Organising a wedding is not a small task. With so many elements to bring together, you might struggle to have everything run according to plan – and if the day itself is looming, this might be a source of great stress. Fortunately, there’s an entire profession devoted to solving this problem: the wedding planner. These specialists will take control of the entire operation on your behalf – for a price.

Being one of Buckinghamshire’s premier photo-booth providers, we often get calls from professional planners, as well as from couples who’ve taken matters into their own hands. In this blog, we’ll consider a few of the pros and cons of bringing in a wedding planner, and (with any luck) help you to come to a decision about whether to hire one!

Can you afford it?

Hiring a wedding planner will eat into your budget. Most planners are going to charge several thousand pounds – which is more than the entire cost of some weddings! Bear in mind that while there are cheaper planners out there, they might lack the experience of a seasoned pro. Be sure to check you’re hiring someone reputable before dipping into your wedding budget.

Are you available?

When you’re organising the wedding yourself, you’ll need to spend time taking calls and emails from all of the people you’ll bring together to make the event actually happen. Caterers and other vendors will tend to stick to 9-5, which, if you’re working similar hours, might make getting in touch with them a little tricky.

Are you organised?

Are you going to be any good at wedding-planning? Some of us just aren’t. Planning a wedding involves special attention being placed on thousands of details – and if you don’t think you’ll be able to summon much enthusiasm for seating charts and schedules, it might be time to bring in a professional. This might pay for itself in the long-run, as many of your service providers might slap you with late payment fees if you don’t have all of your ducks in a row.

Do you have a clear idea of what you want?

A good wedding planner won’t just obey your instructions and bring everything together; they’ll also be able to provide a little bit of inspiration. If you aren’t entirely sure what sort of flowers you’d like, or how tall a cake is really necessary, your planner will be able to come up with a few suggestions, and even make recommendations. If you do hire a wedding planner, and you do have a specific idea of what entertainment, food or venue you’d like, then be sure to let them know about it.

Do you have contacts?

An experienced wedding-planner will have a number of trusted contacts, whose services they’ll be able to bring in with a single phone call. They won’t need to do any research or vetting, because this work will have already been done. On the other hand, a bad wedding planner might simply bring in the same old faces without regard for the quality of service being provided.

It may be that you have a friend, relative or in-law available to help you with the planning (or even take up the reigns on your behalf). If your budget allows, however, we’d suggest bringing in a professional for peace of mind.