks me for sample prints or album, she shall have what she wants. A really good one like that is the advocate the couple needs.

Im not having one (although itd be nice to have some help) i just feel like im going to plan it either way it goes so if i hire her im still going to be doing the planning so why pay her? i still need to think of how i want this or that

If you can afford a wedding planner I would definitely suggest having one. If not go with Day of Coordinator.

I think wedding planners are a great idea if you can afford them. I had a wedding planner that I hired for $4,500.00 but she was very rude and disrespectful so I fired her. She claimed to have all of these discounts but come to find out, she didn't. She was actually costing me money because of all of her lavish ideas. I am left to plan my own wedding and I've gotten everything booked and mostly paid for in 2 weeks. Plus I'm in grad school. I am a bit worried about the day of the wedding since we are inviting 350 guests so I am considering a day of planner. But so far, it's been much less stressful without her.

So worth it!! We had a day of coordinator, but she set up our timeline, finalized details with vendors, tied up loose ends for us and thought of all the small details we would've totally forgotten about, etc. She helped reduce so much wedding day stress and did such a fantastic job making sure our wedding day went smoothly!

Yes yes yes they are worth it. My wedding would not have been as smooth or put together without the DOC. I got the owner and 2 of her workers for $1200 (plus a $200 tip afterwards because I was so pleased with their services). I highly recommend mine. DNT based out of Southern California.

Now that I'm at the tail end of planning my own wedding, I'm going to have to say, "yes". There are far too many details that keep popping up that I had no idea about. A planner would be able to bring all of those things to your attention.

I am a researcher by nature, by man am I tired of Google searching everything!

Yes!

You should consider these questions:

1. Are you just too busy to put the time in to plan?

2. Am you dreading the planning?

3. Do you have trouble making decisions?

4. Do you hate any kind of research?

5. Do you have anyone you trust and can rely on to help you?

I didn't see the need to hire a planner as I was very clear on what I wanted, am super organized, and am very good at sticking to a budget.

However, my venue provides a top notch DOC (included in package). If they didn't, I would have hired one. Worth every penny and not the place to scrimp.

My venue offers a day coordinator- she will actually start working with me 2 weeks before the wedding- i have all my vendors so she will be dedicated to helping me out for that day to make sure it runs smoothly..check to see if your venue has that- and remember it may not be labeled as a day of coordinator but after you realize all that they will do for you on that day- that is what they ultimately are...ask questions

If you are eloping then yes a wedding planner is worth it. If you are not eloping then a wedding planner is a wast of money.

I think it depends on the person/wedding - what you can afford, what you are looking for them to do.

I ended up booking a design/day of coordinator package with the girl who I am using. I had my vendors booked, but I needed help trying to get the whole vision thing figured out and implemented. I felt huge relief when I signed the contract.

After planning everything ourselves, I have a hard time buying that a full service planner saves you much time or money. I think that's something my wealthy friends told themselves and others to justify the expense (but when you are having a $100k+ wedding, why even pretend you are trying to save money?). With a good idea of budget, "non negotiables", and "wish list" requirements, we were able to narrow every vendor down to 2 or 3 to call or meet, and had a clear favorite. We would have had to do some of this work anyway, unless you truly hand everything over to the planner. I think a day of coordinator is so worth it. Honestly, there is no need to get migraines. You can do this!