What should I expect out of a wedding planner (not day-of coordinator)?

Check your contract. Is there a clause for response time? My contract says she will respond within 48 hours, and the week of the wedding she is on-call to me 24/7.

It seems like a ton of bride and grooms post on here how they are not happy with their communication with their WP. Exactly why I didn't hire one and got a DOC.

Richard, I hired a "Full Service Planning" package planner. My title specifically says "not day-of corrdinator". Here's what the contract says:

Events promises to provide the following services:

• Unlimited questions, advice, and vendor meetings

• Vendor and venue recommendations and contract negotiating

• Coordination of transportation

• Personalized wedding planning checklist

• Budget and payment tracking

• Event design and basic DIY

• Coordination of all rentals

• Creation of reception floor plan

• Access to professional wedding planning software and tools

• Coordination of all stationary and mailing needs

• Organization of all RSVPs and seating chart

• Wedding day timeline

• Mini Bridal party timelines

• Ceremony rehearsal guidance

• Rehearsal dinner coverage

• Full wedding day coverage

• Handle any unexpected issues

• Setup and Breakdown of décor

• Coordination of Sunday brunch

I would check your contract. I have a partial planner but she is very quick to respond and thorough. Anything she was contracted for and could already do has been completed.

None of that involves booking vendors.

True, StPaulGal. I'm not asking her to book vendors for me, but I ask for recommendations via email and get nothing. Same with all other vendors except the actual venue. That's why I've been doing all the meetings and bookings by myself.

Hi Meeyuu! I'm a professional Wedding Planner with over 17 years of experience. Unfortunately, you're not the only one who's had these types of concerns with their planners. We've booked some couples who had similar experiences and fired their former planners for lack of communication, as well as inflexibility with appointments and design.

Wedding Planners can be hired for partial planning, full planning, day-of coordination & rehearsal, vendor and venue referrals, budget analysis, shopping research, decor / design, setup, stationery design & creation, and negotiating. For most if not all packages, the following services "should" be included:

Timeline & Checklist preparation

Contract reviewing of all your vendor and venue contracts

Negotiating on your behalf with vendors and venues

Processional / Recessional preparation

Design Layouts for Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception spaces

At 10 months out, if I were your planner, I would be focused on vendor and venue referrals. Of course, being that it's busy wedding season...if your planner is terribly busy, he/she may not be able to get to it until the fall. But he/she should at least be responding to your emails. For me, I always respond to emails within 12-24 hours so whoever is emailing me knows I received it and am on top of whatever's being requested of us.

I hope what I've posted is of help to you!

@angelicaffairs, thank you so much for the detailed message. This helps a lot. It is just that this wedding planner is costing $7,000 out of my budget and with that much amount of money, she should really be at least doing the basics, like returning my emails or calls. Nothing. It's been a week since my first correspondence, and 2 days since my follow-up. It's frustrating because I'm not getting the help to choose vendors. Every vendor I listed that is booked was all done through by myself.

Another reason why we never considered dropping one dollar, let alone thousands, on a planner.

Wow, I feel like your planner should at least be more responsive to you. I am 5 months out, and my planner has me CC her on literally everything, and she gets back to me in less than 24 hours for sure. Usually by the end of the day. She even gives me input on things I have added to my Pinterest boards, and I have like 10! We paid about $3600 for a partial planning package.

This is all driven by contract specifics. I refer three planners; one that does ONLY day of with four women on staff, and two that go from full planning to DOC (which, realistically, is more like month of...)

I don't think it's fair to say that one shouldn't consider 'spending one dollar' on a planner, but it's really hard to find good ones. Too many people think that since they planned their own wedding and had SO MUCH FUN, that they are qualified to do other people's. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Trouble is, it's really hard to find good ones. Some of the most high profile people I've worked with are so entranced with their own fabulousness that nothing messy really gets done.

You need to have a sit down with this person and tell them, in very unemotional tone, what you expected, what has been done and what has not. I would make if very clear that you have every intention of cancelling the contract if you don't see some improvement in the communication. Yes, it's far away, timewise, but there are questions you need to have answered, and that is why you hired her.