Why Hire an Event or Wedding Planner - Updated

One of the questions that we hear frequently from potential clients is, "why is it important to hire an event planner?".  So, I thought it would be a good idea to address this topic on this week's blog.

  

Here are my top reasons and the list keeps growing and growing.

1. Do You Want to Work on Your  Wedding Day or at Your Party?

Clients and their close friends and family should be able to relax at their event and not have to be concerned about vendors, logistics and trying to resolve last minute issues or an emergency during the event (such as one of the groomsmen's cars getting hit in the parking lot).  This really happened - I can't make this stuff up.  Once you hire the right event planner, he or she can adapt to your ways and make your event or party reflect your wishes from start to finish.

2. Vendor Agreements -

Event planners are not lawyers and should never claim to be one. However, many of us have years of experience knowing what to look for in vendor's agreements.  Our goal is to confirm important information that can save our client's from headaches and costly mistakes before they sign on the dotted line. One of my clients confided to me that her daughter had signed a photography agreement that cost them thousands of dollars on the back end.   It is an unfortunate situation that could have been avoided if an experienced event planner could have reviewed the contract prior to the client signing. Good event planners pay for themselves in the long run!

3. Connections to Talented and Reputable Vendors -

We work hard to develop great relationships with top professionals in our industry from decor, floral, music, paper, make up and hair stylists, couture, lighting, entertainment, fabric and rentals, etc. These strong relationships help us to give our clients successful events along with fair prices.  Our vendors know that we are a repeat client, so they work hard to make sure that our clients are happy.  Personally, I won't recommend a vendor that is difficult, disrespectful, dishonest or performs substandard work - it is never worth the hassle!

4.  Keeping You Stress Free -

It is important for an event planner to listen to their client's vision and concerns, so we can ensure that their event runs smoothly.  Many clients are trying to plan a wedding for the first time and they might make a decision that could cause their ceremony to start late and throw everything into overtime (i.e., the wait staff) or worse case, they might have to end the band early due to time constraints at the venue.  When we are hired, we start reviewing the details so every precaution is taken.

5. The Wrap Up-
Periodically, rental items can get misplaced or one of the vendors might make a mistake during the setup or strike that can affect your security deposit.  Our office fields the calls after the wedding or special event and we work hard to resolve any issues quickly and fairly. I believe it makes sense for the planner to field these calls, since we were there and we are usually privy to what was happening on that day.  There is nothing worse then returning after a two week honeymoon and find out that you have to deal with these issues.

6. Sticking with an Idea-
Many of our clients come to us with several ideas, but they are unsure how to make them work with their overall theme or budget.  We help them to organize their thoughts and pull the resources together to create their dream come true event while respecting their budget and keeping them sane.

7. Combining Different Cultures and or Religions -
I love these types of weddings - seeing families with different cultures come together to celebrate the couple's nuptials.  I am not sure how many of these weddings we have done, but in eight years of having our company, I think I have worked on a couple of dozen. I think what I enjoy the most is the process of respecting the different religions and or cultures and bringing it all together to make it work.  I know sometimes it can be challenging, but it can be done successfully. We have a future blog dedicated to this subject, since it we see it happening more frequently. 

If we may be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to call our office.

8. Trying to plan a wedding or special event with a busy schedule?
Many of our clients work over 50 hours per week and have hectic schedules.  Once we are hired, we sit down with them and create a planning guide that helps them to keep everything in perspective.  Our office makes calls and collects information that our clients don't have time to handle. Some of our clients might need assistance with planning a wedding that is being planned in less than a four months.  We can help them find the venue, secure the agreement, and jump in right away with reputable vendors, invites and creating the timeline that makes it appear that the wedding was planned a year or more in advance.