Should I get a wedding planner?

It's really up to you if you want one or not. I have one but I'm planning a big wedding, my wedding planner is taking a lot of stress off of me!!!

Do you have any married friends who could help you out?

Well worth it, based on what you are telling us.

Planning is going to take either time or money. Which do you have more of?

It might also be helpful to sit down with one to ask what services they can provide, and what they would charge. If you are using a lot of traditional wedding services (venue, cake, limo, etc.), a wedding planner can in some instances get you discounts sufficient to defray the cost of hiring them. We decided that wasn't true for us, because we used nontraditional wedding vendors (restaurant for venue, baked our own cake, didn't have a limo). But everyone's situation is different.

You need wedding planner, if you’re having more than 50 guests.professionalism is itself worth the price.no need to worry about the budget.

Necessary, no. A great idea, maybe. I know little to nothing about weddings, my bridal party doesn't have a ton of experience either and for me I know I knew I'd feel better having someone around who could advise me on things from start to finish. It's an expense no one told me to plan for though...

A wedding planner is almost never necessary but almost always worth it. If it's in the budget, I highly recommend it.

Personally I am not having one. We are around 200 guests. Have a list of what you need. Research the vendor with reviews ect. Pick one, pay deposit. Boom done. I am not letting the wedding stress me out. I am a very laid back bride. I don't see the extra expense as being worth it

I agree with @Rebecca. My Mom and I did all the planning. The only weddings I've attended with planners had horrible food choices, and/or not enough food. The couples should have spent their money on guest hosting, instead. Seems like planners are the new "must haves" these days, just like professional make-up artists used to be. I've read and heard enough bragging about planners, I could scream. I've also heard lots of complaints.

Our venue had been in business over 80 years. We had a banquet manager, dining room captain, and enough staff that everything went seamlessly. We didn't have to worry about set-up or take-down. I was going to DIY the centerpieces, but then would have hired someone to do set-up and take-down, so we just hired a florist. It's only difficult if you let it be.

I'm not having one. honestly, I don't see why wedding planning is so hard for some people.

draft a guest list.

pick a venue.

pick a photographer, DJ, florist.

pay these people.

try on dresses and buy one.

buy some accessories (this is the hard part, finding the PERFECT shoe, etc).

buy some invites, pick out some food. etc etc etc.

if you break it down in the most simply way, all you need to do is make on decision at a time. if you have no idea what you want then you need to take a step back and figure that out first. look at a checklist (or ten) and start knocking things out.

I'm not having one i don't see it being worth the cost. I haven't had any real big problems that i couldn't figure out myself. I have booked all my main vendors and given myself plenty of time for deposits and saving. I agree with Novak.

I agree w/ Novak too, I'm not having one. I've invited about 200 guests, but don't find it a necessary expense. Our reception space has a pretty all inclusive package, and I'm not DIYing anything, so I'm not really too worried about it. As long as everyone knows where they need to be on your wedding day, you'll be fine.

Try looking into the vendors on WW. You can compare prices and get ideas on who you should go with. Wedding planners are not generally needed.

2d Bride said it perfectly. You can either invest time or money. A full service wedding planner will cost you at least $3k (probably more like $5k). If that's in your budget, go for it. Otherwise, use other resources available to you. The WW checklist and budget tools are pretty decent and The Knot and WeddingBee have similar tools.

I'm planning a 250 person wedding without a planner (I do have a DOC) and I've managed it without any meltdowns. That being said, it has been a lot of time and energy.

I also agree, if its not in your budget don't consider it. I will have a DOC because I do not want to deal with any issues or set ups that may arise and I do not want my MOH or Mother to have to worry about anything either. I have found DOC ranging from $1,500-$2,300 (so cal prices).

I planned our entire wedding by myself. I didn't have any help but I still wanted at least a day of coordinator. Our venue also provided a day of coordinator but she was more into the venue, not the timeline or us. I found a very affordable one with an assistant on thumbtack ($600 with the assistant) and am SOOOOOOO glad I hired her because she literally handled all the details the day of I knew I wouldn't be able to. You shouldn't be doing anything on your wedding day except getting ready and being the bride. I highly recommend getting at least a day of coordinator.

@Kyathi No, you do not NEED one if you have over 50 guests.

2ndbride gave good advice. Which do you have more of, time or money? I had the time to do it all myself. To be honest - the last wedding I went to was all done by a planner and there were noticeable things that would have bothered me if I had done planning myself. Another poster mentioned not enough food, I made sure with meetings with my caterer to know exactly how much would be portioned out to guests, and then I ordered extra dinners as well as extra meals so that my guests could eat as much as they wanted (it was buffet style). The lsat wedding I went to was plated with very small portions. Dinner wasn't served until after 9 and everyone was STARVING. When our table asked for more bread we were told there wasn't any. Personally, I would have ordered more than enough so people could have seconds if they wanted. Im not saying this will happen every time, but another poster made me think of that.

I also think that you personally will do better for you. Its overwhelming, but if you have the time YOU will do better research for yourself in regards to things like finding a photographer who's style you really love (as opposed to the one the planner suggests), DJ choice, etc. Thats just my opinion. I wanted things to be a reflection of me ( thinking back). I wanted to look into many different options and choose what I liked best, not what a planner found for me and what I liked best of her options.

Im so happy that I planned everything myself, but thats just me. If you are crazy busy with work, it might be worth it to you to hire a planner, but I rather liked everything being up to me.

I did all of our planning for the wedding and was on the fence when it came to a DOC. With advice from the WW ladies I said yes and am so glad I hired her! She made an excellent point in that do I really want all my hard work ruined the day of because I didn't have anyone other than me to handle the vendors, guests, issues that may occur. Wasn't in our budget but we made sure to add it. No need for your family and friends to deal with the chaos either on your big day.

We are very much leaning towards getting one. We have a higher budget, but only because we have decided to save every dollar for the next year to pay for the dream wedding we want. But in order to pay for said dream wedding, I have to work two jobs around 85 hours a week. We decided if we are gonna pay that kinda of money, we should get a professional involved. Not to mention when I am working this much, it's not gonna leave much time for planning. So we added the full time planner to the budget and plan on letting her run with it. We are having 200 people.

I wouldn't need a planner for the entire wedding. I guess I was thinking more of a partial planner, because I've already taken care of or am currently taking care of the larger things independently (like venue, church, photographer, flowers, catering, MUA, and DJ) so I just need help with the smaller details like decor, rentals, setup and decorating the day-of, etc.