Brides who are short on time because of work commitments, who are planning a large-scale or complex wedding or those who simply want to ease their stress level, may willingly acknowledge that they need a wedding planner. However, it’s important to recognise the degree of help that you need.
Here are some options and the types of brides who need them the most:
Full-service wedding planner—This is most suited to the bride who has a vision of what she wants but doesn’t feel the need to micromanage the wedding planning process.
This type of arrangement requires a great deal of trust on the part of the bride towards the planner. The planner has the bride’s overall budget to work with and gets quotations, does site visits, and reviews suppliers’ contracts in order to make recommendations for each type of wedding vendor for the bride. The bride is charged a co-ordination fee by the planner, which is part of her wedding budget.
Bridal consultant—Brides who prefer to do most of the legwork during the planning process but who may still need some guidance or brides who do not have the budget for a full-service planner will benefit most from using a bridal consultant. This type of service allows brides the flexibility to get a paid consultation based on the hours of assistance needed with wedding planning. A few examples might be a bride who is unsure about which wedding vendors to choose or how to analyse wedding vendor contracts. Consultations could even happen in terms of assistance with gown shopping, invitation/programme wording or theme development. To access bridal consultations, you can visit this link: www.trinidadweddings.com/TWC
Both planners and consultants have contacts and experience that are all aimed at saving you money and time. They also have a good rapport with many wedding venues, which can give you an added advantage when it comes to issues such as: giving you extra add-ons and leeway on access time to the venue prior to the wedding.
“Day of” co-ordinator—A “day of” co-ordinator will be there on the day of your wedding to ensure that all the elements you’ve planned come together seamlessly. In order for this to happen, however, the co-ordinator often works anywhere between two-four weeks with the bride, prior to the wedding, to work out schedules and follow up with wedding vendors. This arrangement usually suits the do-it-yourself (DIY) brides, since they can have a large input into the wedding planning but still be cost-conscious.
If you’re still unsure which type of planner/co-ordinator you need, please drop me a line at simone@trinidadweddings.com