To have a wedding planner? or to not have a wedding planner? That is the Question

We initially thought we didn't want a planner, but were convinced to just do a day-of planner. My cousin used the same one, and she said it was really helpful for her wedding that got moved due to covid. I don't think a full planner is necessary though.

I have a full planner, and it’s worth it to me. She keeps track of our budget and priorities, recommends vendors based on that so I’m not having to research a ton of people that won’t work for us, she’s putting together our design board right now so we’ll know what we’re asking for when we talk to rental companies and florists. It’s great for me to have a resource for all the little things you wouldn’t think of if you’ve never planned a wedding. I don’t need to worry when I’m hiring a vendor because she knows them and has been in the industry 20+ years. Took a ton of stress out of the whole process for me and my FH.


That said, you can totally plan a wedding without one. What you will NEED is someone to be your coordinator on the day of the wedding, to be the go to contact for all the vendors and guests. That can be someone you hire, or someone you know and trust, it just can’t be you doing all of that.

I think it depends on whether you're a planner or not yourself. I'm super type-a, organized and on top of things planning wise so a full planner was not necessary for me. We have a day of coordinator (really a month of coordinator because we work with her 3 weeks out up until the day after the wedding). She will be the onsite point of contact for all of our vendors to set up, she'll be the one making sure people are lined up and go down the aisle at the proper points, that we're running on schedule. But if I was not type-a and detailed and organized, a full on planner would have been 100% worth it to me. I also considered a full planner when we were thinking of having the wedding in Nebraska (my home state) instead of New Jersey (where we live). But we ended up going with Jersey.

How much have you already planned? If you have a good chunk of the planning handled and have an idea of what you want for anything remaining, then you probably only need a coordinator at most. Coordinators cost less than actual planners since they're only handling the day-of things like being the contact person for vendors, making sure everyone is lined up, and helping with setup/ teardown. The coordinator we're working with is similar to Ashlee's since she'll be finalizing everything with vendors the final month, doing a walk-through of the reception venue with us, etc. They also offer planning services for a higher price if we had wanted that.

I have a planner and hired her halfway through planning. She had been amazing all I have to do is make choices, write checks and show up on our wedding day. Both of us work very long hours in very stressful positions and I just didn’t have the bandwidth to plan. I highly recommend that it’s worth the expense.

I am a very type A planner, organized person myself, but I hired a day of coordinator solely because she will set up decor. Then it's just a bonus that she will stay on all day to help everything rub smoothly. My venue rents out the night before so I would have to come in first thing in the morning on the wedding day and we'd have to get EVERYTHING set up prior to hair and make up, and that would be impossible.

I didn't get a full planner. Like you, after meeting with a few planners and looking at the cost, I was wondering if it would be worth it for me. I ended up just going with a day of coordinator and planning everything myself with my fiancé. I like doing research and I am very organized and on top of things, so it was very doable for us. Also think about how much time you can commit to wedding planning. I luckily had free time to dedicate to it, but if you are very busy person and worried about the time commitment, that might make a planner worth it.

Like others already stated, I recommend at least a day of coordinator. They will help with set up, coordinating with vendors and keeping things flowing and on schedule. They are also there to handle any hiccups that might come up so you can fully enjoy your day without all that added stress.