11 Reasons You Need a Central Florida Wedding Planner
Spoiler alert: Wedding planning doesn’t have to be stressful. There’s a better way! (Especially if you’re looking for a Central Florida wedding planner!)
If you’ve ever been anywhere near a wedding, you know how stressful wedding planning can be. Couples agonizing over seating charts, flower arrangements, napkin colors, and every tiny detail. It’s a lot!
As an experienced Orlando wedding planner, I’ve seen it all.
Which is why I want you to understand how life-changing it can be to hire the right wedding planner.
When couples choose me as the wedding planner for their Central Florida wedding, they not only get to relax and enjoy their engagement – they also know they’re getting the absolute best vendors around.
Working with a wedding planner changes everything. Let’s dive into the details!
1. Wedding planners alleviate stress
This is probably the number one reason most couples decide to work with a wedding planner.
Weddings are major events and require an event staff. You’re quite literally taking on a second job when you decide to plan your own wedding – which obviously comes with a lot of stress.
But wouldn’t you rather enjoy being engaged? Spend that special season enjoying fun dates with your fiancé, finding the wedding dress you’ve always dreamed of, and showing off that sparkly rock wherever you go instead of bickering over pricing for hors d'oeuvres and searching for the perfect DJ?
Wedding planners take on all the stress for you. Planning your wedding is our full-time job. We’ve got you covered! Let us worry about confirming timelines and managing logistics while you enjoy your engagement, stress-free and head over heels in love.
2. Wedding planners manage your vendors
Have you made a list of all the vendors required to pull off even the most simple wedding? You’ve got: hair and makeup, catering, bartenders, florists, photographers, and a DJ or band to start with, and that’s the bare minimum. Most weddings also include some (or all) of the following: table and chair rentals, linen rentals, décor rentals, lighting professionals, videographers, valets, transportation, servers, audio-visual rentals, photo booth, extra furniture rentals, specialty food vendors… the list goes on.
I’m exhausted just reading that list! Now think about finding, interviewing, and staying in contact with each of these vendors. Ready for a nap yet?
Wedding planners not only help you find the right vendors, we also stay on top of all communication, payment, and arrival or delivery times. We’ve got the pre-wedding communication and follow-up covered and we coordinate with everyone on the wedding day. You get to sit back and relax, knowing everything is taken care of so you can enjoy a flawless wedding day with all your friends and family!
Working with an Orlando wedding planner like me can save you countless hours of dealing with vendors and ensure a smooth wedding day.
3. Wedding planners know all the best venues
Have you started looking for a wedding venue yet? There are a lot of choices these days! I’m an Orlando wedding planner, and in our area, there are hundreds of venue options. While it’s great to have choices, it can also be overwhelming and time consuming.
When you work with a wedding planner, you’re investing in a professional who has done their research. We’ve attended hundreds of clients' weddings and visited countless venues in our area.
If you know you’re looking for a certain type of venue – modern indoor, rustic chic outdoor, or elegant indoor and outdoor – a seasoned wedding planner can give you a rundown of everything that meets your criteria.
We can also tell you what’s in your budget and save you from falling in love with a venue that is too expensive.
Maybe you’ve decided you want to have your dog stop by for photos or you’ve got your heart set on a reception that lasts until 2 am. Wedding planners know all the rules. We can direct you to places that don’t have an early curfew, are pet-friendly, or fit whatever else you’re looking for.
4. Wedding planners can save you money
Hiring a wedding planner is an investment – and it’s an investment you’ll see major returns on!
In addition to taking the stress off your plate and finding you the perfect venue, your wedding planner also has relationships with many wedding professionals in your area.
Here in Orlando (I’m a Central Florida wedding planner if you’re curious), I’ve spent years getting to know vendors and building trust. In return, I can recommend vendors who you can trust.
I know the market well, so I know when pricing is fair or when it’s over inflated. I also know to be wary when something is too cheap. So many couples end up losing money when they hire the cheapest vendors they can find – and then get hit with hidden fees or worse, cancellations.
Wedding planners can also save you money (and stress and frustration!) when negotiating contracts. While the legalese may sound foreign and complicated to you, being able to read a contract well is part of my job description. I can help spot hidden fees, restrictions, or unfair terms that many couples miss when signing contracts on their own.
I can also help you negotiate to get the best, fair price and service.
5. Wedding planners can provide Event Management services
I generally recommend couples use a full-service wedding planner for their big day, but sometimes that’s not possible or the best choice.
