“5 Things To Check With A Wedding Planner in Brisbane Before Choosing Their Service”

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You’ve just got engaged! Congratulations. Now the real work begins, planning for your wedding. Trying to fit in the hours needed to properly plan your wedding after work is definitely a challenge. Why not take the hassle out of it all by hiring a wedding planner?

You get the best of both worlds. You still get to decide every facet of your big day, the location of the ceremony and reception, the design of the invitations, the wedding dress. However, the wedding planner can relieve you of the tedious aspects, such as sending out the invitations, booking the venues and picking up the dress. How do you go about finding a professional, competent wedding planner? We have compiled a list of five areas you need to consider when choosing this special person. If you follow these steps, you will be able to relax before and during the wedding, knowing that every little detail is taken care of.

1. Experienced – make sure you choose a wedding planner who knows exactly what he/she is doing

Make your wedding your best day ever.

You will be trusting the wedding planner with organizing one of the biggest events of your life, so you want to be confident of his/her skills. It will not be sufficient to know that she has organized her own wedding or had a hand in her sister’s. You need to find out that this is more to her than a hobby, it must be her job.

Be upfront in your initial consultations with the planner and ask him/her how many weddings he/she has planned. Over what length of time has he/she been doing this? You want someone who has learned his/her skills over a number of years. An experienced person will have had time to build up a relationship with vendors of wedding services which will help you get the best price for these services. He/She will have faced difficulties in the planning of previous weddings and have negotiated his/her way around these problems. He/She will know how to soothe ruffled feathers and have learned how to calm nerves. Ask him/her if she is affiliated with a wedding consultant organization. This shows that she is really serious about the job.

2. Be clear about his/her level of involvement – have a written contract

A wedding planner from Brisbane can be involved as much or as little as the couple want. Some couples want the wedding planner to be involved every inch of the way, and will often hire their consultant from eight months to a year before the wedding. He/She will be involved in the countless details in the build up to the day, from sending out the invitations to booking the photographer and the florist, to planning the menu for the wedding breakfast.

Alternatively, other couples may want the planner to be involved only towards the end of the preparations and will want him/her there close to the wedding date more as insurance in case anything goes wrong. An experienced wedding planner should be able to cope with the minor catastrophe of a caterer who doesn’t turn up or the priest who is overcome with food poisoning!

Have a written contract outlining the exact services required of the planner and what you yourself are responsible for. That way there will be no mis-communication and everyone will be clear about who is responsible for every aspect of the wedding preparations.

3. Price – decide what method of payment will be best for your wedding.

A wedding you can afford.

There are three main methods of payment for wedding planners. The first is that some offer a ‘free service’ and are paid by vendors with ‘kick backs’. A vendor supplying a particular wedding service, such as a florist, will give the vendor a percentage of the fee they are paid because the wedding planner passes the business onto them. This can have the serious disadvantage of the planner recommending a vendor not because they are the best for the couple, but because she, the planner will get the biggest ‘kick back’.

The second method of payment is where the planner is paid a percentage fee of the total budget. This is usually 15 – 20% and this method is mostly applicable to larger and more expensive weddings.

The third type of payment, suitable for smaller weddings, is a flat rate fee which includes a certain number of hours dedicated to specific activities. If yours is a small family wedding, this would be the payment method that would be most appropriate.

4. Testimonials – the proof is in the pudding

Any wedding planner worth his/her salt will have a data base of satisfied customers. Ask for the contact details of several couples who had a wedding of a similar size and style to the one you’re planning. Were they happy with the work the planner put in towards the lead up to the wedding? Did he/she take their wishes and taste into consideration? Did the wedding come in on budget or under budget? Did the actual day flow without a hitch?

If at all possible, try to attend one or two weddings that the planner has coordinated. Did the planner handle everything with poise and confidence? Was he/she able to sort out any little hiccups along the way? If you can answer yes to these questions, you may just have found yourself the right person for the job.

5. Choose someone you are comfortable with – you are entrusting him/her with organizing a very important event

You don’t want to choose a wedding planner who has her own agenda and strong opinions which she feels are superior to yours. Remember this is your day. It should reflect your tastes and style. Interview two or three wedding planners at least to see which one you get along best with, who really listens to you and wants everything done your way not their way.

Certainly, if you are unsure about some aspect of the day, such as where you should hold the reception, he/she should be able to give you a number of suggestions. You want someone who is knowledgeable and experienced, but who is also open and willing to accept your suggestions. Once you have found the person who you feel comfortable with, go with that feeling and start your negotiations with him/her.

Where to from here?

If you’ve followed these five steps, you are well on the way to finding yourself the perfect wedding planner for your big day. It is a crucial time in your life, so it is worth spending the time it takes to find the right person.

Alternatively, we have actually done all the hard work for you and have a compiled a list of wedding planners in Brisbane who fulfill these criteria and more. If you would like us to send you a list of wedding planners closest to you, click the Contact Us button.

Watch this video to learn about the steps in planning a wedding: