I am an active member of the Association of Bridal Consultants here in NJ. At a recent local networking group meeting one of our speakers was a recently engaged young man. He sat through dinner and listened as the planners at the table discussed venues and vendors that they would prefer not to use again. At the end of the meeting he pulled me aside and asked if he and his fiance could take me to dinner one night to ask me some questions about how to get started on the journey that will culminate in their wedding. I do offer “ask the planner” consultations and agreed to meet with them. As we were parting he said “I didn’t know that I didn’t know all that’s involved in planning a wedding.”
That sentence, in a nutshell, is why an experienced wedding planner can be such a vital part of your planning process. As someone not on the inside, so to speak, you’re not going to know that one planner had to use her “mother voice” (as I call it) to finally get the PA system going for an outdoor wedding after she had been asking nicely for almost 2 hours!! Imagine you’re the bride at that wedding without a planner. You get to the altar to meet your groom and as you stand there in front of family and friends, ready to take your vows, you discover there’s no sound and no one can hear you. What are you going to do??
IMHO an experienced planner is essential to a smooth planning process. Their value lies in the circle of contacts and reliable vendors that can save you time, money, and aggravation. Hiring a planner puts you on the inside so you get to find out all you need to know that you didn’t know you needed to know.
“I love the way he phrased it – “”””I didn’t know that I didn’t know”””” – SO true! The biggest regrets couples have about their weddings is not hiring a coordinator and skimping on photography.”