The true value of a wedding planner???

@LuminEssence, all I can even think to say to you is WOW. Not only did you just make every bride who can't afford a planner feel like a moron but you've successfully just made yourself sound like a huge jerk which I am sure you are not. "I already charge brides a lot more if they don't have a planner because it greatly increases my stress in working with the couple. In my experience, brides that skimp on planners are a penny wise and a pound foolish and end up with sub-par weddings. Also, they tend to compensate for their lack of a planner by expecting the other wedding pros to pick up the slack." I have no idea how you get business at all with that attitude.

I saved money on my photographer, florist, and day of planner because they all belong to a group of local vendors and the more you book, the more you save (bonus). I hired a day of planner because my engagement has been so long that I already had all my vendors booked but I knew I would appreciate the extra help.

Having a wedding planner is one of the best decisions you can make!

And NO is not a waste of money having one on your wedding day or right now during your process of finding vendors or selecting your venue.

Do a little research or look through here WW (your area) and you’ll find amazing wedding planners that will be able to work with you!

Honestly i dont think you need one unless u just dont want to plan it but you have alot of time. I had from 12/08 lol and got alot done, 6 months ago thought i needed one for the day of but the venue came with a coordinator who coordinates everything the day of. Talk to your venue to see if they have one? such as make sure the dj gets setup/flowers/etc and when to line up etc . Its an added expense cause they are costly.

I have one and I love her. I want to enjoy our day and not worry about keeping up with vendors and "helpful" family members. She is my day of planner that will coordinate the rehearsal and make sure our day runs smoothly and we can enjoy every moment. It is worth it to not feel stressed and overwhelmed on your big day.

To Lisa and Teexoxo (and anyone else who may have been offended) - Apologies if I came off gruff. I was attempting to point out that people who hire planners a) save money and b) have nicer, less stressful weddings.

Also, from a vendor perspective, I will do anything you want but I will charge appropriately for it. So, if I need to have three meetings and endless phone calls about ceremony times, venue locations, and wedding colors, etc., I'm going to charge for that time. I also charge extra for stress.

The reason I am considering not taking clients without planners is because not having a planner directly impacts the quality of the photography because the bride is too stressed out to relax for good photos!

I understand needing to save money, but thinking you can't afford a planner is silly because the planner will save you more than you spend because vendors like me will offer discounts because we know it will be an easy wedding to work with.

Planners are extremely worth having, not only can we save you money on other vendors' services but having someone on that wedding day be there to make sure ALL goes well is; as many of my brides' have told me PRICELESS! A friend can help set-up, decorate etc. but when they want to drink, dance & party who is going to make sure everything else "behind the scenes" is happening the way it's supposed to. I understand what LuminEssence is saying, might have said it the wrong way but I understand. I've had a couple of brides who didn't hire me (or any other planner) call me after the wedding to say how they wish they would have hired someone. Their DJ or Photographer wanted to charge them outrageous fees on the day of the wedding because they needed someone to handle what a planner does. Other vendors stick to their contract and believe me when I tell you, the prices are crazy if you don't request the extra services before the wedding. Day of, have a coordinator, best money spent!

Glad you found a planner.

LuminEssence comments. You still are alienating yourself. As the photographer I am the buffer for the bride when there isn't a planner, my job is to make sure those pictures come out looking stress free and spectacular. When a problem occurs it is my responsibility that they do not show up in the pictures. I have literally told vendors that the bride doesn't need to be concerned with that right now can someone else handle it. After something happened, I have reassured bride and grooms that that is so small it is not worth getting upset over. I have removed spots from the dress for free to keep the bride in a good mood. This is part of my job, not something I have to do. I shoot weddings, I don't shoot easy weddings.

The attitude you are betraying is I don't want to go the extra mile to help a bride. The question you raise is will you go the extra mile for your shots? Will you go the extra mile when it counts? Will you give me the best or the easiest?

@G&K Photography: Rather than handling problems I prefer to incentive-ize my brides to eliminate problems before they have a chance to happen by hiring a professional. What is better? A wedding where the photographer quickly solves problems or one where a dedicated professional prevents them from happening in the first place? And, the right professionals will be free because of the money they will save.

I think you are leaping to conclusions to judge my dedication to photography based on my support of wedding planners. That would be like me leaping to the conclusion that you do not pay proper attention to details just because the "Next" button in your portfolio is missing an image. (Which it is, you may want to get that fixed)

Okay really, this is getting stupid. @LuminEssence, this thread was not started so the photog vendors could have a catfight about who has an attitude and how somebody does business. Let's grow up here huh? If anybody doesn't like the way LiminEssence run his/her business, then don't hire them! Thank you to everybody who offered RELEVANT insight and advice. But please take the snooty comments to another thread. This post is on my watch list and I'm tired of getting emails about this thread thinking somebody has offered me some advice just to see yall bickering. Grow up. :-\

MarineFiance: I know I'm getting in on this late, but I just wanted to add my two cents. I'm having a destination wedding, and have decided to hire a planner. My planner has already paid for herself!! Thanks to her, I'll be spending HALF of what I was originally expecting to spend on this wedding. She's AMAZING! So I would definitely say that planners are a good idea.