Why (or why not) did you hire a wedding planner, & can a planner actually save you money?

I dont have an actual wedding planner, but one comes with my venue. Though she hasnt saved me any money, shes seriously a life saver. I get to bounce my crazy ideas off her and she sets up EVERYTHING the day of the wedding, literally all I have to do is show up and she will make sure everything else is done.

If I didnt have her, I would hire one. Saves SO much stress.

I have family friends who I asked to be the MCs, and they will take the place of a DOC. MCs are pretty common in my area, and my parents' friends kind of all take turns serving as MCs for their friends' kids' weddings. We don't have a coordinator for other things because my mom and I like to be hands on with our research, and with the internet nowadays you can find tons of vendors and reviews without insider know-how.

We didn't. We had a lot of friends who volunteered to help out, and we wanted to deal with our own friends personally, not through a third party. I hear that a wedding planner can often get you savings on traditional wedding items. However, we didn't have enough traditional wedding items to make that worthwhile. For example, we used a synagogue, a restaurant, and a private club owned by a friend as our venues, instead of traditional wedding venues. Our entire floral budget was $275. We didn't have a limo. For our at-home reception, we hired a friend to prepare the food, instead of using a traditional caterer.

I've heard a wedding planner can get you a better wedding for the same budget because she will have connections to get deals that The General Bride doesn't have. I didn't use one, it's just what I've heard. I didn't use one cause my venue came with a lovely DOC and I wanted to keep things simple, not imagine more ways to spend money.

Thus far, mine has only gotten me a better photographer for the same price that I was going to pay someone else to do it. Technically not a savings but the quality is better. I have booked every other vendor besides party bus and each of her recommendations was higher than what I found on my own. So not convinced that there is a "savings" or that she "pays for herself". That being said, she was hired to be DOC and I got an upgrade to a planning package as part of a deal through The Knot. Her cost is $1,050 for the partial planning and DOC.

I have no hired a WP or DOC yet. But my venue was partnered with so many great vendors that gave AMAZING discounts for booking at my venue!

I would love to have DOC, I even met with a great one. Sadly, it's just not in the budget.

We have one, she is saving me no money, just the opposite bc she's expensive, but she is saving me stress!

We have a wedding planner, full package deal. I'm not sure they are saving us money on vendors. It seems to me that they have our budget (you know where they break down the cost 50% reception, 8% photography, etc.) and just plugged in our numbers and recommend vendors in our price range. It is nice though, since we don't have to weed through everyone in our price range to get to the 'good' ones. I will say too, that I think they will save us a little in the long run, because they have things like the cake cutter, toasting flutes, candles holders, some ceremony decorations, and such that we can use. So a lot of those little things we won't have to buy and those 'little' purchases can add up really quick!

So, no one has actually has any experience with a wedding planner saving them money, huh? Hmmmm...makes me wonder if that's just a sales pitch. Still, the reduction in my stress level might be worth some extra $$$. I will continue to ponder this issue. If anyone thinks of any further wisdom, I am all ears!

No experience with a wedding planner, but I do have a DOC. She just saves me time, patience, and stress, haha

A planner will keep things under control that day, and they may have relationships with vendors who will give them a discount they will pass along to you. They will know the best vendors at the best prices and they'll know what will work in your venue.

And on the day? You don't want to do anything yourself.

So far our wedding planner has saved us some money with the photographer (free engagement pictures!).

She has hooked us up with an awesome DJ (saved a bunch of time going and talking to all the different DJs in town). The photographer is perfect - not only is he excited about our theme, it's something he personally can relate to. We never would have found him without her. The caterer she recommended is actually cheaper than the one we were looking at, especially once you consider all the extras (linens, etc) included.

Her centerpiece ideas are phenomenal - she took what little ideas we had and took off running! Plus, she gets a great deal at the rental place, so we'll be saving money there. Our plan for the day has changed, now we have "flow" rather than people going back and forth between areas... Less herding people around

I also love how she's done this loads of times before and is taking control of the fussy/tricky bits. Need to know where to go for a dress, based on budget? Yup, she sent me a list along with little comments about each shop.

We used a wedding planner… she's new… she's fantastic… she's free… she's me!

HA.

Wedding Planners take that stress off you to find your vendors and usually have relationships with a lot of different vendors, so they can get better rates. Are they expensive? Probably… but they probably a lot more in the long run than you may expect.

We do have a DOC and I'm utterly excited about it. She works at the venue and has worked with all of my vendors before (minus maybe 2), so she's the perfect person. She will be the go to person so people can just leave me alone and let me enjoy the day

I have not hired a planner or DOC because I am a planner and control freak about the wedding. I do have people that have volunteered to set up for me and I have two girls that will work as attendants for FH and I while getting ready.

I know that I am a wedding coordinator so this may seem bias...But here I go anyway...I can not tell you if wedding planners will actually save you money, however they do save you time and stress as well as bring quality vendors to the table and sort through the vendor mess out there.

I personally take a different approach then many planners out there because I truly want to plan AMAZING WEDDINGS! Its my goal and dream! I charge only what I know I need because this is my passion! As well as I know the Houston Bride is on a budget, so I have a litter of vendors that are quality over quantity! My goal is to always come under the Brides Budget, it makes her happier in the end! Not trying to further enhance my career here just want to say all that to leave you with one point...If they are more concerned with signing a contract and getting their deposit then steer clear...choose a coordinator with a passion for YOUR wedding! Its your day, get someone to make you feel special! (: Best of luck!

Thanks, ya'll! I have a meeting with a planner on Monday, so I guess I'll have to make my mind up based on how that goes.

My coordinator has saved me money! She has discounts for rental companies and can get me deals on things such as linens and chairs. Also, she has a humongous warehouse of décor and I can use all of her candles, hundreds of mercury glass, vases etc. I am also using her arch for the ceremony. (all part of the package). Also, I was talking to her about my rental order and she saved me hundred of dollars of things I thought I may need but she said it is fine without them. Basically working with a coordinator or planner can help save money because they know many vendors and can help select someone for you in your price range or use people that offer discounts to vendors and then they will book for you. Not to mention the peace of mind having someone to help you on the day of! OMG I am so thankful I will have a professional to execute my vision!!

I just hired a DOC this past Wednesday. My main reason is that I want someone to take the reigns on the day of the wedding so that I don't have that extra stress. Almost our entire guest list, except for FH and I's coworkers, are from out of state. I want them to be able to enjoy the wedding and not put them to work. So, I hired a DOC so that she and her team can go all of the set up, interacting with the vendors, making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible, and cleaning up everything afterwards. I found a great company on craigslist and am getting an amazing deal, so to me it's worth it to not have to deal with that extra stress the day of.

A friend is a WP and is providing me with her services as a gift. She had connections with vendors that gave me discounts.