"Small wedding of maybe 50 people tops, wedding in a city that I've been to before, nothing too out of the norm in terms of concept. . how hard can it be?"
Ha, haha, hahahahaha!
Old Self, I laugh in your face.
Planning weddings is hard y'all. Not hard in a "wah, poor me, I have to pick a shade of peach" hard. I'm talking about some major number crunching, spreadsheet creating, negotiating and following up with vendors, and juggling a bunch of monkeys (aka our friends and family. . no offense), spending hours on the computer to create one stupid program kind of hard. I really, honestly, truly thought that I could handle planning our wedding all by my little self. Yet when I started to research, I discovered that there was so much more to this than pick a dress, grab the groom, and go.
So I lived, I learned, and then I got Luvs. . or rather I fell in love, with the ladies at Southern Protocol.
Ah Lizz and Sara, I remember it like it was yesterday. A rainy spring evening, me standing outside the restaurant that the rest of my family was already inside, enjoying their dinners and leaving me to my wedding craziness. I talked with Lizz and Sara for 5 minutes, trying to drown out the crappy 80's music that said restaurant was blasting out the speakers, and they just. . . got it. I hardly had to explain what I wanted, and they started to put into words what I had been trying to conceptualize for months. I was completely at ease and to be honest, completely giddy over the fact that they sounded as pumped about our wedding as I did.
It has been the best money ever spent. You think me to be dramatic? For your consideration, ladies and gentlemen of the jury:
Not sure the best caterer to go with in Charleston? Oh I'll e-mail Sara, she'll know
Need an idea for the right table linens that will go with the napkins? Oh I'll e-mail Sara, she'll know
Help! My future in-laws need ideas for a perfect rehearsal dinner location! Oh I'll e-mail Sara, she'll know, she always knows.
See what I mean? This is just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on about the pros of having a planner, but you get the gist. I'm so glad I decided on having a wedding planner; it has made planning this wedding FUN, not frustrating. Not to mention, Sara has been a fantastic mediator for all of the little "sticky" issues that come up. I don't have to be the bad guy, which I love. I'm a conflict avoider, what can I say?
I know that having a wedding planner is not for everyone. Heck, when we first started all this, I didn't even think it would be possible budget wise. We made it work Tim Gunn style, and I'm so so glad we did. If you can't fit a full on wedding planner into the budget, get a DOC (day of coordinator). Trust me, I've heard from other brides, you don't want to be cat coraler on your wedding day, you want to be the bride.
Would you, or did you, consider hiring a planner for your big day? Or are you the brave bride going it alone?
I've really been thinking a lot of a DOC lately. I think it would be great to hand everything over on the day of....the trick is finding someone who isn't crazy expensive!
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Leana, Some DOC's are so expensive, but you can find many that are very reasonable! A DOC that is new to the business can execute your day beautifully and charge much less than a "seasoned professional". Perhaps a very organized friend could act as your DOC? I know this sounds crazy, but online forums like weddingbee or even craigslist are great places to find a DOC for a great rate!
ReplyDeleteI would never plan my wedding alone, so thankful I have my wonderful Bestie that will know all the in's and out's of wedding planning by the time its my time! :)
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