In our previous blog, we shared 10 steps to successfully start planning the wedding of your dreams. Now that you have taken those initial steps, it’s time to advance to one of the most important aspects of wedding planning: building your wedding pro dream team! Having a top-tier team of wedding professionals will bring your vision to life with precision, and in glorious ways you would have never imagined.

So, who should be on your wedding professionals dream team? We are going to walk you through this 6-part blog series.

My advice is to “start” with our suggested (5) essential wedding pros to book “first” as your starting lineup; each bringing their own specialized skills, specifically tasked to ensure your day runs smoothly.  It takes an entire creative team to create your dream wedding that ranges from 10-20 wedding businesses working in unison; these are our suggested wedding pros to hire first! Let us begin with our first wedding pro, THE WEDDING PLANNER.

#1 WEDDING PLANNER

When it comes to wedding planning, every little thing is EVERYTHING. Therefore, a highly competent, reputable and professional Wedding Planner should be number one on your wedding dream team. Why? If for no other reason than their ability to take the stress, worry and tasks associated with wedding planning off of your plate. With a Wedding Planner overseeing the entire process on your behalf, there is no need to juggle between your career and personal life, while trying to balance the logistical details of planning a wedding.

Being engaged is a time when you should be brewing your favorite tea or eating ice cream, zen’ing out on your love for one another – not spending countless hours researching ideas, analyzing vendors and strategizing options. A professional Wedding Planner will perform their due diligence on your behalf, and have a database of trusted resources ready and at your disposal.

The benefits do not end there. A professional Wedding Planner will keep the entire process organized and optimized. This ensures everything will be done efficiently, consistently throughout every aspect of the planning and execution phases. Being organized also lends itself to streamlining and keeping tight tabs on your investment. With a planner, every penny will be well spent and accounted for.

A Planner brings their wealth of innovative concepts and artistic talents for you to tap into. It will be your vision flowing through the channels of their creative mind to create a remarkable wedding that uniquely represents your personal expression of love.

If you are looking to hire a “Full-Service Wedding Planner”, you should engage them at the very beginning of the planning stage.  They are usually booked 9-12 months in advance. Alternatively, if you are looking for a “Coordinator”, they are usually booked 3-6 months in advance.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PROFESSIONAL PLANNER:

  • Experience: How many years have they been in business? Do you have confidence in their ability to represent you and successfully handle the myriad of logistics and what matters to you?
  • Validation: Is their company a legally registered business; certificate of State registration and Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service?
  • Reputation: Have you read customer reviews and checked references? A great resource for reviews; WeddingWire, the Knot, Google Reviews.
  • Knowledge/Education: What does their professional development plan entail? How do they stay in-the-know of the industry’s best practices and latest innovations? Are they well-networked? What types of high impact educational seminars or conferences do they attend?
  • Staffing: What is the number and tenure of persons that will be working your event – a Professional Planner never works alone!
  • Response:  Do they respond back to you in a timely manner and make you feel valued? Are they accessible? Is there a good communication flow?
  • Insurance:  Does your Planner have liability insurance? All wedding professionals you hire should have business liability insurance.
  • Compatibility/Personality: Does your Planner feel like they could become a member of your family? Will the person you select bond with you and your fiancé?

Whether you choose a full-service Wedding Planner or Coordinator, their professional time and experience is well worth the investment.

Above all else, when choosing your wedding pro dream team, make sound, informed decisions. With the above list, ensure they are all licensed professionals, have liability insurance, are willing to be interviewed face-to-face, and have stellar reviews or referrals.

My recommended resources to locate your wedding professional team include:

…  just to name a few.

And, as always, the best part is you do not have to go about the process of hiring a dream team of wedding professionals alone. Perfect Planning Events is willing to serve as the star player on your team! It would be my honor to walk alongside you during your planning process; guiding you every step of the way along the  journey that leads to the aisle.

(photos are Real Weddings by Perfect Planning Events | Photography Credit (in order shown) – Procopio Photography; Ana Isabel Photography; Joshua Dwain Photography)