11 Reasons to Hire a Wedding Planner

A lot of people might think, "oh, I just want a small, simple wedding, I don't need a wedding planner." They might see it as an unnecessary expense, paying someone to do something they can do themselves, especially because DIY weddings are becoming so popular. But wedding planners are experts in something that the rest of the world only experiences (hopefully) once.

There are plenty of reasons to hire a wedding planner; they aren't just there so you don't have to do as much, they're also invaluable assets that have knowledge and abilities your average person simply doesn't. So, it's not just a matter of hiring someone to take care of things for you, it's a matter of hiring someone to make your day even more perfect than you imagined.

They'll save you time.

Obviously, one of the major reasons to hire a wedding planner is simply to save time. With all of the little details to take care of, getting everything squared away before the big day is a massive time commitment—something that most of us just don't have. Whether you have two years or two weeks to plan, all of the things that need to get done before your wedding can happen can be an all-consuming use of your time—time that should be spent living your life, balancing work, and spending enjoyable time with your spouse-to-be.

Plus, hiring a wedding planner means you can ignore the little details and focus on the exciting aspects of the preparation: picking your dress, colors, flowers; having a planner lets you do all the dreaming without having to stress over the nitty gritty details of pulling it off every step of the way.

Their expertise will pay for itself.

Many people choose to forego hiring a wedding planner in order to save money, but that may actually be very counterproductive. More likely than not, when you're planning a wedding on a budget, the financial benefit you'll reap from having a wedding planner will more than pay for itself.

First, they know better than you what things should cost, and can prevent you from getting overcharged. They also have a better sense of 'how much' of anything will be necessary, because they've seen weddings of all sizes before. You don't want to be paying for tons of flowers only to find you have more decorations than places to decorate. And they can find the best ways to fit everything into your budget—including themselves. So, it's a win-win: you get all the expertise and guidance, and you're able to make the most budget-friendly decisions.

They can get you discounts.

One of the ways that wedding planners save you money in the long run is by getting you the best deals and discounts. Most likely, you don't have professional connections to bakeries, flower companies, venues, etc., but wedding planners do. As a result, they not only know where to find the best quality and value, but they may also have working relationships with the companies and businesses you'll end up using.

These companies know that you, as a bride or groom, are not likely to be return customers—and if you are, it won't be often. But by offering the best deals to wedding planners, they incentivize them to come back and work with them again on future weddings. So it's good business for them to offer discounts that save you money, but only if you're working with a professional wedding planner.

It's easier for them to keep a cool head.

Dealing with in-laws and family and decisions about bridesmaids and dresses and all that jazz is stressful enough. Add on top of that, try to navigate legal contracts, financial details, budgeting, haggling, timing, etc. and you may very well be headed for a meltdown. But wedding planners are professionals, and they know how to navigate all these things with a clear head, even when pulling off your dream wedding requires some pushing, pulling, and argumentation.

Your wedding planner, just like you, wants your big day to be the day of your dreams. You both have the motivation to do what it takes to pull off your plans, but motivation isn't enough. By hiring a wedding planner, you can remove yourself from the little details, and avoid causing yourself undue stress. Plus, a professional in the industry knows the best ways to navigate and negotiate all these details—things that you may find frustrating to impossible—so that instead of worrying about them, you'll be able to relax a little and enjoy your day.

They know what works—and what doesn't.

Whether you've been dreaming of it since you were little, or you just starting thinking about it after you got engaged, you probably have big plans for your special day. But, frankly, they might not all be great ideas. Having an expert advisor by your side is one of greatest reasons to hire a wedding planner, because they've seen it all. They know the top wedding trends this year, what parts of your imagination are feasible, and what you might need to rethink a little. Glittering ice sculpture at an outdoor wedding in August? Maybe not the best idea.

But they don't just know what not to do—they also know how to see your dreams come true in ways you might not think of. Sure, ice melts, but glass? Crystal? Your glittering sculpture dream can stay alive and well. You don't want to have to make sacrifices to your dream wedding simply because you don't have the expertise to know exactly what does and doesn't work—one of the many reasons to hire a wedding planner.

They know the market.

Another way their expertise will help see your dream wedding happen is simple knowledge of the market. In part, this means that they know how much things should cost, and can make sure you're not getting fleeced by wedding vendors who know they can make a killing on excited brides. Beyond just knowing what things should cost, they know how to tell quality. So when you hand your wedding planner your budget, you're not just getting someone that can find cheap things, you're getting someone that can find the best things in your price range.

