I tell people all the time a marriage costs $60.00 but weddings are an EXPERIENCE and how big of a memory do you want to create? Remember this will be the ONLY time you have those guests in ONE room alive all together. You don’t get a do over of this day, so why would you want an amateur handling one of the biggest days of your life… or why would you want your Mom or wedding party missing something because they were setting up or behind the scenes trying to work out an issue. Weddings cost more than $60; most cost on average $165 per person attending the wedding and to create an experience you need a team! Every great team has a great leader to guide everyone and make sure everyone is playing by the same rules.
That’s what brings us to our newest question on our website:
How many hours does it typically take a professional to plan a wedding from start to finish (including travel, meetings, communication, planning, and day of event):
Month of Planning with Day of Event Management: 35+/- hours involved (because there is NO such thing as a day of coordinator)
Partial Planning Services including Day of Event Management: 70+/- hours involved
Full-Service Planning including Day of Event Management: 313+/- hours involved
So take that number they are “charging” and divide it by the number of hours they are giving you =____ ?
That’s not including the blood, sweat and tears it took to get to that point they were confident enough to plan events for someone else. That’s not
including the liability they take on each and every event. That’s not including all of the research and networking they’ve done to create the partnerships and learning about all of the possibilities to create the best chemistry and magic on your special day to create a memory in time. That does not include all of the education they’ve taken on to be prepared for you special day for when situations arise; they’ll know how to handle them. That doesn’t include all of the associations, organizations and conferences they are a part of or attend to keep up with the trends and latest ideas. That doesn’t include the extras they are probably “throwing in” without you even knowing they’ve been working on the backend of your event late at night and early in the morning. Not to mention all of those meetings lead up to them missing most weekends with their families to create memories for your family.
And ask yourself do you value their services? Many times, I have received phone calls asking for us to plan and coordinate their entire wedding for $400-$500 (or even less). I promise experienced planners and vendors are just wanting to be respected and valued for their level of expertise. Yes everyone deserves a beautiful wedding on the budget they can afford but that’s also why not every vendor is for every couple. The best part is most of the seasoned vets in the industry know great vendors up & coming people that may be more affordable for the particular service you’re looking for. Also, most seasoned vendors offer hourly consultations to gain knowledge even if you can’t afford them for the full day.
Speaking for the planners/coordinators out there… a chunk of every wedding budget should be for a planner…remember they typically know EVERYONE! They can work out a budget for your vision (within reason) and usually find you deals you may never knew existed…so start with a planner! You don’t want to spend all of this money on a beautiful day for it to come apart at the seams because you didn’t have a professional “go-to” onsite all weekend from rehearsal to honeymoon…
It’s a Production… you probably wouldn’t enjoy a meal at a restaurant without a chef, or enjoy a movie without a director…much less a symphony without a conductor… so WHY wouldn’t you have someone guiding your planning along the entire process? The BEST Athletes have someone “coaching” them from DAY ONE!
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