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How to choose a Wedding PlannerOVERVIEW As the owner of a major wedding facility I was able to observe the results of over three hundred weddings. I have seen disasters as well as those exceptional events that will be everlasting in the memory of the participants. If you were building a house would you select electricians, plumbers, carpenters etc. and turn them loose and hope for the best? Without overall guidance by the owner and or contractor and a written contact the house would be a disaster and yet many people plan their wedding just as I have described this house construction process. One wedding at my facility had a seven course meal costing well over $12,000 but there was not a time limit clause set on the caterer and when it was time for dancing only three courses of the meal had been completed. The lesson to be learned from these two examples is simply if it is not in writing and signed, it PROBABLY WILL NOT HAPPEN AS YOU PLANNED! HOW TO SELECT PLANNING GUIDES To start your wedding planning process you need to generate the overall concept of your wedding. You can do this through friends and weddings you have attended plus your own ideas. Supplement these ideas with a wedding guide containing "Creative Wedding Ideas". You can find many of these through the Internet or your local bookstore. The next step is to determine how much money you have to spend on the wedding. Be realistic when you determine the dollar amount. Another wedding planning guide you will need is a budget related planner and JUST AS IMPORTANTLY ONE THAT EXPLAINS HOW TO CONTROL YOUR BUDGET. Finally you will need a planning guide that will demonstrate how to write contracts/proposals so you can insure that your event happens as planned. PLANNING PROCESS: Planning a wedding or major event can be a complex and time consuming process. Fortunately, even complex tasks such as wedding planning can be broken down into smaller segments and the expense and performance element of each can then be more easily controlled. Before you start planning your event spend some time visualizing each element necessary to create your dream wedding. Purchase a loose-leaf notebook with dividers and create a section for each element of your event and start taking notes. The following outline will assist in this process. 1. Ideas for event
b. Think about what you want to accomplish i.e. setting, length, and size. c. Decide how many and who to invite. d. Type of food and service, music, wait staff, parking, carriage ride etc. e. BUDGET: Not a glamorous subject but it controls all aspects of a, b, c, & d. Start thinking of priorities in case you cannot afford everything (for example a full set down dinner versus a buffet line).
b. What type of facility (Hotel Ball Room, Special Event Center, Historic Facility etc). Each is unique and pricing varies considerably. c. Start calling key vendors such as event sites, florists, caterers, DJs etc. and obtain "ballpark" prices and level of service for each price. d. Finally making your choices within your budget and documenting the costs, services and other performance elements such as:
2. Ensuring that your exact specifications are stated in enforceable contracts. This is where most event problems originate. Written communication is the key. Good detailed written contracts benefit both the client and vendor as all misunderstanding is eliminated prior to contract signing and more importantly prior to the wedding. Remember most vendors conduct many events per week and without written detail, SOMETHING WILL BE FORGOTTEN. The topics we just covered are only the tip of the iceberg but it will give you a feel of the process required for a successful event. Your results are directly related to the amount of effort you put into the process, the level of detail, and communicating exactly through written contracts with your vendors. As you can see this is a very complex task, but relax, there are many tools available to assist in your planning. My own planning tool, The Wedding Savings System, is the result of my ownership of a major wedding facility and my experience as a Government Contracting Officer. These two experiences strengthened my belief that any major event is successful ONLY IF a detailed plan and budget is developed followed by written communication (contracts) with all vendors for the event. The Wedding Savings System is all about communicating your exact written specifications with vendors, using competitive bidding to control cost while obtaining the quality you expect and putting it all into enforceable written agreements. Do not forget that if it is not in writing there is a high probably that it will not happen as you planned. SUMMARY Your wedding creates memories that will last a lifetime so invest the time and effort to find the books/guides that will provide you with the information and techniques as described in this article. One last observation: A self-planned wedding will become a very rewarding experience for all attendees as the obvious joy and self satisfaction of the couple envelopes the entire event. I wish you the very best and will be happy to assist you in planning your special day! Ken Gilmore of Wedding-Savings.com |
