Wedding planner or go it alone?

I thought about hiring a wedding planner because I am clueless but after talking to friends/vendors, they all advised against it. I have to say, it's been a lot of fun (and sometimes exhausting) to do it alone. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A full on planner will cost you a pretty penny. If it's in your budget than you can always go for it. I don't know about you but personally I could never allow for someone else to plan "OUR" day. I like to be in control of things and I hate delogating work to anyone. Once you actually start planning and get organized it really isn't so bad. If you still have a year or more to go before the big day then you will be fine without one. However, if your date is going to be in 2010 you might want to consider a planner of some sort to help you out because alot of brides have been planning since 2009 for 2010 weddings. And yes most planners charge by the hour, or at least the ones I have come across do anyway. Good luck and congrats on the engagement by the way :-)!

I agree with J.J. Once you get organized and get a few things in the works, it gets a lot easier. And I have so much fun with the planning of my own wedding! It will be such an awesome feeling for me to get the compliments on different parts of the wedding and reception the day of, and know that it's my work. The whole process has been a blast...I know I wouldn't get a planner. The choice is completely dependent on your budget, the time you have to put into the wedding, and how involved you want to be. Good luck, and congrats!

Amanda I totally forgot about that point. It will feel amazing to look around during the day at the ceremony/venue and know that all the hard work that I put in throughout the years paid off. I want to know that when my guests compliment me that it was work that I put in and not some one else. It is such a great/fun experience to plan a wedding, especially your own, and to see the finished product all come together in the end will be an amazing feeling and I cannot wait!

My fiancee and I planned ours on our own 80 guests and turned out wonderful. No stress and we did what we wanted.

I agree with J.J. If it's in your budget and that's what you want to do then go for it. But usually they are not neccessary because the bride has so many family members to help her out with the details. As long as you know what you want you can delegate your decisions to your family and they will help you with whatever you need usually

I agree that if your wedding will be this year and it's in your budget then it might be a good idea. But I think it's more fun to do everything yourself (or with help from your family and friends). It's cheaper and will be more meaningful

Good thoughts! We are both definitely involved and excited to plan, I just didn't know if there were different benefits to having a planner (i.e. better deals?).....all good advice ladies!

If you feel you may need the services of a wedding planner, chances are you do! Wedding planners I am associated with have a variety of payment methods. Some charge by percentage, hourly, price per service (ala carte), service package, etc. Brides I have worked with that have used a planner have never regretted it. Because of their connections, planners most often SAVE you money, and make sure your day is stress-free. I recently officiated a wedding where the DJ got lost, and the caterer had the wrong time for arrival at the venue (showed up way too EARLY, set up, and the food was not nearly as good as it could have been). Those things would never had happened if the bride had at least a day-of coordinator. Poor thing, she was sooo upset.

There are always benefits to having a planner. In some areas they are able to get better deals however most of them will take you to someone who they get a "deal" from and tell you it's the best "deal" out there. When in reality with a little research you could have found something better. Another option is to get a planner for only certain areas. I have heard of planners who do all the work or work with the couple and do only what is needed with them. Start calling around and making appointments with planners to see what you can come up with. You will never know what they can/can't do until you meet with them :-).

I'm doing all the planning for my wedding myself. I'm one of those people that has to do things my way and I want to whole thing to turn out how we envision it rather than have some unrelated person come in and try to take over. I think if you give yourself enough time it won't really be that hard to plan it yourself. What I have done is get a cheap/free calendar for the year and every 2-3 days I give myself a task to do, that way I don't feel overwhelmed and I know what I need to get done by a certain date.

We have a wedding planner because we are not getting married in our hometown and it was a planning nightmare for us when it came to finding local vendors. I love my wedding planner because she has kept me organized and on budget.

My wedding is July 3rd, 2010. Alot of people told me that I would be better off with a planner because of the holiday weekend (they were all planners). Lol. If you are afraid of it becoming more thier opinions and not yours, your right. They try get to know you before planning your wedding and decide on things for your wedding. If you are on a slim budget, as I am, they will do thier best to give you luxury for cheap. They also know all the places that may not be listed to public and will be able to talk to the vendors about negotiating prices. There are many pros to having one, but I decided not to. I like to be in control and love to put myself into the planning. Also, If you are on a slim budget you save the money to put toward something more special. One of the best things that I have heard about planning is "If your budget is thin, pick three things that are most important to you and cut cost all the other things. Like downloading a bunch of CD's instead of a DJ, ect. Congrats!!

A good day of coordinator will be worth it, but you will have to research because I have witnessed a couple of mediocre ones and thought the bride could have saved her money......On the other hand, it's true that if your wedding is in 2010, you are very particular, and have the budget, I think a wedding planner could make your life a lot easier!! I did not hire one because I did not have the budget, but if I did, I would not hesitate in hiring a pretty good one! Still, it was a lot of fun planning it all by myself. But I had some crazy female drama and if I had a strong wedding planner, it would have made me feel better and that things were less of a battle during the wedding planning with my family and on the wedding day, I would have felt more calm.

Happy New Year and CONGRATS Lavin 3223. There are so many options when it comes to wedding planners. You can have one that offers you direction in the first stages(budget,colors,venues etc.),one who does month of and then theirs the full service planner. Even if you decide to do it all the day of your ceremony having someone there to oversee things would be a good option. Best wishes in whatever you decide.

I think a day of coordinator is def necessary. This doesnt have to be someone you hire. If you have someone in your family that is organized and not directly involved in the wedding yet (walkin down the aisle..) they can help you with this. Also, before hiring a wedding planner, decide on where your wedding will take place. Many places (at least in my area) come with a wedding planner. My coordinator hasn't help me with every detail (she came with my venue) but any time I have a question or need advice she's glad to help. She's also going to be there for every minute of the wedding day to make it as stress free as possible for me and the fh. Good luck and congrats!!!!

You have just become you rown wedding planner just by making this post...this is all you need, dont waste the money on a wedding planner unless you absolutely need the extra help and youre too busy. Go to bridal shos, check out ww forums, and do a lot of research online

I say if you can afford one to do it. As much fun as it is planning your wedding it can get overwhelming and I know if I had the money I would have hired one.

I tried to handle all the details myself and was doing a pretty good job at it but still ended up hiring a wedding planner. I had already booked most of my vendors though which had I known I was going to have a planner I would have waited. The thing about having a wedding planner is since they do this for a living they have so many ideas and can actually save you lots of money. They have vendors they recommend that will discount the price just for having that particular planner. Another thing that is really great about having a planner is the fact that you have someone else to bounce wedding related ideas and concerns off of practically anytime you'd like as they more than likely will tolerate your obsessive wedding syndrome a lot better than some of your BM's. If you find that the planner is too expensive I would at least solicit the help of a close friend or family member to help ease your stress in the days leading up to the wedding.

I would highly recommend a planner. If you're overwhelmed now, you won't believe all you have to do in the days before the wedding. THERE IS A LOT!!! We had an amazing planner who did such a great job, and her total fee was only $630.00. I couldn't believe how cheap she was, and I can't tell you how much work she did for us.