Raleigh Wedding Photographers: Guest Blogger Wedding Planning

I have worked with a lot of vendors over the years and I cannot tell you the importance of hiring professionals. By professionals I mean people with at least a good solid 3 years of experience (this allows them to make enough mistakes that they don't make mistakes anymore) and those that truly have a talent and passion for it. I love to give my brides referrals as it always makes my job easier. If everything is running smoothly the way the bride wants then guess what??? I have a happy SMILING bride to make all my pictures beautiful. What more can I ask for??? So I am asking some of my favorite vendors to provide my brides with much needed advice on what is important about choosing their particular service. Today my article is from Nicole with Premier Party Planners. I love Nicole... Why? Many reasons. First she is fun and cute. What's not to love about that? Then she was the BEST at really taking my brides details and handling all the little phone calls, setting up appointments, in my case the shoots and shoot locations etc., preparing my bride for make up and what was needed for the shoot etc. Yes, I do this with all my brides but they way Nicole handled it I never felt like I needed to follow up with the bride to make sure my information was coming through clearly. But what really made her stand out was all the little things that I found out she handled with the church and other vendors. If you have already started planning your wedding you are quickly finding out picking out the dress is easy but the rest not as easy as you thought... She was like a veil for the bride taking care of all the little annoying things that can come up that kind of rain on your parade (so to speak) until they are dealt with... You know, church rules or this isn't in stock or can't be shipped till this date etc. The bride never even knew it was happening-it just got taken care of THEN the bride was made aware but in the most pleasant manner. The wedding ran so smoothly and Nicole was helpful and fun with everyone. But she also knew when to step back and let the vendors do the jobs they were trained to do... So after my request on "Why Brides should hire a Wedding Planner" here are her thoughts on what is most important. From Nicole: Premier Party Planners To those of us in the wedding industry, hiring a wedding planner to help with the wedding day seems like common sense. However, I come across more and more people that do not understand (or appreciate) the value and importance of hiring a wedding planner or wedding coordinator. We have all heard the wedding day horror stories (or have seen that crazy guy on MTV screaming at his limo driver for being late!!) and most of them originate from not hiring a professional wedding planner. So here are the top 5 reasons why you should hire a wedding planner or wedding coordinator for your BIG DAY. Here goes: 1. Ask your vendors what they think about having/not having a wedding planner: I guarantee they will tell you that having a planner is going to make your life (and theirs) ten times easier, simpler, happier and stress free! Hiring a wedding coordinator is like having a team captain for your wedding team (Your Wedding Team = your photographer, DJ, caterer, videographer, makeup artist/hair stylist, etc…); the wedding coordinator is going to make sure everyone is working off the same playbook. 2. What is the single most important thing a Wedding Planner can do for the Bride & Groom? Hiring a professional wedding planner is the wedding gift that you give to yourself! One of the most important jobs for the wedding planner is to provide the Bride & Groom with peace of mind. With a professional wedding planner, the couple doesn’t have to worry that something has been over looked or will slip through the cracks. A wedding planner will make the planning process stress free and enjoyable. A planner will ensure that the wedding day is seamless and will allow the Bride & Groom to be guests at their own wedding! And who doesn’t want that?! 3. My reception site comes with a Coordinator, why do I need to hire another one? Rarely does the reception site coordinator oversee and manage the amount of details and plans that an independent wedding planner/wedding coordinator will cover. 99% of the time the reception site coordinator is just that, he/she is just overseeing the venue. They are not making sure your photographer is in the room when you’re about to toss the bouquet; they are not making sure the DJ is comfortable with the pronunciation of your Maid of Honor’s last name; they are not making sure you and your new hubby are ready to cut the cake; etc… These are details that are incredibly important on the wedding day! 4. I’m a very detail oriented Bride, I can create my own timeline: A professional wedding planner has walked through hundreds of weddings and has seen a lot of different scenarios unfold on the wedding day. Even the most detail-oriented bride cannot plan for the unexpected. Professional wedding planners know how to troubleshoot and think on their feet. From years of experience we know how much time things really take and how much cushion time to allow. This knowledge helps create an accurate schedule and one that actually flows well on the wedding day. Great flow that seems effortless is the mark of a well-coordinated wedding. 5. We don’t have room in the budget to hire a wedding planner, so my cousin will be our coordinator: In this economy everyone is pinching their pennies. But think about it, you are spending a lot of your hard earned money on the biggest party you and your future hubby will ever throw. Don’t put your day in the hands of someone who is inexperienced. You are building your special day with professionals, so it can be very stressful for your cousin (and your wedding team) to try and work together on the biggest day of your life. Of course your cousin means well, but without the years of experience and the ability to think on your feet in high-stress situations, your cousin may ultimately let you down. And no one wants Christmas dinner to be awkward! So shop around and get a few different quotes from different planners, I’m sure you can find one that fits within your budget! If these five reasons don’t make you at least consider hiring a planner, then consider this. As a professional wedding planner myself, with over 6 years of experience, even I hired a wedding coordinator to handle my day! You would think a planner could handle her own wedding day, right? Of course I could! But did I want to? Absolutely not! I wanted to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy my day just like my guests. If I hadn’t hired my coordinator, I would have been stressing about sooo many details! There is no way I would have enjoyed my day. Period. Having my wedding coordinator there for me, allowed me to be the bride I wanted to be. It was the best gift I gave myself and I wouldn’t have done it any other way.