Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The Wedding Planner...

What a great movie. Not Matthew McConaughey's best look, but let's face it- he's always dreamy. And no one ever looked at M&M's the same way again. Or teal bridal gowns either, for that matter. But this post is clearly not about that movie. It's about helping you make the right choice of a wedding planner. And even if you choose not to hire one, you'll undoubtedly still have one. Wedding's don't happen without them. Even small, simple, courthouse weddings. The way I see it, there are three different kinds of wedding planners: professionals, trusted friends and family, and brides. And really, the choice that's right for you depends on your particular situation.
Frankly, I would never recommend that the bride do all the planning, tasting, booking, visiting, ordering, visioning, and worrying all by herself. I mean, think about it. Would you really want to handle all of that on your own? The only case I would consider this even feasible is in a small (under 30 person attendance) backyard/home setting. And if that's your goal, then I won't try to stop you. But I will tell you that when you're three weeks away from your big day and it suddenly dawns on your caterer that he did, in fact, have a prior booking for the night of your nuptials, you will most definitely need some help with last-minute stress-management.
If your wedding is particularly large, extravagant, or expensive, you may choose to hire a professional wedding planner. True wedding planners cost a hefty amount, but are often worth the expense, as they usually do all of the planning, ordering, and yelling for you. You tell them your personal style and sign-off on all the big decisions, and the pains of long hours of research and price-haggling are spared. This is always an excellent choice for those brides out there who tend to be easily stressed-out. (Trust me- the weeks leading up to your wedding are not the days that you want to be wound so tight that you're pulling your hair out. Frankly, no one likes a bald bride. Unless she's making a statement for her best friend who's struggling with cancer-that is a very beautiful thing.)
My personal choice for a wedding planner lied largely in my mother. I can not tell you how many countless hours she spent on helping me with every last detail (and every big or minute decision) that was involved in my planning process. As my wedding was mostly a DIY affair, she also functioned as my own personal Martha-Stewart-meets-Vera-Wang project consultant. She was absolutely wonderful. And I tend to think that this works across the board- people who love you and know everything about you (from your food preferences to your emotional breaking-point) work best. They're honest about what those designer dresses look like on you, they'd do anything short of committing murder to help you, they love to be your shoulder to cry on, and they know without a doubt that you absolutely hate those 'phoofy' flowers. You just can't get any better than that.

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