Originally posted on September 21, 2010 at 5:27 PM
I’ve done a few blogs about decorating, home improvement, etc., but today I thought I would do a little blog about my advice to couples getting married. And really, I only have one…
Hire a wedding planner.
Now, those of you who know me personally are probably in shock, because I am pretty much the ultimate do-it-yourselfer. Seriously. But here’s what I didn’t realize until after the wedding: wedding planners don’t do the fun stuff—they do the shitty stuff. I didn’t get one because I knew exactly what I wanted for everything, from colors to cake design, and I didn’t want some craft-loving mini-me to take over with her/his ideas. But the truth is, a wedding planner does whatever you want them to do, whether that be planning all of the details or simply executing them. It’s the execution that’s what’s valuable.
You might be thinking, “But I don’t have enough money to hire a wedding planner!” My answer, in almost every case, would be that yes you do. Take part of your overall wedding budget and allocate it to a planner. Even if it means less guests, a cheaper venue, or an hors d’oeuvres buffet instead of a sit-down meal. It. is. worth. it.
You still get to pick your flowers. But when the florist messes them up and dyes them pink instead of dark burgundy to match the roses (like he promised), the wedding planner will crack some skulls and either get it fixed or get you a partial refund—so you don’t have to worry about it at your reception when it’s too late or on your way to your honeymoon.
And when the baker doesn’t put the cake topper on top of the cake, the wedding planner will be there before the guests to catch it and do so. Even if you have one of those venues that “takes care of everything,” trust me, they don’t. Someone will say, “We didn’t know if you wanted the topper on top of the cake or not.” I swear to Fruit Loops this happened to me. Wedding planner.
The only circumstance I can imagine that wouldn’t be worth hiring a wedding planner would be if your wedding is well under 100 people and at someone’s house, etc. If the budget is practically nonexistent, I can’t say increasing it is a good idea. But even if you think you don’t need a planner because your aunt/grandma/mother/sister/gay best friend or whatever does it for a living and has volunteered… I’d think really hard about that one. Because they’re guests too; they want to enjoy the party, not chew out the caterer. It’s these sorts of things that a professional planner will do, not take over the show. And speaking from first person, they’d be worth every penny.
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