Why should you hire a Wedding Planner? | Philadelphia Wedding Professionals

 How important is it to have a Wedding Coordinator & Planner.

I was so lucky to meet Christine with Christine Varney Events at Ceremony in Annapolis, MD.
Christine is extremely knowledgeable and really helped me nail down why it is so important to have a Wedding coordinator.  As a Wedding photographer, I am hired to document your wedding day, but who is going to direct the caterer and handle the details for the DJ?

Whether it is coordinating the ceremony, day of wedding, or full service planning, there are many perks to hiring a professional wedding coordinator, including their resources!

Christine recommends hiring at least a day of coordinator to facilitate all the events of the wedding day.  A day-of coordinator will act as a point of contact for all of your vendors leading up to the wedding, and will develop a detailed timeline of events and communicate it to all parties involved.  The coordinator protects you also by keeping all the vendor contracts in hand on day of in case of any discrepancies.   There are many things that must be set in place before the wedding, and a coordinator is the one to make sure your ceremony and reception look just as you imagined it!  While there may be an event coordinator at your venue, they are mainly focused on your room setup and catering and won’t handle specifics like facilitating transportation, finding you for your father daughter dance, setting up the place cards, and distributing payments and tips to vendors.

For those busy engaged couples who don’t have much time to plan a wedding, or those are planning an out of town or destination wedding, a full service coordinator may be your answer!  A coordinator will guide you through the sometimes tiring process of selecting vendors, and you’ll receive reputable resources from their own personal experiences and other wedding professional recommendations.  Over the years a coordinator will collect advice and vendor referrals from previous couples and weddings.  Vendors will often give coordinators discounts when they bring in consistent business.    For out of town couples, your coordinator will set up meetings for you on weekends while you’re in town to help arrange all the leg work and meet with each vendor.  You will also have someone near the location to tie everything together.   In addition to vendor selection, a wedding coordinator will guide you through the process of creating the look and feel you desire for your wedding day.  Between Pinterest and all the wedding blogs out there, brides can find so many different ideas they want to use for their wedding.  A coordinator can help to fine tune the details you want and bring cohesion to the wedding.  Christine especially finds pleasure in creating “green” weddings for couples who want their special day to have less of an impact on the environment.  She has lots of great ideas on how to create a beautiful, green wedding that saves on resources and budget!

Five Forgotten Facts:

• Design:Pinterest is an amazing site, however for most couples it provides so many ideas for decorations and knick knacks.  A wedding coordinator assists on creating a cohesive design and wedding theme.
• Behind the Scenes:You want every part of your wedding day to flow smoothly and be stress free.  A wedding coordinator will ensure that all the vendors and wedding party are well informed of where they need to be at what time.  From coordinating transportation, to ensuring that the programs make it to the ceremony, to dimming the lights when the dance floor heats up, having a wedding coordinator will make sure your wedding day is as seamless as can be!
• Setup:  The caterer sets up the tables, but your coordinator will take care of details such as the place cards, favors, lighting, and other decorations.  They ensure your vision for the wedding is carried through.
• Emergencies:  From the Wedding Day emergency kit, to her experience problem solving; your wedding planner will be able to redirect issues and solve them without you even knowing!
• Clean up:  Wait, what?!  That’s right you have all your stuff that you have spent hundreds of $$ on – cake toppers, gifts, etc…  Who is in charge of remembering these things when everyone’s tired at the end of the night?  Your coordinator is the person who will make sure all your items are safe and sound on your first day as newlyweds.