Congratulations! You are getting married and beginning a new journey in life. The process begins with planning your wedding. How much does it cost to have a wedding planner put your dream wedding together? This big question can have a very big answer or a very practical and budget-friendly one. To answer the question properly, we need to analyze the cost trends and functions of a wedding planner.
Wedding Planner
A wedding planner is never a necessity when it comes to planning a wedding. You can always be your own wedding planner or host your wedding at an all-inclusive wedding venue where there are planners, designers and vendor connections. However, a wedding planner can be a very critical foundation to building a wedding event for most.
When we think about planning our wedding, we go through a short list of the obvious. We need a dress, a cake, music, pictures, food and place to make it all happen. Then a more developed list surfaces to include theme, colors, floral arrangements, centerpieces, candy bar, tables, chairs, decor, lighting, table runners, chair sashes, charger plates, rose petals on the ceremony aisle, fine china, marriage license, officiant and the list just continues. We usually get to this point and start to realize that we still might be missing something, and we are. There is a huge checklist to coordinating a wedding that we are only halfway through. Did we think about a day of event coordinator, guest list, hotel accommodations, rehearsal dinner, and all the other events?
A wedding planner meets with couples to develop a vision of the dream wedding and ceremony. They review the total budget for spending, and then allocate spending to make the budget work to create the dream. A wedding planner has a very creative task to bring creative design together with creative financing to make it all happen the way you envision it. They are organized supervisors and managers throughout the entire planning process. How much does it all cost?
Cost of a Wedding Planner
A wedding planner usually offers different levels of service and involvement in your wedding, each level comes with a different price tag to match. A full-service wedding planner takes full direction over planning your entire wedding and every detail along the way to the actual wedding day. The national average starting rate for this level of service is about $3,000, and can increase based on expertise and credentials. A limited-service wedding planner allows you to allocate specific details to the wedding planner, which might be limited to just consulting, just the day of event coordination or other specific tasks. The national average starting rate for a limited-service wedding planner is about $1,300, and also increases based on expertise and credentials. If you are considering just a consultation and paying by the hour, plan to pay anywhere between $100 to $200 an hour. Sometimes buying the complete wedding planner package can make more sense. While all these numbers might not indicate such, hiring a wedding planner can actually save you money by ensuring you stick to the budget, and by helping you negotiate rates through their connections with venues and vendors.
Functions of a Wedding Planner
Wedding planners spend roughly a third of their time corresponding with vendors to put your event together. They form a team with the vendors and collaborate to ensure they all work together to make your event occur smoothly. Communication and organization are the most important functions of a wedding planner. They communicate with venues and assist with finding the perfect location to make your dream event happen on your budget.
Having a wedding planner can work in your favor, because they usually have connections with venues and vendors. Helping you choose your magical wedding venue is probably the most important function of a wedding planner. All of the tasks between vendors and venue require paperwork, contracts, budgets and timelines.
Organization and paperwork are primary functions that are essential to the job of a wedding planner. All the details we do not initially think of, such as the timeline for the event, invitations, favor display, seating charts, day of event coordination and all the other important details are part of a wedding planner’s job. A wedding planner can also be hired as the day of event coordinator to make sure that it is lights, camera, action and everything is in place on your magical day. When the party is over, a wedding planner can also handle the breakdown and return of decor and rentals.
Whether you choose a wedding planner or choose to be your own, an all-inclusive wedding venue with an in-house design team, planners, vendor connections and a day of event coordinator package can create your dream wedding on a budget you never imagined possible. The collaboration between the all-inclusive Crystal Ballroom and vendors makes planning the wedding of your dreams an effortless and memorable journey. Crystal Ballroom facilitates the connection with trusted wedding dress designers and retailers, tailors, wedding cake bakers and decorators, caterers, photographers, deejays, day of event coordinators, officiants, florists, and hair and makeup artists. A Crystal Ballroom wedding venue is elegance, flexibility and affordability.
Contact a Crystal Ballroom wedding venue to make your wedding day everything it should be.
Questions to Ask Your Wedding Planner
How many weddings do you plan every year?
What is the average sized wedding you plan?
What is the largest wedding you have ever planned (guest count)?
Will you be attending the wedding?
How many members are on your team that work with you during the planning process?
What is your fee structure and rates?
Do you have a contract to review in advance?
Are you able to get discounted rates with certain venues?
