All About Wedding Planners

Here, we delve into what wedding planners do, the value they can bring to creating a memorable wedding, and how much wedding planners cost.

Until you’ve been faced with organising a wedding, you may have no idea what actually goes into planning the big day, or what you could expect from a wedding planner. So you need to figure out the guest list, venue and menu.. Seems simple enough - but how about those extra details; decorations that aren’t out-of-the-box or cliché, a personalised wedding invitation that feels like a work of art you can be proud of, ensuring the right people are in the right place for the all-important wedding photographs. Rounding up 6 bridesmaids, 3 aunts, the page boy and a gaggle of guests is no mean feat.

Wedding planners take part in all the finer, as well as the bigger and important, details that could overwhelm you otherwise. While a wedding planner might not be necessary for an intimate or casual ceremony, traditionally large and grand affairs can undoubtedly benefit from the organisational and creative skills of a wedding planner.

Most wedding planners will offer 3 options:

1. Full wedding planning, where they take on all creative and administrative responsibilities, sourcing everything from the perfect napkins for your taste, to finding the venue and organising the legalities. They’ll run the schedule of the day, making sure the order of events runs smoothly.

2. Partial wedding planning, a slightly less hands-on approach. Perhaps you’ll have booked the venue and caterers but need an extra pair of hands for all the other bits in between.

3. Wedding day management, where you’ll have sourced, booked and chosen the details yourself, but need the management skills of a wedding planner to make sure your wedding schedule runs smoothly - so you can relax and enjoy your day.

It’s a good question - and we know that many of our clients find the wedding industry to be somewhat outdated in its offering. While traditional weddings suit so many of us, there is a definite subsect of soon-to-be-wedded couples that want to steer clear of gimmicks, and instead create a deeply personal day that revolves around their personal taste.

Research is key, and it’s important to meet with any potential wedding planners at an initial consultation. Gauging their personality, testing out some ideas and seeing how open and honest they are, you’ll soon know if they’re the right match for you. The most important thing is to see examples of their previous work and check out their reviews - client testimonials can be very telling!

The cost of wedding planners can vary hugely - depending on location, expertise and experience. The level of service you’re after will also directly impact the cost of your wedding planner.

1. Full wedding planning - you’ll find a good planner will charge a minimum fee with a rate of 10-15% of your total budget.

2. Partial wedding planning depends on the amount of organisation you’ve already done and what is left, but would likely be between £1500 to £2000.

3. Wedding day management will be depend somewhat on the scale and length of your wedding day, but you’d porbably be looking at a lower fee, somewhere around the £600 to £800 mark.