10 Top tips for choosing your wedding planner

Congratulations! You have decided to get married, now is the time to start organising your wedding. This is an exciting time but it can also be stressful. A wedding planner can lead you in the right direction and help you make some difficult decisions. But, just like you have found the right match to spend the rest of your life with, you also need to find the right match to organise your wedding with. So, here are some tips for choosing the right wedding planner for you.

1.      Get recommendations - go online and look at reviews and testimonial. Ask for recommendations on social media and don’t hesitate to ask wedding planners for references from past clients.

2.      Check out their online presence - go you like their style on their online platforms? Do you like the look and feel of the photos they publish on their website, Instagram, Pinterest, etc…? Their accounts may also be tagged in their client’s wedding photos so keep an eye that too.

3.      Personalities – do you get on well, do you have a good feeling about them? It is important that you feel like you would genuinely get on and that you can work well together. This is one of the most important projects of your life so your need a good team!

4.      Availability – are they easy to contact? Do they respond quickly? Can they make themselves available to meet you? Are they conveniently located for you to meet? If you are planning a destination wedding, make sure they have a contact on location to meet and coordinate vendors.

5.      Their partners - Do they have the right contacts? And to they have a wide range of providors? You don’t want to be stuck with vendors you don’t like just because your planner doesn’t have the right connections. This is especially important when organising a destination wedding where you may have to partly rely on them for providor selection, because of language barrier for example.

6.      Their past weddings – look at their portfolio to see if you like the look and feel of the previous weddings they have organised. If you have a certain style or theme of wedding in mind, consider looking for a wedding planner that perhaps specialise in that type of wedding or have that look and feel you are looking to create. 

7.      Venues and location – look at the venues and locations they work with – is it the sort of venue you want? If you have a particular location or type of venue you are looking for, share your thoughts with them. Do they have expertise of the destination of your wedding? It is important that your planner is highly-knowledgeable about the destination.

8.      Budget – does this planner usually work with your budget range? This is important so they can recommend the best providers for your budget requirements. It is important to discuss budget from the beginning so you know you are all on the same wavelength.

9.      On the day – do they offer to be present on the day? Will they travel with you to your destination wedding? If this is a requirement for you, make sure this is something they can offer and find out the total cost for this. Check how they coordinate on the day and how they fit in behind the scenes.

10.   Team members – will you be working with just one person or a team of people? Will the person you meet first be your wedding planner? Ask if you can meet or have a chat with the other team members. If you are planning a destination wedding, are any of the team members based at the destination? Do they know the destination well?

If you go through all these steps you will have no problem finding the perfect wedding planner for you!