How to Choose a Wedding Planner: Questions to Ask Before Your Hire!
Hiring a wedding planner is one of the biggest decision you will make and one of the hardest to get right from the first conversation. They will set the tone for your whole journey. As you browse through everyone’s website, things will start to get muddled together and keywords are used everywhere. So, how do you actually tell who will be the right fit for you, your partner, your families and your wedding?
Here are some questions worth asking and what the answers actually reveals:
1. “How do you handle stress during the planning process, for you and for us?”
Wedding planning is emotional, not just logistical. You want to hear that your planner is here for you as well! A planner who only talks about spreadsheets and timelines is telling you that they see this job as a project manager. A planner who talks about protecting your peace of mind, buffering you from stress caused by vendors, being a steady presence during overwhelming times will tell you they understand the emotional toll wedding planning has on couples. They will reassure you that their experience will shine in those moments.
What to listen for: Do they talk about feelings at all and asking about yours?
2. “Can you walk me through your full process, start to finish?”
This tells you if the planner has a real system or is making it up as they go. The process should acknowledge different phases of planning that includes the emotional ups and downs, not just a task checklist.
What to listen for: A description of what the experience of working with the planner will feel like not just going through things that needs to get done
3. “How involved should we expect to be, and how involved will you be?”
Regardless of your package, full or partial planning, you want to hear clear expectations early on. You want a planner who takes real ownership of their workload and give great description of their role in your journey. You do not want someone who will leave you with the heavy lifting with our any clear directions based off your goals/visions.
What to listen for: Confidence and clarity about what they will do vs. yours!
4. “What’s your experience with our specific cultural or religious traditions?”
If your wedding involves traditions outside of the standard Western wedding format (tea ceremony, specific religious requirements, multi-day celebrations, family customs), this questions matters a lot! You want a planner who will understand how to respect the specific traditions and can support you through the planning. A planner who has genuinely worked within your traditions will be able to speak to the details of it such as the sequence of events, etiquette, family roles and couple’s expectations. A planner who has not will speak in generalities.
What to listen for: Specificity! The details about how these traditions are planned and executed from their perspective.
5. “Why do you love this work?”
We love this questions because this give you an insight into the planner’s personality and what drive them in making your experience and day special. Even though it is just one day for the planner, it is a huge important day for you. You want a planner who will treat their “just one day” with the amount of love and care into it. Planners who talk about families, traditions and the meaning behind the day tend to bring a different level of presence to their work and it will show up in how they treat you throughout the process. This questions will help you differentiate between planners as well. An initial connection between you and your planner will go far!
The right wedding planner will know how to manage a timeline while understanding the emotional weight of the process, respect your wants and has a clear plan for keeping you calm, heard and excited through this journey!
photo by: Emma Petersen Photography