Sure, you can try to do your research and read reviews for every aspect of your wedding, but that's both time consuming and potentially fruitless—at this point, we all know that half of the positive reviews we read online are faked by the company, anyway. Wedding planners have firsthand experience with wedding vendors and products, so you know you can trust their judgement.

They have industry contacts.

Another reason to hire a wedding planner is that you're not just hiring the one person. Wedding planners have extensive contacts in the wedding industry—I mean, it's their job. This benefits you in many ways. As I mentioned earlier, it means they can get you the best deals, and know where to find the best quality, but it also means that they know where to find the products and services that you can't easily track down online. This means you don't have to waste your valuable time tracking down the niche items and services that you need to pull off your dream wedding. They will not only take care of it for you, but can do so with much less hassle and much more guarantee. Plus, they know where to go in case of last-minute emergencies—you alone can't guarantee a backup plan in case any of the many details that need to come together falls through.

You don't have to orchestrate the day itself.

While of course you want to avoid the stress of the planning process and set up the perfect wedding, it's even more important that those plans actually go through smoothly. And on one of the happiest days of your life, you don't want those details to be down to you. So, obvious though it may sound, one of the biggest reasons to hire a wedding planner is that they can actually plan and run the wedding itself.

This is another area where their expertise is invaluable. Most of us have no idea how long it might take to transition from one part of the event to the next, when to set up the food, even when to walk down the aisle. But wedding planners know exactly how to time your wedding to go off without a hitch so you're not running around in between appearances at the altar and by the cake, trying to sort everything out.

On the day you're getting married, you want to be able to focus on the love of your life, the joy of the occasion, and the people around you—not the little details.

They see the big picture.

Wedding planners understand how everything fits together. While you're walking down the aisle, you can't be making sure the tables are set up properly. Especially if your wedding and reception are held at different places, you can't be running around trying to make sure everything is in sync. Your planner, however, can do just that. Their job isn't just about helping you find all the right pieces for your dream wedding, it's also about making sure that those pieces fit together perfectly.

One of the major reasons to hire a wedding planner is simply to make sure that all the moving pieces end up working together. It's one thing to make sure that the caterers know what food to bring out and the pastor knows what time to start the ceremony and the venue knows when to put the tent up, but it's a whole other thing to make sure that all of those factors are doing their jobs in a way that doesn't create conflicts, and that any issues can be taken care of. You can't be taking a phone call from the caterer while you're saying your vows.

It lets you focus on the personal plans.

The wedding planner will help you find the best price and quality for every aspect of the big day, but that doesn't mean they do everything. Some things, they can't do for you. Others, you wouldn't want them to. But in both cases, the wedding planner takes care of the little details so that you can focus on those big ones.

In the first category, there are always personal arrangements to be made that you need to focus on. Seating charts can be a hassle, and your wedding planner can be a huge help with those, but only you know who should and shouldn't be sat near each other. You may have to deal with family members who don't want to travel, or problematic in-laws. Weddings always come with personal complications, but a wedding planner can make sure that you have the time and energy to take care of them.

Beyond the less-than-fun personal aspects of a wedding, there are also the fun ones. Having someone take care of the minutiae means that you can spend more time on exciting things like finding the perfect dress, picking the perfect colors, and choosing your bridesmaids.

They'll ensure you don't forget the crucial things.

If you're still not convinced, you can find plenty of tales of weddings gone disastrously wrong. Those will provide you with plenty of reasons to hire a wedding planner. (Although, maybe you shouldn't read wedding horror stories as your day approaches—but trust me, they're out there.)

While even a wedding planner can't control crazy in-laws or drunk toasts from the guests, many wedding disasters can be averted by simply making sure that nothing crucial is forgotten. In all the excitement and joy, it's easy to focus on the beautiful, fun, exciting aspects of the wedding: making sure everything looks nice, finding the perfect cake, etc. But it's also easy to forget the more uninteresting details. You don't want to plan your perfect wedding only to realize too late that there's nowhere for guests to park.

Another part of this is having contingency plans. It's easy for the bride and groom to picture their dream wedding without accounting for uncontrollable factors like the weather. Wedding planners know exactly what's necessary to make your wedding run smoothly, and will make sure you're prepared for every possibility.