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Wedding Planners

Wedding planners are very popular in the USA and are becoming more popular in the UK.

They do cost money, but most claim to be able to save you money on wedding costs due to their professional buying power. If you and your fiance are very busy people, what you spend on a wedding planner may be well worth it for taking the burden of all the organisation off your shoulders. Wedding planners can also be very helpful in families where there is likely to be a bit of dictatorial behaviour on the part of a parent or other close relative. It may be relatively easy to get bossy with a son or a daughter, but it's a lot harder with a cool, professional stranger who knows more about weddings than you do.

Advice from Bernadette, Britt and Kelly from the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners:

Many wedding planners offer a range of services to suit most budgets and weddings. As a guide, full planning will cost between 10%-15% of the bride's budget. Co-ordinating just the wedding day tends to range from £250-£700. During the initial phone call the wedding planner will ask the bride questions to ascertain exactly what services she wants or needs to assist her with her wedding. So, at the top, it could be the full planning service which would include finding the venue, booking all suppliers, deciding on a theme and managing the day itself. At the bottom, it can be just one or a selection of the above services.

Value for money

Most reputable planners negotiate discounts from their suppliers which are then passed on to the bride. These discounts are only given to wedding planners who offer the supplier repeat business which one hopes the bride won't do. Also, a wedding planner ensures the bride's money is spent effectively and not wasted on suppliers or items not needed or that are overpriced. Plus, she will ensure all suppliers offer competitive rates.

Working alongside

A bride and groom should never feel left out by the wedding planner. It is their wedding and the wedding planner has been hired to ensure they get the wedding they want. Wedding planners provide all the options to the couple whether it is design, suppliers or venue choices, from which the couple make the final decision. The wedding planner should be working alongside the couple, doing the legwork, coming up with creative ideas to enhance the bridal couple's ideas and making sure that everything is going smoothly.

Family politics is the norm when you are a wedding planner. The key is to listen to all sides of the story and give the correct etiquette answer, but also a modern alternative. A good planner does not automatically take the bride's side, but tries to view the whole picture objectively, acting in an assertive manner and aims to provide solutions to suit everyone. Oh and, actually, Mums tend to love us!

Weddings are very complex now with the average spend £20,000. Couples are working longer hours leaving little time to actually organise their wedding. On top of that, people are tending to move away from home to establish themselves, whether it is abroad or a different part of their home country. As a result, when it comes to their wedding, they may look to marry in their home town, but are reluctant to leave all the planning to their parents. This is where an independent professional comes in, recommending local suppliers and working closely with the couple. There are also many couples who live abroad, come home to marry and feel they need the extra support of someone 'on the ground'. On a separate note, as couples are older as they get married, they may have been to several corporate events which have led them to appreciate the professional touches on events and they wish to have that same polish applied to their wedding.

DIY wedding planning

Ask for help from family and friends. Delegate tasks to those you trust implicitly and are known for their organisational skills. You would be surprised how many relatives have hidden talents like cake making, flower arranging, etc. Ask around for someone who has a nice car to use rather then hiring a wedding car. Then once everything is in place, hire a wedding planner to take over in the final few weeks and co-ordinate on the day itself.