If you can’t hire a wedding planner for the entirety of your planning season, you should at least hire a professional who can manage the event- often referred to as "month-of" or "day-off" coordination. This generally includes getting in touch with your vendors in the weeks leading up to your wedding, attending your ceremony rehearsal, and being present for the wedding day.
Planners are expert event coordinators, so we can help your wedding day flow seamlessly, direct and coordinate with the vendors as they arrive, and manage any issues that may pop up.
Having a “day of” coordinator also helps your friends and family enjoy their day more, too! Trust us, you don’t want your mom stressed out about setting up table linens or your cousin trying to direct traffic at your wedding.
6. Wedding planners help you stay on budget
Do you know what’s hard? Staying on budget for your wedding. Even couples with the best intentions often are wooed by something shiny, delicious, or pretty. There’s an upgrade available for everything when it comes to weddings!
Wedding planners are your secret weapon when it comes to staying on budget. We’re a neutral third-party who aren’t afraid to tell you no when you want to splurge an additional $2,000 for linens with a subtle shimmer.
We can also help you stay on budget by only showing you options that fall within your parameters. I know who to recommend and what to show you based on how much you want to spend in each area.
Wedding planners can also help you figure out what is worth splurging a little on, and can find somewhere else in the budget to cut back so it all works out! I know… we’re basically wizards!
7. Wedding planners build detailed timelines
Have you ever been to a wedding where the ceremony started 45 minutes late, the food wasn’t ready at dinner time, or the couple didn’t show up to the reception until hours after the ceremony? Chances are – that couple didn’t have a wedding planner.
Wedding planners are ruthlessly efficient and ready for every contingency. We know what causes delays and how to proactively avoid them. And we’re brilliant problem solvers when something unexpected does come up.
When you work with a wedding planner, you’re investing in a detailed, strategic timeline for your wedding day. With so many moving parts, separate vendors, and important details, having someone to manage your timeline is worth the cost of a wedding planner alone!
8. Wedding planners take care of RSVPs
You don’t know frustration until you’ve tried to chase down your second cousin’s boyfriend for an RSVP to your wedding. People should know better, but they are historically bad at responding to wedding invitations on time.
Your wedding planner will manage all of this process for you! We track invitations, responses, menu choices, and any other pertinent information. And when it’s getting close to your RSVP deadline, we track down every last guest and ensure we have an accurate guest count. It’s not an easy job, but it’s our job – and we’re good at it.
9. Wedding planners are subject matter experts
Wedding planners live and breathe weddings. We’re truly experts who understand the intricacies and trends of the wedding industry. It’s this expertise and experience that helps us help you make the best decisions.
You wouldn’t ask your best friend to advise you on your taxes (unless that friend is a CPA, then go for it!) and you shouldn’t ask your bestie, mom, or cousin to try and plan your wedding.
Stick with the wedding planning pros and let everyone else focus on celebrating you.
10. Wedding planners can bring your vision to life
Couples often have an idea for the kind of wedding they want, but not a lot of concrete ideas how to actually make it happen.
When it comes to turning your unique vision into reality – wedding planners are magicians. We can make the wildest dreams happen and figure out a way to take what’s in your head and bring it to life!
One thing I help a lot of couples do is turn a feeling they want into plans. They’ll describe wanting things to be glam and elegant – and I’ll give them gold silverware, shimmering centerpieces, and velvet accent chairs. Or they’ll describe wanting to feel like they’re living in a fairytale – and I’ll give them lusciously draped ceilings and twinkling candlelight.
Whatever it is you dream of, your wedding planner will know how to make it happen!
11. Wedding planners can see the big picture
It’s super easy to get caught up in the tiny details and choices involved in planning your dream wedding. But wedding planners know how to hold your big picture vision. They keep you focused on the things that matter most, and help make sure the small details add up to the wedding day you’ve imagined.
Anytime you start to lose focus, you’ve got your wedding planner there to help pull you back in and re-center you.
At the end of the day, you really shouldn’t rely on your family, friends, or a venue coordinator to do the job of a wedding planner. It’s a big job! And while a venue coordinator will make sure venue things are covered, the rest of your vendors and your timeline are not their priority.
It takes a team to pull off a dream wedding – and an experienced wedding planner is the best teammate you could ask for!
Planning a wedding in Orlando? I’m a Central Florida wedding planner and I’d love to chat with you about your big day! Click here to contact The Event Company and learn more about how we help wedding dreams come true throughout Central Florida.