Wedding planners. So many people think that you can only have a wedding planner if you’re having a $50,000+ wedding. This is SO not true. Just about anyone can have a wedding planner.

“I don’t have the budget for a wedding planner. Don’t only platinum weddings have wedding planners?”

A common thought among brides is that you have to have a huge budget to have a wedding planner or coordinator. I thought the same exact thing. But think of it this way: what you spend on a wedding planner or coordinator, you could definitely make up for in what you will save by using one. (Note: There are definitely different levels of pricing and packages for wedding planners, and like photography, it’s something that you get what you pay for.)

Don’t get me wrong, a wedding planner can’t get you “discounts”, but often he or she will have connections with various vendors. These connections can possibly save you money. Some planners have various decor items that they own. If they don’t have everything, they can always rent them, and do the price shopping to get you a cheaper price than if you were renting them yourself. A planner can help you to create a budget, and throughout the planning of your wedding, he or she will listen to your budget priorities, and help you stick to the budget. If you talk about wanting something for your wedding that’s costly, your planner will tell you that it won’t work with your budget. A planner can even save you money just by recommending that you DON’T purchase certain things, like those “cake napkins” your mom wants you to get. A wedding planner can offer up great DIY ideas in place of typical “wedding purchases”, and sometimes will even be willing to help you with them, or do them for you (depending on the planner of course).

Gianna of Chic Celebrations conducting a venue walkthrough

“I’m having a DIY wedding. I’ve already booked my vendors- I don’t need someone to plan my wedding.”

 So no problem, you do the planning yourself, (which most brides do, especially with all of the awesome blogs and resources out there!) but I still highly recommend having a coordinator. Planners have different packages, from planning every detail of your wedding, to only executing the details on the day of (which is more of a week/month-of for most planners). You can even have a planner provide you with recommendations of vendors, and then you contact those recommended vendors yourself. It makes your search much easier. And like I said before, the price you pay to have a coordinator could definitely be made up by the amount that you’ll save, and of course the piece of mind you will have on your wedding day! Ask just about any bride- having a day-of coordinator saves you SO MUCH stressing and worrying. He or she knows what they’re doing, knows how things are supposed to be, and knows your vision. AND they can do things like fix a broken bustle (see photo below)! There’s really no better way to make sure you will enjoy your wedding!

Aleah of Good Life Event Specialists sewing a broken bustle

{Disclaimer: I am indeed a former bride and a wedding planner. However, I would be writing this post even if I wasn’t a wedding planner- because it’s the truth.}