Top Ten Reasons to Hire an Event Planner for your Wedding or Special Event
by Esther Yeager on 04/16/12
10. Sounding Board -- Event Planners are a huge creative resource. They listen to your vision and dreams for your party and bring their creativity to the process to help your vision come alive.
9. Big Picture -- When you pick a venue they often give you a "wedding coordinator" from the venue to help coordinate the day. This person is NOT the same as an independent planner. He or she is the venue's catering manager and their job is to make sure that everything having to do with the facilities runs smoothly. While they are helpful, they do not cover the scope of what an independent planner does.
8. Budgeting -- Event planners have been in the industry for some time. They know what things should cost and the difference in value. They can help you navigate the often confusing waters of party industry price tags and balance your budget around YOUR priorities.
7. Enjoyable Process -- I've observed so many people go through the process of planning their events and when they do it without a professional planner, oftentimes by the time the party comes around, the process has been so stressful that they just can't wait for it to be over. Planning your event is supposed to be an enjoyable process. A good event planner helps you enjoy the journey.
6. Mediator -- A good planner serves as a buffer in tricky relational situations. It's a known fact that it's impossible to make everyone happy when planning a party. A planner is a safe neutral person to point to for direction.
5. Timeline -- Your party day will involve numerous vendors who need to work together to insure that the day goes smoothly. A planner understands how each vendor relies on the others and serves as the team captain who coordinates the complexities of the timeline with all its moving parts.
4. Knowledge Base -- This is likely your first time planning a large event. Planners have been in the industry for years and are experts in protocol, etiquette and everything it takes to pull off an event of such magnitude. They are a HUGE and readily accessible resource for education.
3. Background -- In addition to possessing a wealth of knowledge, planners have been in the industry long enough to know who the players are -- which vendors can be trusted and who has the best business practices.
2. Save Money -- I have had the planners I've worked with tell me that they can actually help their clients save enough money on their wedding to cover the cost of hiring them! Hiring a party planner will usually save the client up to 10% of their total budget costs.
1. Stress -- The difference in the stress level of a client who has a professional planner and one who doesn't is palpable. When it comes to the day of your event, the most important thing is that you are able to relax and enjoy it. You are the family and you don't want to end up being the point person for issues and questions that will inevitably arise. Hiring a planner frees you and everyone you love to live in the moment on your special day.
