You probably know what a wedding planner is:
They give you suggestions, referrals to professionals like photographers, florists, etc. They might even accompany you on the day you’re going to try your wedding suit or dress!
However, is it all that they can do for you? Furthermore, would every single type of wedding planner do these things for you?
In fact, choosing the ideal type of wedding planner might be way more challenging than what you’re expecting.
There are seven types of wedding planners, and we’re not including designers and event stylists on the list since their jobs are distinct from what a wedding planner can do. Yet, we’ll be covering what they can or cannot do as well.
The differences, pros and cons, and a reflection on which type of wedding planner service would suit couples in certain situations perfectly are what you’ll find here from now on.
Why hire a wedding planner?
First things first, it’s imperative you understand what to expect from planners in general and confirm if you’re really into the idea of hiring a wedding planner for your event. From now on, you’ll see what you’re gaining from opting to count on a specialist’s support.
A wedding is one of the most special days in life and is a highly complex event
Have you ever thought of how many details a person in charge of planning a wedding has to think of? Wedding venues, decoration, wedding theme, attire, photographers, playlists, invitations, logistics, hiring staff, preparing a budget, support nervous and stressed about-to-marry couples. And that is just the beginning. Now, imagine you and your spouse-to-be having to do all this and more without any professional support.
- How long would you take?
- How stressful would it be?
- How great would your final product get?
Would you overcome your expectations or at least reach or get close to them?
Besides, how much money would you waste on poor hiring and doubtful products and services since you probably have approximately zero experience with wedding planning? Would Google and some friends be enough to find the best professionals and build your wedding staff? Would you be able to find the best cost-efficient vendors?
Your event’s success is a wedding planner’s success
There are no incentives for a wedding planner to be sloppy or lazy since satisfying the couple 100% and creating a memorable event is all they want for their own careers.
Of course, there are wedding planners with more talent and experience, and that’s precisely why you should be picky in your choice.
However, regardless of how experienced your planner might be, the chances are they will be devoted to you and attempt to help you host the best event they have ever planned throughout their journeys as wedding planners.
Save your mental condition
Even if you love wedding organization, what TV Series about it, prepare DIYs for your friends’ parties and special events, have decent design knowledge, and feel like you would do a great job preparing your event on your own, we dare say it would not be worth it.
Why? Because it’s stressful.
We recommend couples start planning their events one year before the dates they’re saving, but start planning one and a half years could not be considered an exaggeration, honestly. Now, think of it: imagine you and your spouse-to-be having to figure things out on your own, discuss ideas and opinions every single day for a whole year or more: how stressful would it be?
Remember: the wedding day should be lovely and memorable, and you both need to be full of energy and get along like you did when you first started dating. You both will be the centre of the attention on your day, and any kind of conflict you have might be disastrous for your day.
Then, why risk it? Conserve your mental status and your union state. Of course: work together with a planner and be participative on the choices because it’s your event, and it’s supposed to be meaningful for you two. However, don’t try to take all responsibilities on just the two of you.
What are the types of wedding planners?
All right! We hope you’re convinced of how important it is to hire a wedding planner and not take risks and responsibilities on the two of you.
If you’re still here we probably have, and it means we can start covering the differences in types of wedding planners.
Full-Service Wedding Planner
Due to the high complexity of wedding preparation, this is the most popular type of wedding planner among pre-wed couples.
Also known as an all-inclusive wedding planner, you can expect to receive assistance in every single task to host your event. That means if you don’t have much free time, or are not confident about your wedding design skills, or simply were convinced by our early words – that says preserving your mental health is a priority during the premarriage period – it’s probably the best choice for you.
You can expect assistance to:
Establish and stick to your budget: they’ll help you understand the real cost of each process, recommend experts and cost-efficient professionals, analyze your budget, and disperse proper amounts into each part – helping you both plan your event smoothly.
Besides, it’s an obvious statement to say things cost more if we buy them on time instead of planning and waiting for delivery weeks or months later.
However, knowing where and when to purchase, especially in an event you’ve never taken part, can be pretty hard. That’s why couples need professional support to plan their weddings – get a decent amount of discounts, and then optimize their budgets, and receive guidance throughout a long journey in a full-of traditional costumes event.
Recommendation and guidance: the advice a planner gives isn’t just to help us save money but also to find reliable and renamed professionals that won’t charge an arm and a leg for their job. Also, there are aesthetical concepts that only professionals are aware of but usually go unnoticed by our eyes.
