Wedding planner

We had a month of coordinator and it was worth it. She charged $1,000. It was nice the week prior & the day of to have someone to communicate with vendors, come up with a schedule, run the rehearsal, etc. But I was fine doing all the planning prior to that.

I was going to go with a full service planner but then we found a venue that basically does everything in the house. We really liked our planner though, so I was able to adjust the contract with her and just do day of coordination services.


I'm hoping it will be nice to have someone else do the worrying and just let me know that everything is going on track.
I would say it is definitely important to call a few people for quotes and let them know the kind of vision you have - I am not a pretty pretty princess bride, we want to have bread on the table in the middle rather than any florals. Some of the planners I called were way too pink and perky - the lady I ended up with is a no-nonsense lady lol. That's what I was looking for - someone who can yell at my relatives to get in their seats.

If you have a good, organized and experienced Wedding Planner, then it’s all PROS. There can’t be a con when a professional is setting up, keeping your wedding timeline running smoothly, handling any issues that may arise, coordinating your vendors, executing your plans, allowing you to enjoy your wedding day without stress… And more!


The only real con is NOT having a wedding planner. 😉

We had a full service planner and she was amazing. The only con is it’s extremely expensive.

I am planning it all my own. There are plenty of wedding planning apps that can help. Wedding Wire has a pretty good timeline one. I actually plan weddings a little bit on the side of my full time job. You would be surprised how many people are really good at planning an event that you already know that would be able to help you and you may not have to pay them much.

I have not hired one but both of our venues have day of coordinators as a part of our contract with them. Fortunately our planning has been going great without any professional help. There’s a lot of sweet planning apps and binders/books that can be super helpful too. I put together a board with sticky notes that helps me visualize everything I need to do.

We are only having a day of coordinator and doing most of the planning ourselves. She’s been great for advice and recommendations but day of she will do everything and I just get to look pretty, say I do and have a good time. Plus it saves family members from setting up and doing some of those other things that a coordinator would do.

I had a doc and that's about it. I feel like a full service wedding planner is only really something needed if you yourself just don't have the time necessary to plan the wedding you want.

DO IT!

I know there are plenty of "planning tools", "that one friend is so organized", and "I can do this myself"-s out there. You can't coordinate your own wedding. (It pissed me off the first time I heard that too.) I'm extremely organized and a bit of a control freak. … JUST DO IT! Hire someone to look out for you and your needs and best interests. Weddings are supposed to be fun and one of the most important and memorable days in your life. Nobody wants to be stressing about if "this vendor set up correctly" or "those place cards were supposed to go here" and "Aunt Janet wants to set up her own camera phone in the isle". Hire someone to take care of all of that for you!

Venue Coordinators are fantastic and they can be very helpful and they know the ins and outs of the venue BUT they are looking out for the best interests of the venue... not you.

Day of coordination is great and most planners/coordinators will tailor a package to fit your needs and budget.

I went with full service and while it is expensive it has been significantly cost saving in the long run. AND I don't have to worry about anything. A great wedding planner has contacts and relationships with vendors in your area that can save you A LOT of money! The timelines on wedding websites and apps are great but not always accurate to fit your specific event.

Now, people have been having weddings for years and years without planners and I haven't ever heard of it being the deal breaker in a marriage. Do what is right for you!

We had a coordinator at the venue that was part of our package with them, but basically she just emailed with me a few times (I'm pretty sure most venues offer this and that it's not a stand-alone thing).

Personally, I couldn't imagine dropping money on something I can easily do myself, but that's just me.