WPCNR'S THE REAL DEAL. By The Wedding Jeannie, Jeannie Uyanik. December 22, 2007: We eluded last week to the fact that with some historical or very high end venues, use of a professional event planner is a necessity.  But for most locations, parties and events, having a planner may not be a prerequisite, but then again, neither was a florist 30 years ago.  Weddings and large events have changed dramatically in scale over the past few decades.  Long gone are the days were the majority of families turn their back yard into a place to celebrate a marriage or major event. 

Statistics from the 1970’s are staggering when you consider how much couples spend on weddings these days; in 1973 74% of families catered their own weddings.  84% did not use an official florist and event planners were only for the wealthiest .005% of the population.  Fast forward to the 21^st century and the price of your florist is what most people used to spend on entire events.  Costs in and of themselves, and the scale of weddings or other large events are enough to warrant hiring a professional.   You want to make sure that your money is going to the right areas and the right service providers.  We are not just talking about bang for buck, but about making sure that allocation is appropriate (i.e. not spending half of your budget on music). 

Perhaps though the biggest reason in our times to hire a professional is the sheer amount of time it takes to plan an event.  Women, both mothers and daughters are busier than ever.  Most have careers and the planning of parties has traditionally been left to them.  Many of our brides and their mothers work longer hours than their counterparts, and while the necessity to spend more time on details and budgeting has increased the availability of that time has significantly decreased.  Finding the right planner can reduce overall stress, contribute to feeling that the planning process is moving along seamlessly and timely and ensure that your budget is being used as efficiently as possible. 

In looking for a planner, the most important things to consider are: experience, personality and method.  We go into each of these below, but the first step in finding the right planner is to meet with at least three.  It’s a worthwhile line item to add to your budget, but make sure that you know who you are getting into bed with.  Meeting with three candidates will give you the ability to make a better decision, and often it’s the first decision you will be making about your event so take the time to research it.

Ideally, if you can afford it, hire someone who has a proven track record.  Someone who has either come highly recommended or who is known to be very good in their field.  If you are going to allocate funds to a professional, spend a bit more to get representation that truly will reflect your needs.  We find more often than not that you get what you pay for – so if you follow our advice and meet with a few prospective planners and one is much less than the others, there might be a reason.  Don’t be anyone’s guinea pig.  Don’t hire friends who don’t have experience.  A large event is not the time to build someone else’s career IF you are going to be depending on them for a host of services and it’s certainly not the time to try something new (unless you are willing to take the risks that come with it).