Thursday, September 8, 2016

Why You Should Hire a Wedding planner. (A DJ's Perspective)



Wedding Planner rescue
Wedding Planner to Save the Day!! 

        The reception has begun. It's cocktail hour and guests are busy mingling, chatting and enjoying drinks and horderves. The original plan was for guests not to be seated. In fact, the bride and groom even opted to skip a plated meal as they did not desire for their guests to sit through their wedding reception. I hear the words “Dj, The Bridal Party has arrived. There is not a wedding coordinator hired so they have asked for you to assist them in coordinating their entrance, first dance, etc, can you please leave your station and advise them in their Bridal Suite located on the 5th floor”. Top Notch has performed hundreds of weddings with the absence of a wedding coordinator. The result of this is usually the DJ (aka us) stepping in to control and assist in coordinating the overall flow of the event and or reception. So, in this case of course I obliged, assisted the bridal party and the wedding reception went fabulous.

Wedding Clean Up
Wedding Clean Up. Image by Azul Photography 

Oh Wait! Let's rewind. There is a part of this story that should be worth mentioning. The bride was awake at the crack of dawn on her wedding day with her bridesmaids at the venue setting up decorations, bringing in the wedding cake, stocking up the beer and liquor and ultimately preparing for as much as she could for the event. The conclusion of the reception was more of the same, no grand exit, simply a “congrats” from the wedding guests as the bride, groom and bridal party stayed behind to clean up the venue. I see this scenario far too often. So much work. So much preparation. So much effort placed into the event and one of the most common statements I hear soon "wedtobe's"  say is the following “I'll Just be Glad When It's Over”. It's Your WEDDING DAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE!! One should savor the entire day and relish in all of the wonderful, magical moments that a monumental occasion such as a wedding should be. That's why today's message focuses on the multiple reasons why a bride and groom should hire wedding planner/day of coordinator to assist them in scheduling, planning and running their “Big Day”.


Wedding Time
Save Time on Your Wedding Day! 
Reason # 1- Save Time - Let's get the obvious reason out of the way first. Brides know a wedding coordinator will save them a tremendous amount of time in the planning stages prior to their wedding as well as during their wedding. From creating assigned seating charts, to ordering the appropriate linens, an event coordinator can create and plan your event to your standards and likings meanwhile saving you tons of time in the initial planning stages. Furthermore, on your wedding day, duties such as prep work, décor, meeting vendors to let them in the venue, etc can all be completed via your assigned wedding planner or day of coordinator, allowing you additional time to enjoy the day!

Saving Money for Wedding
Save Money for your Wedding
Reason # 2- They Can Save you Money- Wait? What? How so? An event planner costs money correct? In actuality, Yes, of course hiring an event planner will require you and your fiance to shell out a few extra dollars from the wedding budget, however, trusting in the experience, and relationships of an event planner can often save your wedding budge overall. For starters, wedding and event planners know where to find the best deals on items for your wedding day. Instead of the bride ordering things directly through amazon or other specialty shops for specific items that she has seen on Pinterest (yes this happens quite often), a wedding planner may advise a bride or groom of a local shop or store that can offer the same or similar product at half the price. Additionally, wedding and event planners are familiar with the standard rates for the majority of vendors that are hired for a wedding. They can advise a bride and groom if the quoted price for entertainment, photography or catering is high, or low, and often their relationship with specific vendors will allow a bride and groom to receive that vendors service at a discounted rate. Top Notch for example often immediately provides a discount for specific weddings and events that certain event planners are involved in planning around the area. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the critical point that wedding planners are usually
phenomenal for managing and halting the overspending of a wedding budget.

  1. Stressed Out Couple
    That's 1 Stressed  Bride and Groom 
    Reason # 3- Save Stress- Planning a wedding can take a large amount of effort. Additionally many facets of the wedding planning process can feel much more like homework rather than a glamorous and fun duty in prepping for the “Big Day”. Take the example mentioned at the beginning of this post. So much stress could have been eliminated from the bride and groom if an event planner was hired to assist them in coordinating and performing the numerous actions their wedding required them to personally handle. 


    Wedding Issue
    Wedding Fires are bound to occur 

  2. Reason # 4- Save Sanity (when the fires start)- On a wedding day something is almost guaranteed to go wrong. It is inevitable. The ceremony could be delayed because the mother of the groom does not arrive on time, the wedding cake is neglected to be put at the reception to be cut for all to see (yes that actually happened at a recent event), a bridesmaids dress suddenly does not fit (I've seen this one happen too), the things that could go wrong are endless. The solutions to solving these fires that will arise will often be the newlyweds responsibility if an event coordinator nor wedding planner is not present. Countless times I have personally seen a bride frustrated at friends, loved ones, etc on her wedding day because small items or requirements were forgotten or slipped through the cracks.  When a bride learns of these dilemmas during the ceremony or reception the result is her ultimately pulling away from enjoying the event she has worked so hard to prepare for. Wedding planners can serve as the “Go To”person, the designated problem solver, the “Superwoman” that may resolve the dilemmas before the small flame issues turns into fires that potentially ruin a wedding. Top Notch performed a wedding earlier this year when an assigned party neglected to bring the alcohol they were responsible for providing. The result lead to the Groom leaving the wedding 20 minutes prior to the ceremony start time to pick up alcohol, and the ceremony being delayed nearly an hour. This example is only one of many scenarios, Top Notch has seen that would have easily been avoided if an experienced wedding planner was hired to resolve such rising situations. 
  1. Reason # 5- Save Your Experience & Memories- A wedding is undoubtedly one of the most important days of an individuals life. It should be full of positive emotions such as fun, love, joy and excitement. Furthermore, the lasting impressions after a wedding should hopefully be the same. When a wedding planner is hired, the duties listed throughout this post are handled appropriately. Worries of stress, time, schedule coordination, money, and problems that may arise throughout the day are not placed on you nor your spouses shoulders. The result is a bride and groom present physically and mentally in the thrilling moments of their “Big Day”. Additionally, their lasting impressions and memories of the day will more than likely be similar, optimistic, and positive recollections.


In Conclusion:


      To enjoy the wedding day or to run around frantically with responsibilities on your wedding day, that is the question. Please understand, this post is not to deter future brides and grooms that do not desire a wedding planner, it is only to accentuate the tremendous assistance a wedding planner can provide to a wedding or event. It should also be noted that NOT ALL  VENUE COORDINATORS that are present at a wedding  are assigned the responsibility of assisting a bride and groom. A venue coordinator and wedding planner can certainly be two different things, with different obligations in assisting a wedding or event. With that being said, below are a few local wedding and event planners that Top Notch recommends and works with on a regular basis. I invite all future "wedtobe's" to research and even contact the below listed parties to determine the many additional wedding services Top Notch may have neglected to mention in this post. As stated in the title, the above actions and duties of a wedding planner are from this DJ's point of view only. As always, thanks for reading!



Event Planners Top Notch recommends:

Happily Ever After




Jennifer V Events

http://www.jenniferv.com/


 Pearls and Lace Weddings-



http://www.pearlsandlaceweddings.org/about/


1 comment:

  1. This is indeed pretty useful information on why to hire a wedding planner. Couple of months ago, it was my nephew’s wedding and I hired an expert wedding planner. He arranged it at one of exquisite DC wedding venues and everyone enjoyed a lot.

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