Do you really need a wedding planner?

In the past, wedding planners were thought of as a luxury, and were only used by brides that could afford it. Today a wedding planner has become a necessity! Many couples are so busy with work and their social life that it would be advisable to have an expert help them orgainse the biggest day of their life. Many brides forget that you only have the day once and you cant not afford to have a wedding planner. Speaking from experience, you would rather pay out a little extra for the ease of mind - and stress free experience of the wedding day.

Many bride to be's are not sure what a wedding planner does, what their official duties are, and assume they cost an arm or a leg! A wedding planner can do as much or as little as you want. They can design and setup a candy buffet to stepping through each process with you from the concept to the execution and bump out of the day!

Here are just a few of those reasons on why you may consider having a wedding planner:

• Direct the rehearsal and provide advise and expertise on the ceremony events. Its all in the details and unless you have done it before you may not consider them, including knowing what the exact duties of all the vendors and your bridal party.
  
• Chase up, call and confirm all your vendors the week before the wedding making sure that all details are ironed out.
  
• Be the main point of contact for all the vendors rather than the bride! It has happened when the bride spends the whole morning trying to run her own event, rather than preparing for the day itself. Its the last thing you need!
  
• Create a running schedule for all parties involved in the wedding and making sure that they are all on the same page. Not sure if you would leave this up to your auntie or your cousins best friend's sister - you get the point :)
  
• Bridal party: organise all the makeup, hair, styling and times they need to be dressed by. Especially the groomsmen, after a few drinks they can lose time really fast
  
• Organise with the band, the official dances and make sure that they have adequate power, backup microphones etc.
  
• Keep a copy of the seating chart and be in constant contact with the reception coordiator.
  
• Make sure that the photographer gets photos of all the must have spots and with the must have people. One wedding, the bride and groom were having so much fun in their wedding they forgot to have photos with their own family!
  

As you can see, these are just some of the duties a wedding planner has on the day. A wedding planner can do as much as above or as little. Don't lose sight that the wedding planner can save you plenty of time, stress and money by getting them involved from the start, even if it was just a few hours consultation. Planning a wedding can take over a year at times, so consider it an investment as you will save money, time and stress by getting a wedding planner involved from the get go!