Do you know the difference between planning and managing your wedding? If not, no worries. Allow me to explain. Planning the wedding of your dreams, its’ theme, the venue, décor, the menu, drinks, etc…can be very exciting and lots of fun. It’s your opportunity to identify what you like, what you don’t, and what you want to have on your special day. Managing your wedding on the other hand, is an entirely different animal. Booking the venue, selecting qualified vendors, and assuring all parties are doing what you’ve paid them to do as planned, on schedule and within the agreed budget, is no easy task.
Think about it, you may have an idea of your dream home in your head. But, when it comes to actually building it, a dream is just that…a dream…a vision. You’ll need to hire a general contractor to bring that dream into reality. They ensure everyone is highly qualified, oversee attendance, work quality, and in the event something goes awry…they must know exactly what to do to fix it.
For instance, Villa Incanta’s Wedding Planner, Samantha Potter, recently attended a friend’s wedding as a guest (not on duty). The day of the event she was horrified to hear the DJ had lost the couple’s first dance music. As the highly experienced planner she is, she stepped in, arranged for the recording studio to recreate the music and have it delivered to the venue, all during the reception. Without such professional expertise, the outcome would have been entirely different!
As you can see, managing a wedding by no means is easy, and accomplishing it on budget, is another story. While hiring professionals is optional, it’s strongly recommended. According to Potter, finding a planner who creates exactly what the couple wants has been shown to save time and money in the process.
Many couples decide to hand over the duties to a family member or a friend. While at first the family member or friend may be honored that you have selected them to plan and manage your big day, the feeling of honor can quickly turn to frustration due to the excessive time required and stress entailed. It’s a full time job and they’re unaware they won’t be able to participate in the activity because they are going to be busy.
Would you feel confident in a family member or friends experience and qualifications to organize and oversee an entire team to build a home? Would they know who to hire or how to save on costs without sacrificing quality? The same holds true for a wedding. Can they cut on expenses where need be yet maintain quality of service? Can they handle all the hours of research, phone calls, meetings, obstacles, road blocks, etc…that takes place in managing a wedding? They might say yes because it sounds like fun but what if they back out the day of because “it’s too much work” then what do you do?
It’s hard to put a price on “peace of mind,” considering that the memories of your wedding day will last a lifetime. What memories would you would like to hold? Freedom and ease…or… busy, harried, and worked?
A professional is masterful at creating and bringing a dream wedding into reality. They have the necessary contacts, ability to negotiate the best deals, choose reputable vendors, and deliver what you are looking for within budget. Samantha highly recommends having the presence of a professional at the actual wedding to oversee all details go as planned. The goal of hiring a day-of wedding professional is to assure the bride, groom, and their guests are free to enjoy their special day without any worries.
Hiring professionals isn’t necessary to plan and manage a wedding, but with all the responsibilities involved, it should be considered. And if hiring such professionals as Potter will result in saving more money in the long run and allow the happy couple to truly enjoy their engagement experience as well as their “special day,” what is there to question?
