Lila Lane Events & Planning
wedding planner
Hiring a wedding planner may sound over-the-top, but we promise there’s so much more to it than you might think! There are plenty of benefits to working with a professional in this vendor category so we could hardly narrow it down. We asked one of the experts, Lila Lane Events & Planning to give us all the inside scoop on exactly what goes into the planning process, plus just what your wedding planner does so that you don’t have to. We don’t know how anyone ever lived without them before! Read on for more.
(guest post by Ashtyn Burttschell with Lila Lane Events & Planning)
Are you recently engaged and now wedding planning conversations consume most of your conversations? Hire a wedding planner right off the bat! If a friend has not already shared this with you, let me be that friend. They will alleviate stress throughout the entire wedding season, giving you time to enjoy each event along the way. Follow along to read about a few of the lesser-known things a wedding planner does so you don’t have to.
Create and maintain a wedding budget
Budgets can be looked at in two ways: something that is negative and gives restrictions or a tool to keep everyone on track. As a planner, it’s the latter in my eyes. The budget becomes the “rule book” throughout the planning process. It is what keeps all parties on track and allows a level of trust to be built. The client knows that when ideas are brought to the table, that the suggestions are obtainable because the planner worked within the budget.
Guide you through the process of hiring wedding pros
Is your career demanding beyond the normal 8-5 day? Or, do you have other commitments that pull you in a thousand directions? If so, by having a full-service planner, you will avoid stressing about what to do next. Planners ensure that the correct people are hired to execute your day from start to finish. For instance, you would not want to have a food truck wedding without hiring a hospitality team to assist guests throughout the reception space. A full-service planner acts as your eyes and ears throughout the wedding planning process and will guide you along the way of hiring the best wedding pros.
Provide realistic guidelines of what a venue can and can not do
As a planner who offers multiple services, I often hear wedding management couples share their disappointments of decor not being allowed or certain layouts not being capable at a venue. Nine times out of 10, this happens because the venue’s rules were not discussed early in the planning process. The couple is taking unrealistic pictures from Pinterest and applying them to their wedding day, and when it is time for the final walkthrough, a lot of no’s are shared. By having a full-service planner, the logistics are thought about throughout the entire process. The planner is referencing the venue’s contract with every decision that is made. They are making sure their clients do not have unrealistic visions and decisions made are achievable, eliminating you from having to think about the logistics.
Handle communication among wedding professionals
This title could be an entire blog within itself! Full-service wedding planning has many perks, but personally, the biggest relief of hiring a full-service planner comes down to the time a couple saves. Planners search for wedding pros that are available and within budget, answer questions needed to create a contract, handle all communication (allowing your inbox to not get flooded), and then make sure questions are answered leading up to the big day.
Suggest wedding pros that match your personality/aesthetics
When you hop on Google do you feel overwhelmed by all the resources that are thrown your way? I hope you know you are not alone. Understandably so, businesses are going to sell themself online – they want to entice consumers to want their “service.” From the outside it might look nice and shiny, but how do you know if a wedding pro is the right fit for you? Are you just being told exactly what you want to hear?
By having a full-service planner, you will be recommended wedding pros that fit your aesthetics, desires and overall needs. For instance, you would not want to book a wedding band that is known for swing jazz when you want top 40. Or, how do you know if your personality is a good fit with the photographers you are looking at? Booking a photographer is not just about the images. You need to enjoy being around them and understand their way of communicating. Photographers usually do not leave your side throughout the entire day!
Create and coordinate a timeline that works for all wedding vendors
Having a planner to make sure nothing is overlooked is imperative when combining anywhere from 10-25 different businesses together. Wedding pros could have countless deliveries/pick-ups throughout the day, and making sure that the logistics behind each company have been thought through is a must. When hiring a full-service planner, you are handing off one of the largest undertakings of an event (not to mention the communication that takes place prior to delivery day). You do not want the florist to arrive for setup and the ceremony decor has not been delivered. Or, a wedding pro to arrive/set up during the ceremony because their contracted time is not until after dinner.
Execute the couple’s vision
How do I get the Pinterest wedding without creating an epic “failed recipe” on one’s wedding day? By having a planner who understands not only your wedding day vision but also your likes vs. dislikes. Having a planner who knows your vision makes a big impact on are maintaining the color palette throughout the event, being on top of wedding trends, working with different patterns/textures of fabric depending on the season, working with your florist/stationery artists to carry a theme throughout the venue, understanding the key factors that are most important to you as a couple and highlighting them throughout your wedding. A planner gets to know their couple past the surface level in order to execute their dream wedding day vision. Not to mention, they create an environment where the couple feels comfortable sharing any dislike of work being suggested.
Problem solve on the wedding day (and before)
Unfortunately, something will unexpectedly come up on your wedding day. It could be something small like a groomsman breaking his boutonniere or that the baker was in a car accident on the way to the venue. No matter the size of the conflict, by having a planner, you are able to continue to enjoy the day with your loved ones because your planner is problem-solving behind the scenes. A planner will work tirelessly to make sure a new boutonniere gets made or that another cake is brought to serve the guests. They have gotten to know you throughout your engagement, and all the time spent together pays off in moments like this.
Collect RSVPs
This might seem like a small factor in the big picture, but when it is time to start collecting RSVPs, life will ramp up with all the wedding-related tasks. It is typically when you are completing last-minute wedding appointments (hair, nails, bridal party gifts, dance lessons, etc.) that your family begins to reach out asking questions that are answered on your website. So, if your planner offers the service of collecting RSVPs, I say jump on it!
Make sure your T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted
I often share with my couples that I could not jump into their career and know what to do, so why would anyone expect the same from them? That is why they are hiring a full-service planner, in order to help guide them through the process of planning one of the biggest events in their life. Your planner will give insight on the best ways to have the event flow throughout the evening. If you come to them with an idea, they are going to figure out how to execute it properly. They will pick up on small things like confirming the pronunciation of parent names with the DJ before toasts or making sure linen was added for the table at the last minute. Nothing gets forgotten or left behind when a wedding planner is involved with the process.
Connect directly with Ashtyn and the Lila Lane Events & Planning team via their vendor profile here! Happy planning!
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