Jan
31
2013I am a wedding planner, decor designer and a florist specialising in wedding flowers, so my life revolves around weddings. It is not a hobby, or a passing infatuation with weddings. I did not plan my own wedding and woke up the next morning and decided I would be a wedding planner. I opened a wedding planning business 6 years ago, it was a careful business decision, and on the brink of global recession wedding planning was a tough sell. Yet, Splendid Affairs thrived and grew into a well established and highly reputable wedding planning company.
Six years ago weddings were very different. There was a shroud of secrecy surrounding many aspects of wedding planning processes. Suppliers were very protective of ideas, resources and themselves. Brides had to rely heavily on recommendations, limited magazine information and most often just blindly going along with whomever they managed to book. Families were often involved in all aspects of the wedding but let?s face it, there was no pressure in having a magazine/blog worthy wedding.
Fast forward to the age of wedding blogs, multitude of wedding magazines, wedding apps that now there is too much information on how and what you should have for your wedding. Your head is probably spinning from this overload of information, images and advice. You probably have friends who recently got married and the horror stories they tell are not helping. You cannot help yourself wanting that perfect day, so the pressure is on.
I spent most of January doing a lot of thinking and evaluating past weddings, successes, things I would change and how I can do things even better the next time. I am constantly striving to improve processes, communication and ways of preparing my clients for what to come as they are getting closer to their wedding day.?Here are a few points which I realised:
1. Hiring a wedding planner is a good idea. Please read my post ?Know the Difference Between Wedding Planner and Venue Coordinator?. ?There are times when Splendid Affairs is only hired to handle flowers and decor. Yet, majority of a times I do get involved in recommending solutions to problems that cropped up. Brides often hit obstacles when dealing with suppliers. We always go an extra mile for all our clients, however there is a major difference between wedding planning services and flower/decor services. In the past, we had to step in at the last minute and organise DJs, photographers, cakes, stationery ?and many other outstanding items. ?We often had to coordinate the day for our flower/decor clients when the venue coordinators are too busy?meeting/showing around new brides to worry about the actual wedding happening that day. However, not all companies would do that for their clients.
2. A wedding planner is not cheap, but for a reason. Managing your budget, suppliers and often family dynamics whilst creating a beautiful event is a skill. Communicating your ideas to all suppliers and managing them is imperative for a successful outcome. Managing schedules is demanding, time consuming and stressful. A professional and experienced wedding planner will have processes in place, know-how and great contacts ? all ingredients required to give you a stress-free experience.
3. Your wedding planner will be your own PR agent and will make all suppliers who will work at your wedding love you SO much that by the time your wedding comes they are so excited, ampted and just ready to make your wedding the wedding of the year. ??A wedding planner will work directly with your suppliers so you don?t have to get involved in the boring side of things. For example, if you work directly with a stationer and your proofs come back with spelling errors/typos or other mistakes, it is probably safe to assume that you will be very upset. If you had a planner, it is the planner?s job to go over the drafts, correct mistakes, make adjustments and present the client with the correct version for review. This avoids disappointments and doesn?t strain any relationships.
4. Your wedding will be important to a wedding planner, this is because a wedding planner will only take limited number of clients per year and has the time to focus on a wedding. Your wedding will not be important to many suppliers who rely on volume to meet their profit margins. Essentially, wedding planning fee will get you that caring factor, that your wedding day is indeed important. My wedding planning clients enjoy highest levels of service from all suppliers because my business is important to the suppliers and as a result?my clients?benefit.
5. I will share something with you, and you will not like it. When you are a bride, your wedding will consume you. You will find yourself obsesseing over small/big/huge details. You will loose sleep and you will be filled with great anticipation ? your wedding day. For you and your family it will be the most important event in the forth coming year. And it should be so, a wedding is an important occasion and it needs careful planning. But you should not get stressed out and loose perspective. A wedding day is one day, but your marriage and relationship with friends and family are lifetime long ? remember that.
Weddings are very emotional. You probably don?t understand how your engagement and upcoming marriage impacts every person you have a close relationship with. On top of that, ?wedding industry is a creative industry and creative types are not easiest to work with. You need a wedding planner who will be a buffer between you and all the talented, creative and emotional creatures you need to work at your wedding. Your wedding planner should help you cope emotionally and provide you with support and guidance. A wedding planner should defuse conflict situations, making client?s voice heard and at the end of the day just get things done. After all, results speak loader than words.
With massive pressure of having a perfect wedding it is easy to turn into stressed out lunatic but you cannot afford to loose your cool. You are probably a professional woman who has a lot happening on the professional front and you cannot jeopardize your career during the wedding planning months. Wedding planning can put strain on all your relationships and it is not worth it. Because we all lead highly demanding lifestyles, downtime is essential. You need to relax, spend time with your friends and family and not bombard them with only wedding talk/activities for a year. Rather let them look forward with excitement and anticipation to an amazing, fun and beautiful day ? your perfect wedding.
If you are planning a wedding this year, consider hiring a wedding planner to save your sanity and ensure that you have a professionally executed wedding. ?As a wedding planner,?I know what is required at each wedding and I know where to get it and how to make it happen. I have experience in solving the most unpredictable circumstances and creating beautiful memories for my clients. ?I have great relationship with suppliers and all of the above translate into a great experience for the couples choosing Splendid Affairs.
Last year I had the privilege of working with most amazing brides and grooms in creating most incredible weddings. I am excited and looking forward to 2013 and maybe Splendid Affairs will be planning your wedding?
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