You've Decided That You Will Use a Wedding Planner/Consultant - Now What Do You Do?

You've decided that your budget will support having a wedding planner/consultant in some capacity so what is the next step? 

If the area where you live is large enough to support having wedding planners, there are several places to begin looking. First, start asking everyone you know who is married (or who has been married) whether they used a planner and get names and any references.  Then go to one of the following associations.  These associations are either registrars of wedding planners and/or educational organizations for wedding planners with memberships. 

• www.weddingplannersassn.com  - primarily a training organization that has a directory of 140 members.
• www.aacwp.org – the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners is a certification organization with a membership of 44 located primarily in Texas.
• www.bridalassn.com – large national bridal association is primarily a membership organization.
  
• www.nawp.com - National Association of Wedding Planners, again primarily a membership organization predominately up and down the East Coast.
• www.acpwc.com – Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants, a certification organization which requires ongoing training.  As far as I can tell, there are fewer than 100 members.
• www.bridalassociationofamerica.com – large national association that is primarily a membership organization.

If this is the route you are taking, select at least 3 people to interview and then have at least one meeting with each to determine if they are a match at all.  Please make sure that both you and your fiancé/e attend all of these meetings since the prospective wedding planner/consultant will be working with both of you.  

During this selection process, PLEASE make sure that you write down all of your questions before you go to your meetings – it is too easy to completely skip over very important information if you keep it all in your head.  Also, you should be very clear on what your budget will allow for their services and whether or not it will allow for complete services or a la carte.  And, all references must be checked – many people make their final decision based simply on what the prospective consultant says and learn too late that their track record is not quite what they are looking for. 

I don’t wish to sound negative at all about wedding planner/consultants – I have seen many fabulous ones who orchestrate the most amazing events which could never have been done without them and I have also seen otherwise. Once you sign on the dotted line, you are committed!

Speaking of which – contracts, contracts, contracts.  Once you do select a wedding planner, please make sure that the contract you sign is very specific as to what they will do and what you will do.  Save yourself more stress than you can imagine when you find out on your wedding day that no one has gotten the ring pillow!  It is better to have all of your contracts so detailed that there is absolutely no room for question as to who will provide what and when. 

Also, after the contract is signed, any changes should have some type of addendum attached.  Again, everyone needs to be protected. 

You will see that I stress this contract stuff with every vendor you deal with.  If you follow no other piece of advice that I write, please follow this one so that your wedding day is as flawless a day as possible.   Another reason I stress this is because there will be some glitches – hopefully not many, but there will be some – and you want to have some foundation for dealing with them after the wedding.  And verbal agreement is not an option!