TIS THE SEASON FOR ENGAGEMENTS!

Christmas and New Years have come and gone and in their wake are a number of newly engaged couples.  Valentine's Day is right around the corner to add to the volume of brides and their families looking for the right vendors and reception venues and trying to figure out what details are important and what they can afford to spend.  Many are feeling somewhat perplexed and not a little confused and even, possibly, overwhelmed by the prospects of meeting everyone's expectations for a "WOW" wedding day experience.  Enter the wedding planner.

Many brides accept that a wedding planner is an absolute necessity while others--or their parents--are new to the concept.  What value does a wedding planner bring to the process and how do you go about finding one?

Finding one is fairly easy, thanks to the internet.  Just plug in "wedding planner" and your location in a search field and a number of names should pop up.  Also, talk to other brides or attend a bridal show or talk to other wedding vendors about who they know.

Once you've found some to consider, it is important to evaluate who is going to be the best choice for you.  A good wedding planner has your best interests at heart; not their own.  He or she is there to guide you to the "best" vendors and venues that meet your personal criteria and help you utilize your resources with the best return on investment.  "Best" doesn't necessarily mean "most expensive".  "Best" is a subjective term that is relative to each person's tastes, style, personality and budget meaning that "best" for one person isn't going to be the same for everyone.  As you visit with a prospective wedding planner, you will want to know if they derive any of their income from referrals to certain vendors (i.e. a 10% "gratuity"/"finders fee"/kick-back--you get the picture).  You'll want to know if they only work with a select stable of vendors; 1 florist; 1 photographer; 1 cake designer, etc.  One size does not fit all! 

Other important things to learn about a wedding planner you're considering is their experience level.  How long have they owned their business?  Where did they receive their training?  Do they have any accreditations?  Do they belong to any professional organizations?  Do they have references that you can call?  What on-line references and reviews are there?  Can you see photos of their work?

You also want to know about their business operations as they apply to you.  Is the wedding planner insured for liability?  Do you have a contract that details everything to your satisfaction?  (remember that any ambiguity in the language of a contract is always construed in favor of the person who signed it; not in favor of the person who wrote it)  When is the wedding planner available to meet with you and answer phone calls or e-mails?  Is this their full-time job or do they have another occupation that may limit your access to them?  Do they have any complaints through the Better Business Bureau?  What do other vendors think of the planner; are they knowledgable and easy to work with?

Equally importantly, is the wedding planner interested in your taste and style or more interested in furthering their own career and image with something that doesn't reflect who you are?  When it comes down to your big day, when your guests walk into your reception for the first time, they should not say, "Oh, this is Wedding Planner Wendy's work."  They should say, "Oh, this is definitely (Bride)'s and (Groom)'s wedding reception!  It's really THEM!

While a good wedding planner will definitely save you money, there's really no definitive way of knowing how much you'll save. After all, you can't know how much you'd save if you never spent it in the first place. Suffice to say, however, that your wedding planner should help you find ways of using your resources the most effectively; should save you a lot of time that you would have spent searching out resources and researching vendors and venues and should save you from an enormous amount of stress and confusion. That's worth a great deal, in my book!

So here's wishing you a happy wedding planning experience and a long and happy marriage!