This is the first post in my #WeddingWednesdays Series! I’ve decided to share my wedding planning updates and tips on Wednesdays! When we decided to hire a wedding planner, it was one of the best choices we’ve made during this process! I’m sure you’ve asked yourself, “Do I need a wedding planner?” Well, my wedding planner Jessica from Jessica George Wedding and Events has been so helpful! I would honestly be stressed out if I didn’t have someone knowledgeable about the industry and the local vendors in our area. My fiancé and I currently live in the DC area but are both from the Raleigh/Durham area in North Carolina. Us living out of state, created another layer of complexity when it came to planning. Having a planner who is in our home state has made the process so much easier!
I wanted to share why I decided to Hire a wedding planner, so it can help you if you’re trying to decide if you want to! I decided to hire a wedding planner for the following reasons:
1. I budgeted for a Planner
I want to first point out that I budgeted for a planner. Before I even started planning I knew that at the bare minimum I needed someone for day of coordinating. Most planners offer full planning, partial planning, and then month/day of planning services. I was fortunate enough that it was able to work out for me to have a planner guide me through the full process. My point is, of course, a planner is extremely helpful, but if it’s not in your budget then you can figure out ways to get around. If it is important to you and it works with your budget, then I highly suggest having one for at least Day-of coordination. Many venues that I toured are also starting to require this!
2. I wanted to make well-informed decisions on everything.
I can take foreverrrr to make decisions. But for good reason! I like to feel as though I make well-informed decisions. I like to research, compare and even create excel sheets (especially when money is involved) to figure out the best choice. Shortly after getting engaged, I tried to get all the info from all the venues and sort through the emails and it honestly became overwhelming trying to keep up with all the details.
Once I decided to hire a wedding planner, she handled all of this. And it was magical. All I had to do was tell her which places I was interested in and because she is familiar with the local venues, she was able to provide details and then schedule all of my venue visits. All I had to do was show up and go with the schedule she set for me.
3. I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to wedding planning (I tried, and couldn’t keep up, it’s seriously a job in itself)
My 9-5 job, this blog and regular life things keep me pretty busy. It didn’t take long before I realized why people hire others to take care of the planning details. It is seriously another job! I really felt like I had 3 jobs keeping up with all of the planning.
4. A Wedding Planner can negotiate with vendors for you
Not only can your planner be the middle person between you and the vendor but they can negotiate with the vendor for you and make sure you’re getting fair estimates. Additionally, it is so helpful to have Jessica at our vendor appointments because she helps to ask the good questions. Or sometimes she helps interpret wedding language for us lol.
5. If you hire a wedding planner, they will keep you on schedule during the planning process
This was a big thing for me. At times I need a little push or a reminder when it comes to staying on track with wedding planning. And my planner Jessica has been great for keeping us on track for booking things and for considering our budget.
6.I needed help bringing my vision to life
Surprisingly, I haven’t had my entire wedding planned out since I was 5 lol. But I know different elements of what I like, I just don’t know what compliments those things or even what else to consider. With a planner, they just have an eye for how to strategically decorate or run your event. I can tell Jessica I like certain colors and textures and she is able to present me with different options to choose from that meet my criteria. Again, it’s magical!
7.I wanted to be stress-free on the day of
The only questions I want to be asked on my wedding day are “Do you want mimosa?” and “Do you take this man to be your husband?” I really want to show up and everything is together and I can just enjoy the friends and family that have come to celebrate our special day! Stress is not an emotion I want my family to feel on this big day. My Planner Jessica is there to run the ceremony and make sure everything is on schedule.
My Wedding Planner:
If you’re interested in reading my proposal story you can check that out here! Do you think it’s necessary to hire a wedding planner? I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether you did or did not hire one!
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