Choosing your wedding planner should never be a rushed decision. Your wedding is one of those life events that will stay with you – and many of your guests too. Your wedding planner should, therefore, be someone you are confident will ensure that those lifetime memories are pleasant. Take your time choosing; if you’re not rushing the wedding, then you shouldn’t rush this either.
Step 1: Go Online
Start with some online research. This should give you a good idea of a wedding planner’s experience and work quality. Check out their website and social media pages. If you’re getting good vibes about a particular planner, add them to your list of prospective wedding planners you might work with.
Step 2: Set Up Meetings
Once you feel confident about a few planners, make the time to meet each of them in person. Be sure to prepare for the meetings with a list of questions that cover all your concerns. At the meeting, it would really work in your favor to be direct about major things like your budget and your expectations. Pay careful attention to the responses you get. You want someone that strikes the right balance between being enthusiastic and realistic about your vision.
Step 3: Evaluate
Once you’ve had a meeting with all the prospective planners, take some time to think about how you feel about each one. Your ultimate choice should be someone you can completely trust with your wedding and can defer to their choice when there are differences in opinion.
Trust your planner
If you’re going to constantly question your planner, then we predict a doomed relationship. “There will be so many inputs coming your way from friends and family. At the end of the day, you need to trust your planner and believe in their expertise,” feels Sawhney. Read more at Vogue…
Do not sign on the dotted line until you are confident that this is someone that you have a natural rapport with and that understands your needs perfectly. At the same time, try to be as objective as possible. Besides, you don’t want to go with a planner that you felt a great rapport with but lacks the expertise you are looking for over one that you are completely confident of their ability to deliver despite mere personality differences.
Step 4: More Sleuthing
At this stage, you may have already found your ideal choice, which would be great. If you haven’t, you’ve at least narrowed down your list to about two or three. The next thing to do would be to carry out some of your own personal investigations into their work. You can start by asking each planner for a few references. However, the following post explains why you shouldn’t stop there:
Lastly, ask around! People who are referred by the planner are, of course, going to give that planner a glowing report, so start with people who are going to tell you the truth, such as venues and vendors who have worked with the planner often. The planner not only needs to work well with the couple, but also with the team that he or she has created. If the planner is well experienced, well organized and relaxed under any and all circumstances, the whole team will function well. Read more at Boston Magazine…
In addition to the planner’s references, take advantage of wedding service sites such as Wedding Wire and The Knot. These will typically have a list of wedding planners in your area, as well as unbiased reviews from past clients. You can also make use of general business review sites like Yelp, Google Maps and the Better Business Bureau for more reviews.
Step 5: Scrutinize the Contract
Once all this is done, you should be ready to sign the dotted line. Don’t rush it. Take as much time as you need to read through the contract before you sign it. You should be clear on things like pricing, additional fees, set-up and tear downs for the big day, as well as backup plans in case of poor weather. Remember, you’re still free to choose a different planner if the fine print doesn’t sit well with you.
Here are three of our favorite wedding planners in Charlottesville:
Tina Lane Events
[email protected]
(703) 216-0710 or (434) 384-3461
https://tinalaneevents.com/
Angelica & Co Weddings
[email protected]
(703) 635-9110
https://www.angelicaandco.com/
Karissa Coffey Events
[email protected]
https://www.karissacoffey.com/
You should now feel a lot more confident about choosing a great wedding planner for your big day. And we at Camryn Limousine would love to be part of it and make it extra special. We provide top-of-the-class wedding transportation services throughout Charlottesville and Central Virginia.
At Camryn, we’re about delivering the most affordable, convenient, safe and luxurious wedding transportation, and we’ll be happy to work closely with your wedding planner to ensure everything goes as planned. Do you need trusted chauffeurs to convey your guests from their homes, hotels, airports or train stations? We’ve got you! Call us today on (434) 990-9070 to discuss your needs and preferences.