How to Choose the Perfect Planner for Your Wedding

I know I might be biased, but all weddings should have some formal wedding planning guidance. Your wedding is a major life event. In most cases, it’s also a major financial commitment for you and your family. Therefore, it’s critical you work with a professional to help ensure you wedding is all you imagined it would be – and more!

However, selecting the right wedding planning service can be confusing. Therefore, I wanted to create this guide to help you select the perfect wedding planning service for you and your wedding budget.

Let’s get started!

There are 4 main planning categories to choose from – I am going to break down each one to help you decide which planning service will compliment you, your planning style and your wedding.

Hourly Consultation – If you’re planning a small wedding (25 people or less) or you’re coordinating your wedding on a small budget ($5,000 or less) – you may want to consider scheduling a few hourly consultations with a local wedding planner. These consultations usually cost between $100-$150 per hour. They’re worth their weight in gold! You’d be surprised how much planning territory you can cover in one hour. To make the most out of these sessions, I recommend you come to the meeting prepared. Bring all your vendor contracts and anticipated timelines. Write your questions ahead of time (on a checklist) so they are ready to be discussed. This will ensure you get the most out your consulting sessions.

Month-of-Planning & Day-of-Coordination – This option is perfect if you’re an event planner at heart. You naturally designed your own style board for your wedding on Pinterest. You feel confident in your ability to hire the best vendors for your wedding and you’re savvy about vendor contracts. You don’t mind tracking your vendor payments and RSVP’s for the big event. Studying the art of wedding planning is your new hobby. You feel confident in your ability to navigate the wedding planning process. If this describes you, I recommend you hire a planner who will begin to work with you approximately 6 weeks before to your wedding. Even though you are an excellent event planner, you don’t want to be the event planner and the bride on your wedding day. When you hire a month-of-planner/day-of-coordinator, you will first meet with him or her to catch them up to speed on your wedding design, vendors you’ve hired and your anticipated timeline. Then your planner will take it from there. Your planner will finalize all logistics and final payments with your vendors. He or she will create timelines for your vendors and for your wedding party. Your planner will coordinate all the details the week leading up to the wedding and orchestrate the wedding day as well. If you’re investing $10,000 or more in your wedding, this planning service is a must.

(Side note: There are planners out there who offer day-of-coordination only. However, I don’t recommend working with only a day-of-coordinator. Weddings are too complex to simply walk into the mix a week before the wedding and be ready to fully execute your vision. Professional planners know this. Therefore, be sure you hire a planner who will work with you at least one month prior to your wedding day.)

Partial Custom Planning – This option is right for you if aren’t looking for the all-inclusive wedding planning experience, but you do want additional guidance with key elements of your wedding (i.e. wedding design, vendor selection, etc.). This customized planning option allows you to pick and choose your wedding planning services. Therefore, if you feel you don’t need help with your wedding design, but you would like guidance on vendor selection and day-of-coordination, you can build a package that specifically provides those services for you. These customized packages are generally less expensive than the full service planning packages. Yet, they still provide you elements of the professional support of a full service package. These planning packages allow you to pinpoint your planning investment to the specific areas where you need extra support to skillfully coordinate your wedding.

Full Service Planning – The full service option is definitely way to go if you would like the most value for your planning investment. These packages are usually all-inclusive and your planner will guide you every step of the way. Choosing a full service planning experience will ensure you will be able to sit back, enjoy your entire engagement and plan your wedding stress free. If the full service planning experience is in your budget, I highly recommend the investment. You will not regret it!

Action Steps:

Do a little soul searching. Which planning experience sounds right for you and your wedding?

Once you have an idea of what kind of planning service you would like to hire, schedule an in-person consultation with a couple local planners. Meet with them and decide if you like their planning style – and most importantly – if you like spending time with him or her. You’ll be working very closely with this person. Be sure you enjoy his or her company.

If you’d like to learn more about my wedding planning services, check out my planning services in the links below. If you’d like to meet in person, complete my contact form to request a custom proposal and consultation.

Casey Green Planning Services

Full Service

Custom Partial Planning

Month-of-Planning & Day-of-Coordination

Request a custom planning proposal