Choosing Your Wedding Planner

There was a time when weddings were typically small and intimate affairs. Beaming mothers and blushing brides would spend a year planning and dreaming about the special day. Most of their jobs consisted of calling the local florist who made very traditional arrangements and flowers for the wedding party, talking to the local minister, and choosing and writing invitations. Of course, they also had the thrill of finding a wedding dress and the dresses for the bridesmaids. There were other small details but nothing a determined mother-of-the-bride couldn't handle. The reception was literally a piece of cake. The local bakery provided the cake and the church ladies added punch. Don't faint but most brides used paper products so there would be no mess to clean up. The wedding and reception lasted around two hours and then it was off to the honeymoon. That was then; this is now.

Planning a wedding today is not the easiest task. When weddings became huge extravaganzas, as so often occured, brides and their mothers began looking for help. They began to hire wedding planners. When this happens the indispensable wedding planner often becomes a part of the family for the duration of the engagement period. For the sake of argument, we will make our wedding planners female even though there are many men who are super wedding planners. Think of the wedding planner as a person who has to be all things to all people. She wears so many hats that she would have to have ten heads to park them all.

The wedding planner first of all, needs to meet with the bride and probably her mother, or even the fiance, if he is interested. Sometimes the bride and her fiance plan the wedding alone, especially if the couple is older. This first meeting is very important because the bride and her wedding planner must be a good fit. The first meeting is almost like a courting ritual because the wedding planner must exemplify faith and friendship to the bride as she will be helping to plan the most important day in the bride's life. If the "date" works out for all parties, then a contract will be signed. The wedding planner should list all of her duties and, of course, they must agree on a commission for the planner. On second thought maybe Dad or whoever is paying should also be present. Generally, a deposit is expected after all aspects of the wedding are decided upon.

After the contract is signed, the planning begins. Most brides have already done some planning. Some brides already have a wish book to show the wedding planner. Together they need to decide on a theme. Yes, you have to have a theme to have a wedding. All of the planning revolves around the theme and, even more importantly, the budget. They also must come up with a color scheme, table decorations, reception arrangements, a wedding hall, church decorations, outfits for the wedding party, caterers, and a thousand other details. The list goes on and on.

The wedding planner's primary job is to handle all of the details of the wedding, both large and small. She keeps the bride from becoming stressed and attempts to make every wedding perfect. The wedding planner becomes the fairy godmother for every princess bride. Even though the job is stressful, one wedding planner said that she gets to spend her whole life planning the happiest day of a couple's life. What could be better than that?

Copyright 2007 P. Lanners - All Rights Reserved



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