Lately there has been a bit of talk going around about wedding planners- more specifically, how to know when you’re working with someone just using the term “wedding planner”, or a true wedding planner… and what both of those things mean. V List Member Tonia Adleta, Owner and Creative Director of Aribella Events, recently wrote a piece offering insight into this dilemma. She points out the discrepancy in how the titles of “wedding planner” and “wedding coordinator” are used, and how it can sometimes be a bit confusing to a couple. Titles, duties, expectations- they are all an integral part of a wedding planner’s job, and as couples planning a wedding, you should absolutely be knowledgable about these things when it comes to hiring (or not hiring) a wedding planner. And since we’re all about education here at Every Last Detail, we thought it was best to share Tonia’s insight with you on this topic… take it away Tonia!
This isn’t the first time this has happened. First it was the reception venues, “And you’ll work with our wedding planner to handle all of your details.” And the little church lady, “Schedule your rehearsal with our wedding coordinator.” Barnes and Noble offers dozens of wedding planners too… in paper form. So how do you even know when a “wedding planner” is a “wedding planner”?
To be fair, each of the aforementioned components has a place in the market, but none serve the same purpose. It’s unfair to you, our couples, for titles to be thrown about without explanation, so here’s a quick and dirty guide:
An independent wedding planner is the only one who incorporates the entire wedding – and the wedding planning process – into his or her range of services.
The ceremony coordinator focuses on things for the ceremony, if you’re even lucky enough to have such a person. The reception coordinator only focuses on the details of the reception. The independent planner, however, runs from soup to nuts, start to finish, the full planning process and the wedding day itself. And when you’re able to work with someone (like me) who is both a planner and a designer, you’re able to have both the brains and the beauty under the same roof.
And now? Rumor has it that a popular wedding site wants to offer you a FREE “consultant” to help you plan your wedding.
Kudos to this website for at least not calling their Consultants “Wedding Planners,” but a closer look at their deliverables muddy the water of expectations…
From finding wedding vendors, to creating a guest list, head over to Tonia’s blog post to find out what constitutes the differences between a “wedding planner”
and a true wedding planner.
Lauren
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As a professional wedding planner, there is nothing I won’t sxhedule, attend, fix or create for my bride. My realm of knowledge and dedication doesn’t stop with 1 facets of the weddings. It stops when the images and video are delivered and the dress has been cleaned 6 weeks after the wedding. Need to go potty? I’m your assistant. Need a last minute hair and makeup team? Done. Need advise about photography styles- I can explain and show samples of them all. Planners have to anticipate everything that will go right and will go wrong and be ready in all instances. I have nothing against coordinator’s, we all have our places in this industry but a coordinator picks up the pieces to the best of their ability. Had their been a professional planner, the puzzle is already put together on paper with a diagram skeptic and timeline ready to go followed by a back up plan.