Why You need a wedding planner

When I tell people I’m a wedding planner, I get lots of responses. One of the top responses I get is, “Well, why would anyone need a wedding planner?” Honestly, up until I became a planner, I didn’t see the point in hiring a planner either. But boy, let me tell you, you will want a planner once you see all the work laid out in front of you.

 Let’s first start by defining what a wedding planner is. Google defines a wedding planner as, “A person who helps design and orchestrate a wedding from the beginning. As such, they help couples draw up a budget, find and hire vendors, structure and set a timetable for the ceremony and reception, and oversee everything on the wedding day. A wedding planner is often a full-service provider.” I define it as, “a person or team dedicated to creating and bringing to life your dream day.”

A misconception, I think, is that planners are only present on the day of the wedding. Sometimes I don’t think people anticipate how much there actually is to plan for a wedding. I mean it should be easy, right? You just have to find a place, pay a few people to do a few things, and then get everyone you love to simultaneously be in the same spot at the same time while everything runs itself at its designated time. It can’t be that hard, right? Well, let's just say it’s definitely easier said than done. 

Prior to the wedding day, the planning process is a very long, and an in depth process. Some couples start months before the wedding, others start a year or more in advance. No matter where you are at in the planning process, Bridal Path is happy to help!
 One of my favorite parts about the planning process is just the process in itself. Oftentimes it starts by creating a mood board - what colors do you want included? Do you have any inspiration for what you want your wedding to look like? What traditions do you want to keep or ditch? Would you like a black tie wedding or a more casual wedding? Will the wedding be big or smaller, on the intimate side? The questions could go on and on. Sometimes looking at it from the start is super overwhelming. It’s almost like it would be nice to have a planner to help you.

 Once we can get those few things nailed down we can start exploring vendors, building the budget, and your dream team for the wedding day! Looking for vendors can oftentimes be very stressful and frustrating.That’s why we’re here! When looking for vendors, we help you look for ones that are most affordable in your budget and ones that cater to the style you love! Not only does this save time for you as the client, but this also takes stress off your shoulders and puts it on ours. We’ll do the searching and vetting process for you!
We also will help you communicate with the vendor what is wanted and within what price range you are wanting to spend! Not only do we as planners already have such a great network of vendors with discounts, but we also want to ensure that our clients get what they want, and within their budget. Staying on budget is hard to do with weddings. Lucky for you, our business owner, Hannah Wilson, is a pro at budgeting. Ever heard of Dave Ramsey? Yeah, she’s his biggest fan and the best negotiator you’ll ever meet.
 Now, let’s break down some parts of google's definition. We’ll start with, “helps design and orchestrate a wedding.” Oftentimes we get couples that say things like, “I know what I like, but I just don’t know how to make it happen.” or, “I really don’t know what I like.” That’s where we come in! One of the many things I love about being a planner is the ability to use my creativity and my clients’ creativity to build their ideal wedding. 

 Because we are so involved in the designing process, we often sit in on floral meetings with clients. I remember the first time I got to sit in on a floral meeting back in 2022. The bride we were working with wanted our opinion on what ribbon we thought would look pretty on the bouquets based on her color pallet. I have never felt more ecstatic about someone asking for my opinion. 
 One of the last things I want to talk about is building timetables, or timelines as we call it, and coordinating on the actual day. Timelines are the sequence of events on your wedding day from start to finish. We schedule everything down to the minute. Is this subject to changing the day of sometimes? Yes. But, that’s also why we are there the day of to ensure that every change, every little hiccup gets fixed and back into place. One of the many benefits of having a planner is allowing them to take on the brunt of things for the wedding, allowing you and your girls to get your hair and makeup done, without a care in the world.

 Lastly, we also offer an opinion in decision making and can often be the voice of reason in making harder and final decisions around the wedding. Sometimes it gets overwhelming seeing so many options. You think you know what you want, but then you’re looking at all the options and suddenly, you just don't know. That’s what we’re here for! That’s what we love to do! We’ll help you navigate all the decisions that seem impossible to make.

 Okay, now I get to tell you guys about one of my favorite parts: planning the day of the wedding! Lots of hard work, dedication (and sometimes blood, sweat and tears), go into this day. From the start of the day, to the very end we have every minute planned out to perfection for you. 

Have you ever seen a pinterest board come to life? That’s what your wedding day is like. We see all the months worth of planning finally come to life on the day of the wedding. Something that is so special to me, is being able to see the venues come to life with each couple's personality as we set out all the details. Each couple is different, just as each venue is different.

As the planners, we set everything up for you! We will set up all the decor for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. You think of it, we’ll do it! Oftentimes, this includes place settings, setting up signs, and putting any final touches that are needed to make everything look perfect.
 On top of setting everything up, we also communicate with all the other vendors to make sure things run smoothly. Communication between vendors is so important. Without any communication the day will be bumpy; with communication it runs smoothly. That’s why we’re there the day of - to do all the communication for you. Communication can range anywhere from running over the timeline and just double checking all details with vendors to helping those vendors do whatever they need done to ensure everything gets finished on time.
 Throughout the day, we’ll keep things on time with vendors so you don’t need to. We’ll answer any questions from family members. We’ll bring you whatever you need. We’re there to serve you.

 At the end of the night, Bridal Path will still be there for you. We will pack AND load everything up for you and your parents. We put all decor and leftovers in designated cars so you and your families can leave without lifting a finger!

 If I haven’t given you enough reasons already to book us as your planners, let me tell you a little bit more about Bridal Path specifically. Bridal Path is a team of seven lead planners and assistants. Some of us work additional jobs outside of the business; some of us are full time planners. Regardless of whether we are full time or part time, or even seasonal, we all have one thing in common: our love for our clients, and our love to bring creative thinking to life. As a planner, we don’t want to just be your planner; we want to also be your friend. We spend a lot of time with each client talking, planning and more talking. We’re invested in getting to know you and your spouse. We're invested in seeing that you make it down the aisle and succeed in life. 

 So outside of all the countless hours of planning we do alongside you and your spouse, we also just want to be your friends and let you know that Bridal Path is more than just a planning company. We’re also a group of women that love what we do fiercely and that will love you just as fiercely. Let us plan for you, let us take on all the heavy lifting so you can enjoy your wedding day!