Wedding Planners - Worth it?

[diamondlove4]

I''d like to know if a lot of you have experience using wedding planners? How much do they typically cost? Wondering if it would be worth the extra money... thanks!

 

[redfaerythinker]

DEAR GOD YES! But seriously, depending on what your needs are, you can pay anything from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on a planner. For a full planning package, basically she does everything, we were quoted as low as 3 and as high as 8 thousand dollars. However we live in a major metropolitan area. I don''t know how we would have managed to find all of the amazing vendors and gotten the deals that we got without her. I mean we''re renting out an entire floor of a building for 1 thousand dollars, and it''s a 5 star hotel, just because the planner is best buds with their event planner. If nothing else, I would strongly suggest a day of planner, just so that there is someone other than you and your family to deal with all of the problems day of.

 

[ts44]

I probably should have sprung for the full-on wedding planner, but they were asking 15% of budget (not including clothing or jewelry, according to the contract). It seems to be typical in this area for the cost to be a percentage of budget. I compromised and got month-of coordination. I agree that you should have at least a day-of coordinator so nobody is bugging you on the big day. I think the month-of coordinator, if available, is a great option though. They''re going to put together my schedules and coordinate my vendors throughout the month leading up to the wedding, and I feel like that way they''ll have a better idea about what''s going on vs. just coming in a few days before. It wasn''t that much more than day-of coordination, either.

 

[diamondlove4]

Date: 5/2/2010 11:21:43 AM
Author: ts44
I probably should have sprung for the full-on wedding planner, but they were asking 15% of budget (not including clothing or jewelry, according to the contract). It seems to be typical in this area for the cost to be a percentage of budget. I compromised and got month-of coordination. I agree that you should have at least a day-of coordinator so nobody is bugging you on the big day. I think the month-of coordinator, if available, is a great option though. They''re going to put together my schedules and coordinate my vendors throughout the month leading up to the wedding, and I feel like that way they''ll have a better idea about what''s going on vs. just coming in a few days before. It wasn''t that much more than day-of coordination, either.

Month-of coordinator might be a great idea? What are the approximate costs of that?

 

[ts44]

It totally depends on the area for costs, unfortunately. However, if you''re not getting full-on wedding planning you''ll likely be dealing with flat rates and a solid list of included services, in which case you''ll easily be able to tell right off the bat if you can afford them and if they can do what you need them to do. I just balked at being charged a percentage of budget, I wanted a concrete number. It just seemed too arbitrary for me.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I went with partial planning but I am not sure if it is worth it yet. I have no doubt that day of planning is useful .. but partial .. I feel like I am doing everything myself.