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There’s a common misconception that having a wedding planner is only for the wealthy and not for the regular couple planning their wedding but let me tell you that a wedding planner is for anyone planning a wedding. Of course there is a cost that come with this service (and of course it is obviously cheaper to plan yourself) but a good planner will have a range of services to offers couples at various budgets spends.
Wedding planners are also there not just here to help you plan the wedding, but we are also a shoulder to cry on, someone you can ask for advice and are ultimately there to allow you the chance to enjoy your engagement and build up to your wedding, instead of stressing and just wishing that the planning would be over already!
I'm also the person you get to throw under the bus. If you don't want your uncle jack taking the stage for a speech, you tell them your wedding planner said they can't due to X reason I would give you. if a family member make a request that you don't want to meet, your wedding planner said no can do. So we also act as a buffer to help you say no when you may not be so confident to do so yourself.
So what is a wedding planner?
If you think that you might want a wedding planner then it’s important that you fully understand what our role is and how we can help you, as well as understanding the things that we won’t normally do too.
Every wedding planner will be slightly different and may offer different services or different packages to suit different budgets so it’s important that when you are looking for a wedding planner you get a full understanding of exactly what they are offering you before you decide to work with them so make sure you ask lots of questions and make sure you get anything that you are unclear on explained upfront .
As a base most wedding planners will do the following:
We can help you find your perfect venue if you haven't already done so when you engage with us
Help you review your budget and help allocate chunks of it to different areas of your wedding based on your needs using our knowledge of costs
Start planning in the order of importants to you both
Liaise with the perfect suppliers to suit your design/theme and venue, as well as your budget. Once selected and booked we deal with all the admin with them throughout the planning stage leaving you to enjoy your freetime.
We may offer support with finding accommodation and travel options and transport for your guests that require it.
For full planning, we are present on the day overseeing the setup of your venue and ensuring that what you have pictured and planned will come to life.
On the day we will be involved in all manner of things from problem solving to guest management, to liaising with suppliers and eventually the breakdown at the end of the night.
A wedding planners’ role is instrumental in creating the day of your dreams and ensuring that it runs smoothly and that where any problems do arise, they are the ones to resolve them, thus helping to keep the stress away from you.
Budget responsibilities
Think of your wedding planner as your own pocket financial adviser who deals with weddings.
We know how much things should cost, when payment are due
More importantly we can stop you from making costly mistakes (see my blog published on HELLO! Magazine that will help save you 000's)
We can help save you money which often pays for our services. So having someone who is experienced in planning weddings becomes invaluable when it comes to budgeting and making sure you aren't wasting/losing money.
We coordinates all your wedding suppliers, help you carry out surprises for your new partner, help manage your secret singing waiters, and generally help keep things hush hush.
Knowing which suppliers to trust and who will make your wedding perfect is a daunting task for you, but for us, we know the tried and tested suppliers that will make your day magical.
There are so many wedding suppliers out there you may not know where to start, who’s out to scam you and how cheap is too cheap. Once you find a great wedding planner everything else falls into place. We are here to guide you in the right direction and we have a little black book full of the top suppliers we know you will love for every theme of wedding.
It's important to know that some planners take commissions from suppliers and that only costs you more in the long run, so make sure that you use a planner that has a strict no commission policy. like BusyBrides Wedding Planners
We deal with all the back and forth with every supplier for your wedding day and keep you updated on the important information regularly and ensure that bills are paid on time but will deal with what can feel like a constant barrage of emails and communication.
Problems solvers
Whilst a good wedding planner will have already lived every issue and pre-empt this even before your day, a good Wedding planner should be able to problem solve and deal with issues without notice!
We are there to solve anything that may come up in the planning or on the day itself, in most cases we will solve the problem without having to worry you both and sort it quietly and quickly so you would never know if anything has gone wrong, especially on the wedding day! I have dealt with many calamities on the day that my couples have been blissfully aware of, and the only time you are ever aware is if it is of a financial nature that a planner may need your approval.
One problem that is a common occurrence in wedding planning can be family input. Many brides have to deal with a swarm of requests and ideas from family and friends into what 'they think' is best for your wedding. This can obviously be very stressful! A wedding planner will be able to deal with any issue and deal with any family expectations and give you available options on your ideas.
Essentially Wedding Planners are there to take the stress away from you and be your very own champion problem solvers.
What a wedding planner won’t do.
Ultimately working with a wedding planner is a collaborative relationship. They aren’t going to take over and make all of the decisions for you. You still need to be involved in the process to ensure that you are getting exactly what it is that you want.
Your wedding planner is there to offer advise based on our experiences, the contacts that we have, and the outline for the day that you have created together.
We don't usually get involved with your bridal and grooms attire, or your wedding rings. We can recommend, but these personal elements are generally down to you.
How do you choose a wedding planner to work with?
Perhaps one of the most important things when choosing a wedding planner is finding someone that you like and get on with. All of the knowledge, contacts and experience in the world will mean nothing if you don’t like them and can’t bear to speak to them or be in the same room with them for any length of time.
You and you wedding planner are going to get to know each other pretty well as you are going to be working together for months. When it comes to full wedding planers often I become more like family with my couples as we will need regular meetings, be that on the phone or in person, to ensure that things are still on track, in regard to both timescale and budget.
You also need to find someone that you trust, someone that you respect, someone that you can relate to and who can relate to you, and maybe even someone that you can laugh and joke with – remember you’re going to be spending lots of time talking to them.
You may also want to see if they have been recognised with any industry awards. Busybrides is proud to hold 4 awards in recognition for my wedding services.
When you’re looking for a wedding planner don’t be afraid to speak to several too, ask lots of questions, and then make an informed decision.
Here are a few recent reviews from my couples and what they say about me.
Must have a Sian in your wedding! Absolutely fabulous first rate wedding planner! We had the wedding of our dreams, all thanks to Sian. She helped pick the venue, suppliers and followed up with them all. She saved us a lot of time.
We got to see Sian in action on the wedding day and she dealt with so many things that cropped up with precision, kindness and efficiency. We felt relaxed as Sian took care of everything. Although its an extra cost having a wedding planner it was definitely worth it as she gave us so much help and tips we would have never known. She also saved us money, so it end up balancing it out in terms of costs, so we would highly recommend Sian.
Meena & Tom
Sian was recommended to us and she was the best wedding planner we could have hoped to find. She is super-organised, a great communicator and has loads of very good connections with suppliers in the wedding world, particularly for Asian weddings as in our case. But what made it brilliant working with her is that we got on so well. Sian has a lovely sense of humour and we were all able to see the funny side in everything. She is also pragmatic and not easily offended (if you don't choose her supplier) and clearly just wants you to have the best day she can help you organise. 100% genuine and big-hearted to boot. If you're looking for a wedding planner who is fantastic at her job, who you can have a laugh with along the way, then Sian is the planner for you!
Mel & Anand
Where on earth do I begin, having Sian as our wedding planner was the best decision we ever made! She is the kindest soul and helped make our wedding an absolute dream. If you're reading this review, you have found your perfect wedding planner. Sian kept us on track with regular catch ups and went above and beyond during the whole wedding planning process and during the wedding day itself. If I could give more stars I would. She is more than our wedding planner, she us our dear friend. I will definitely be recommending her to all my friends for years to come. We just can't thank Sian enough for all she has done
Meron & Chris
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