The question that I get asked most frequently is “Why hire a wedding planner”? Even though you would think I could answer this question easily, there is so much that goes into making your day run smoothly and effortlessly that I struggle to give an answer. There are so many different brides, different venues, different needs that each wedding has that sets it apart. Each couple has their own vision and dream for their perfect day and my job is to ensure that their vision happens. Some brides love the planning process and I come in towards the end to help everything run smoothly. I also have brides who from day one are lost and I guide and plan the entire wedding, down to clean up. I have asked a few of my brides to help answer this question.
Bride Laura offered these words “I am a childless teacher and usually my summers are relaxing and carefree. The summer of 2016 was different. My October wedding was fast approaching and I spent a lot of time, money, and tears trying to pull everything together. The closer to the wedding we got, the less money we had so I was rethinking my plan to hire a day of coordinator. I had assumed $500 would be enough, but the more I asked around, the more people told me that the lowest rate for a good coordinator was $800! I didn’t have that in the budget and I thought that if I could get through the summer by myself then I could do anything.
September rolled around and I was pretty sure I was going to ditch the coordinator idea. I put out a feeler on the Richmond Wedding Buy and Sell Facebook page asking for a coordinator in the $500 range. I was alarmed by what I saw. Shady businesses, people who had only done a couple weddings, but mostly people that would only help the day of and charged extra for rehearsal. Then I got a flood of people suggesting Karla with Petals and Lace. I looked at her website and her prices were higher than I’d origionally planned for but she seemed good. My mom and I decided to meet with her to see what we thought. We were so happy with our meeting and decided to just go ahead and book her, even though it was more than we wanted to spend.
I can’t tell you how worth it it was to hire her! The month leading up to the wedding she was contacting all our vendors for us and making sure we had details straightened out, and taking care of all the details we didn’t even think about. By this point I was dealing with a lot at work and I really don’t think I could have pulled our wedding off without her. My husband and I kept saying- “Thank god we hired her.” anytime a vendor would contact us with questions we didn’t know the answer to or didn’t have time to answer. It was so stress relieving to say, “Contact my wedding planner” anytime someone asked us something.
The rehearsal day and the day of the wedding I KNOW we couldn’t have done it without her. There were SO many things we just didn’t think of that we needed to do, but it was fine because KARLA had already thought of them and had taken care of them.We decorated the venue ourselves and she was flitting around taking care of all the problems. She knew what to tell all the vendors and people showing up do drop stuff off for the next day. She coordinated the rehearsal and made sure my husband and I were okay with everything and that we were done on time. The day of the wedding I was aware of NO problems. My day was filled with happiness and NO stress and this was mainly due to Karla handling all the business stuff.
I was in a wedding where the bride was taking phone calls while she was getting into her wedding dress. I knew I didn’t want that to be me. I knew if it wasn’t me, it would be my family. Your wedding day is just supposed to be about getting married and being with the people you love. Hiring a coordinator made that all possible for us. Hiring Karla was the best money we spent throughout the wedding process. My only regret is that we didn’t hire her to plan the whole thing. If you are on the fence about hiring someone, get off it and do it. If you’re not sure of who to hire, hire Karla Crisp with Petals and Lace. There’s no way you’ll regret it!!!
Bride Angela had these kind words to say “My husband and I paid for our wedding on our own so counting each and every penny was essential. I planned the majority of our wedding and had secured all of our vendors. However, I struggled with the actual execution of our wedding day. When I began searching for a day of planner the monetary investment was absolutely insane. I was looking for someone to oversee the day of and many people wanted thousands of dollars. Spending that much money seemed ridiculous. Karla was not only completely affordable but was absolutely willing and able to oversee our wedding. Hiring her made it easy for me to enjoy getting ready with my bridesmaids and mom without worrying about if vendors had showed up, if tables and chairs were set up, if centerpieces were in place, if the cake was ready and if people were moving to the designated areas. All of the fuss and worry was lifted from me and taken over by Karla. I literally could not have enjoyed my wedding day if it wasn’t for her. I felt that I could breathe because she not only had my back but was willing to move heaven and earth to ensure my wedding day was exactly what I had envisioned in my mind. She stayed calm and helped to keep me calm when issues arose. A river rescue happened during my reception and a corsage was missing from the floral order. Both seemingly major things but Karla handled it with ease and I didn’t think about it not even once after she informed me of the issues and told me it was under control. In retrospect I would have spent thousands of dollars on Karla because next to my wedding dress she deserved each and every penny!”
Bride Bridgett says “I hired a wedding planner because having someone with real experience with vendors, knowing the questions to ask and what to look for, and what to look out for. Knowledge of good and bad vendors in the area based on working with them not just he said/she said. Having someone to share your vision and who has advice on how to make it work. Someone to keep you on schedule so you don’t run out of time on tasks and extra help with research, prices and comparing.” Bridgett I am looking forward to your big day in 2017!
Bride Whitney hired a wedding planner “because the thought of trying to plan a wedding on my own overwhelmed me, and I wanted my family to enjoy the day instead of running around like crazy trying to help me. It was important for my Mom to be with me while I am getting ready. I didnt realize how important it was to know so much about a venue before booking. Things like dimensions, and how many wedding they allow a weekend and Karla knew all the right questions to ask. Also the things that stress me out like decorations, I know Karla will help me and I can ask your opinion about something and can give me a sincere answer based on your experience.” Whitney the countdown has begun for your 2017 wedding!
These are a few testimonials as to why its important to hire a professional wedding planner. Your day is special and about your commitment to one another. Not about the DJ being late or the time line being behind and time frames being met. I hope that this helps some of you to make a decision on why its important to have someone their to guide you through the day. Thank you for reading such a long blog!! I appreciate all of you.
Karla
