Do Wedding Planners Plan Their Own Weddings?

When wedding planners get engaged, do the tables turn? Do they try to plan their own weddings, or follow their own advice and hire another planner to manage the event for them?
For the most part, they take their own advice. They want the experience of having a professional handle the research and planning details, manage the vendors and the budget. But, as one event planner noted in her blog, as a rule they have “serious control issues.” They really love the challenge of being in charge of the controlled chaos of events. So the planner they pick has to be incredibly patient and willing to cede more control to the bride than they may otherwise. It becomes more of a collaboration than either event planner is used to.

Wedding Planners Use Planners for Their Own Weddings

Some other lessons that planners say they learned when they were the happy couple instead of the planning pro:

1. Be honest and realistic about your wedding budget
For once, the planner was the person who had to decide when to bump the budget in the face of expanding guest lists or the cost of “the perfect wedding venue.” They gained a renewed appreciation for the trade-offs sticking to a budget can demand.

2. Assess vendors from the couple’s perspective
When selecting between Bay Area event venues, decorations and menus, this time it was a reflection of their own personality. And the guests were their own family and friends. So, they were more emotionally attached to the memories they hoped to create.

3. Do as much due diligence as they advise their clients to do
“Look at your contracts, read them, and understand what you are signing.” Even though the vendors they hired were probably friends and colleagues, they had to remind themselves to stay professional in their relationships for the duration of the event.

4. Hire a separate videographer
A lot of wedding pros shared that their biggest regret was not hiring a videographer who was constantly capturing toasts, conversations and special moments that the couples may have been missing while they were busy with a different table or group of guests. “You cannot be present for every moment when you are trying to spend a few moments with every guest!” Viewing the videos later was a treasure trove of “new” moments found after the day was over.

5. Don’t buy everything you see in your wedding colors
Don’t obsess over the color palette. As long as the overall look is great, “small variations will escape the notice of everyone but you!”

6. Build the budget to rent not own
Budget for rentals…You don’t need to own anything but the memories when the event is done. As one planner said, “if it’s on Pinterest, you can usually rent it somewhere.”

7. Do your research, hire a pro rather than your closest friend (which can be hard, of course.) Then “let them do the job you hired them to do!”

Commodore Offers EventEverything Event Planning Services with their Yacht Charters

We follow these event planning steps with the EventEverything planning service that comes with every yacht charter wedding we stage for happy couples. Let us help you put your own special stamp on your very special day. If you’d like more information about having your Bay Area wedding on a yacht, contact us online or call (510) 337-9000.