Reasons Why You Need to Hire a Wedding Planner

{A Complete Guide}

Today, I’m going to chat with you guys about reasons why you need to hire a wedding planner. I’ve seen and photographed my fair share of weddings and working for weddings that don’t have a wedding planner are much more stressful. Just from a photographers point of view, having a wedding planner and coordinator to help run things throughout the day, take care of things, keep everything organized, etc, is really invaluable for your wedding day.

So first point of advice- HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER!

Here are my reasons why you need to hire a wedding planner:

#1) They will make your life SO much easier.

#2) No one is coming up to you asking about things throughout your day- instead they go to your planner

#3) Vendor relations

#4) A more organized ceremony and flow

#5) They take care of everything behind the scenes so you don’t have to

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Now let’s get into it!!

 

#1) They will make your life SO much easier. 

It’s true!! They work with you before your wedding so in-depth that everything is figured out, you can walk through your day with them and picture everything, and you can relax. They know what they are doing. I can’t stress enough on making sure you find a wedding planner that is experienced and knows that they are doing. Read their reviews!

A wedding planner sits down with you, walks you through a timeline with you, communicates with vendors about said timeline, answers any vendor questions like where the DJ will set up, what cables they need, etc, and goes over an overall flow to you day so it’s all smooth and beautiful.

Speaking as a wedding photographer of 7 years, whenever there is a wedding planner coordinating the day, everything is on time, smooth, and I honestly don’t have to worry about anything. They got it all under control!

 

 

#2) No one is coming up to you asking about things throughout your day- instead they go to your planner. 

This was one of my mistakes at my wedding- I didn’t have a wedding planner that people could go up to and ask questions like “when should we bring out the cake?”, “When should I start playing the first dance song?”, or “who is in charge of contacting catering when they are late?” etc. You don’t need to be bothered with all these pesky questions on your wedding day- you’re getting married!! Your job should be to be with your new spouse and hang out with your friends and family.

So having a wedding planner really helps with having people and vendors leave you alone to be preset in your big day 🙂

 

 

 

#3) Vendor relations

So like I touched on earlier, your wedding planner and coordinator makes sure all your other vendors are well taken care of and answer all their questions.

Would you want your DJ to keep coming up to you asking if you’re ready to do reception events? No. Hire a wedding planner who can take care of all that, keep you on schedule, and be your go-to person for everything. They work behind the scenes to make sure everyone is happy, can perform their jobs well with all the information they need, and all the while smiling the whole time.

Seriously, wedding planners are rock stars. One time, I had this downtown Seattle wedding where the venue had basically no parking. The wedding planner was at the reception venue as we were all driving from the ceremony venue, and she saved me a parking spot right in front so I could get into the reception and photograph everything right away and not miss their big entrance because I was out stuck finding parking. They literally go out of their way (well the best wedding planners to anyway 😉 and take care of it all.

 

 

#4) A more organized ceremony and flow. 

When you’re all getting ready for your ceremony, you and your wedding party all line up to walk down the aisle, right? Well a wedding planner helps with all of that. They get you all lined up, tell you when to go/ start making your way down the aisle, and make sure you all have your bouquets or anything you need.

A wedding planner actually coordinates all of that so it flows better, there are no lules, and no one is waiting awkward times going down the aisle. A wedding planner is SO helpful and makes sure your ceremony is perfect. One of my favorite reasons.

Whenever I see a wedding without a coordinator telling people when to go, it’s always awkward and there usually always a gap of time between when the wedding party walks down the aisle and when the bride comes along. I’ve seen it all!

 

 

#5) and last but not least, They take care of everything behind the scenes so you don’t have to.

Literally everything. Just think of things that you would have to figure out the day of – and then think about not even having to deal with them because your wedding planner is taking care of all of it. Feels good, don’t it?!

Some things they take care of:

• getting your centerpieces and decorations out and looking fabulous
• communicating with vendors like catering and florists where to go and what to do
• making sure the timeline with your photographer is the same as theirs
• putting out any fires
• getting things ready for a send off, grabbing the toss bouquet, grabbing extra napkins, filling up balloons for your send off, etc.
• saving parking spots for photographers (seriously I’m naming my firstborn after her)
• fetching champagne for everyone before toasts start
• they have a venue map on where everything goes/ should go
• sometimes buss tables for your guests
• runs and grabs the cake cutting knife just before cake cutting/ or grabs a plate for that slice of cake you just cut together.

Seriously you name it, they do it. Flat out amazing.

 

 

In Conclusion… Hire a wedding planner.

A wedding planner seriously makes your wedding so much easier, stress-free, and enjoyable. They work with you in so much detail beforehand, that literally everything will be covered, organized, awesome, and so much fun. You can relax, breathe, let your wedding planner take all your stress away. Seriously. 😉

 

(You’ll feel like Arun and Noah above if you have a wedding planner)

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Wedding Planner Recommendations

Now, I do have some recommendations!!! I’ve worked with my fair share of wedding planners and there are definitely some that stand out among the rest. I will say this again: please please please do your research on wedding planners and make sure they have experience and great reviews. Some brides I’ve worked with before have used a ‘friend’ or a ‘friend of a friend’ before and it never turns out well- unless that friend is an actual wedding planner!!

 

 

Okay, my top Wedding Planner recommendation is Bushel + Bee Weddings. 

Whether it’s planning, day-of, floral or design – – We are here to help. Bushel + Bee has always, and will always, be for every kind of love, every kind of style, and every kind of budget.

Devony is the sweetest soul on this planet and seriously takes care of it all. Love her and her team to death and I will always recommend hiring them!! LOVE HER!! She’s an amazing person, even more amazing at her job, and knows her stuff. From what I’ve seen in this wedding industry, Devony is the most incredible wedding planner!!

 

 

 

Second recommendation is LCM Weddings and Events.

Logan and her team are absolutely wonderful and I love working with them. Logan is your new best friend who does above and beyond for you and whatever you need. Super rad, down to earth people who get the job done!

 

 

 

 

 

Third recommendation is THE GREATEST ADVENTURE: WEDDINGS AND ELOPEMENTS. 

Erika is flat out amazing. Erika and her husband are such a wedding planning power couple. While her husband is the officiant, and an awesome one at that, Erika is setting up and coordinating any setting, table-scapes, ceremony coordination, timeline flow, anything for weddings and especially elopements. Erika works her booty off to make any elopement at a cozy A-frame cabin, or adventure elopements on a mountaintop a success and looking oh so good. If you’re planning an elopement, totally check them out!

 

 

 

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And there you have it! A complete guide in why you need and should hire a wedding planner for your big day. To me as a wedding photographer, I feel so much more stress-free, and prepared when there is a wedding planner and day-of coordinator (Most wedding planners are there the day of, so make sure there is someone there). Everything just comes together better, smoother, and everyone is overall feeling awesome. Which is how you should feel on your wedding day, right?!

I seriously hope this was helpful! If you have any questions about any of the info I’ve provided above, feel free to contact me, or write a comment below on this blog post.

Until next time! Cheers! (and hire a wedding planner!!)