Congratulations! You just said “yes” and it is time to begin planning your magical day. When couples want to host their elaborate dream wedding, the budget is always balanced with the dream. Whether you choose to create your dream with a wedding planner or plan your dream wedding with an all-inclusive wedding venue will usually be determined by answering a few simple questions.
What Does a Wedding Planner Do?
A wedding planner can be a very critical foundation to building a wedding event for most. A wedding planner meets with couples to develop a vision and timeline 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.
Wedding planners create a team of vendors and collaborate to make your event occur smoothly. They spend roughly a third of their time corresponding with vendors to put the big day together. 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 and timeline.
A wedding planner will also assist with the timeline and planning of important events surrounding the wedding, and the day of event coordination. It is becoming a popular trend in the wedding industry to have a day of event coordinator assist the wedding planner. A wedding planner also handles small details, such as invitations, favor displays, and seating charts.
How Much Does a Wedding Planner Cost?
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. However, there are alternatives to hiring a wedding planner that can save you money.
Do I need a Wedding Planner?
Whether you require the services of a wedding planner will depend on a couple of factors. Some couples start planning their wedding and immediately fall into an overwhelming situation. It can be difficult to stay organized, on the timeline, and within the budget. However, this does not determine whether you need a wedding planner or not.
Choosing an all-inclusive wedding venue with an in-house design team, wedding planners, vendor connections and a day of event coordinator package is a way to avoid hiring a wedding planner and create a dream wedding on a budget you never imagined possible. Crystal Ballroom Clearwater is an all-inclusive wedding venue with an in-house design team and vendor connections to make planning the wedding of your dreams an effortless and memorable journey.