Sometimes, honestly, the couple may not even understand why a suggestion is given, and they might think the planner is being too picky with things they don’t even care about. However, in the end, the couple will realize it pays off when everything connects, and the event runs flawlessly.
Ponder, raise arguments and use criticism on the most important decisions: you have decided the wedding them, and now you’re moving to decor, cake, dress, etc. However, your choices might not suit you well altogether. What to do? How to realize it before you’ve purchased everything?
If you’re counting on a full-service wedding planner, you can expect them to accompany you on every important shopping day. Also, they will be very active in the venue preparation, dress, decoration and cake choice to guarantee everything will look perfect, connected, and relevant in the end.
Full-service wedding planners will save you time, money, patience, energy, and mental health. If your budget allows it, consider contacting and scheduling a visit to feel in person how much this professional can help you.
Partial-Service Wedding Planner
You’ve seen what organizing and hosting a wedding is like and is confident you and your spouse-to-be can take care of the most parts, or you’re very adventurous and/or are running on a short budget? If so, this option can be great for you. Instead of just waiting for the answer to come until you, a part-service wedding planner will still provide referrals of great professionals, but they’re probably not working for it to happen. That means you’ll be in charge of reading a list of contacts, giving them a call, having conversations with them, analysing prices, efficiency, building rapport, among other activities.
Besides, you won’t be counting on detailed wedding planning and neither be contacted every week to make sure you’re getting yourself ready to commit to the plan. You and your partner will have to be independent and plan when to arrange things.
Basically, you can count on the planner to help you with the core part, but you have to keep things under your control. In other words, if you miss a date, forget anything, or commit any mistake, it might cost you a lot at some point.
Month-of Wedding Planner
They will be by your side for about a month before your wedding and take on the last-minute details, like decor organization (venue), help you commit to a checklist, and plan and host a rehearsal dinner with your VIP guests. Don’t expect referrals to vendors and designers here since, until the last month, it’s expected you’ve known well you photographer, musicians, etc.
However, if that is not the case, probably a month-of wedding planner will have someone to recommend to you, even though the price might not be as sweet as a full-service or a part-service planner recommendation would.
Wedding Weekend Coordinator
Rehearsal dinner, final adjustments, and support on the big day: a wedding weekend coordinator usually focus on helping you in the last moments of the event preparation and also during the event itself.
Day-of wedding planner / Coordinator / On-Site Event Manager
Are you short on your budget, or have already gotten someone to help you prepare the event? I.e., it’s only missing people to make it happen?
If so, that would be a perfect choice!
Destination Wedding Planner
We can say a full-time wedding planner does a complex job, correct? So, imagine what can be said about a destination wedding planner’s mission?!
They actually do a similar job since there is no way a planner, in another country, would only give you some referrals and then let you look after yourself and try to find a perfect venue, set a schedule, invite some guests, find a hotel, unite a team, and do everything else that is necessary for a wedding event on your own.
There are too many risks, especially if the population from the target country speaks a different native language and doesn’t actually speak English. It’s not right, and you’ll probably only find full-service destination wedding planners.
They will even help you find the best prices for flights and hotel reservations. Then, if you’re planning on getting married abroad, don’t hesitate to look for a professional who can help you.
Vendor scouting and referrals
Yeah, some planners will only help with making decisions. So, if you’re an event planner or trust in your own organization skills – but aren’t confident about your marriage tradition and costumes background -, finding a vendor to help you choose the venue, dress, cakes, and other details might save you some money and be extremely handy.
Designers and event stylists
Wedding planners’ work is all about the logistics, referrals, and bringing ideas and dreams to life – you can even expect psychological support and therapy sessions from them sometimes. On the other hand, a wedding designer’s role is only focused on aesthetics. For instance, preparing and designing the wedding flowers, furniture, and attire.
The thing is, you’ll see wedding planners doing part of a designer job, even though sometimes not with the same level of capacity and quality – I even dare say they do it so much that experienced planners can consider themselves wedding designers at some point of their careers -. However, you will rarely see a wedding designer do a planner’s job.
Which Type of Wedding Planner Suits You Best?
We’ve covered the most traditional types of wedding planning services in the market and mentioned in which situations they would be the most recommended professionals.
If you feel like sharing why a certain type of wedding planner would suit your event perfectly, we’d be glad to read from you in the comments below or via e-mail.
Thank you for reading until here. We hope you can find the best wedding planner to host the best event ever made.