Part Two of "A Planner's Plan" - The List

Last week, I wrote about the outbreak of “wedding planners”, that have joined the industry and I went through several scenarios and red flags to look for. Along with that, I promised a check list for the brides to run through when interviewing the planners. I believe that paying attention or looking for the things on this list will help you weed through the bad and hire the good!

1. Did she mean what she said? Did the contract match what she told you would be included in the package?
2. Is she promising you the world? Do the services and “promises” even sound possible?
3. You get what you pay for. Wedding planners are not cheap so if you find one that is, double check the references. No matter what, when you are pricing, if someone offers you everything for nothing, be prepared to get nothing.
4. Take vendor suggestions. The vendors work with a lot of the planners a lot of the time. Consider what relationship the planner has with the vendors that you’ve spoken with.
5. Ask questions – see if she knows about the vendors (pros and cons) that you want to use and get to know her knowledge in the industry (without expecting her to give you planning suggestions/information for free).
6. Is there a time restraint on communicating with the planner? Does she only offer you time to talk from 8am – 6pm and does she only show up on the day of the wedding 2 hours prior? Make sure that her schedule is flexible enough to work with yours.
7. Will the person that you have your initial consultation with be the person who is taking you all the way to the day of the wedding or will the event be passed off to an assistant?
8. Does she call herself a planner or a coordinator? If you want a planner, you better hire someone who knows their title or they certainly will not know their job!
9. Be wary of what services are offered, other than planning. Some planners are also hair and make-up artists, photographers, florists, etc. Being contracted with a group of people or having a staff to do these things is great, but having one person who thinks they can handle all of these jobs means that she cannot do one thing really well because she is doing many things on an average level.
10. Is this her full time job or does she have another job during the day? Does she have day time restrictions? How flexible is her schedule is for last minute meetings, drop offs, etc?
11. How many weddings does she do in a weekend? Are you one of three brides that will need her attention on your wedding day? If so, think about how she will manage to keep all of you happy.
12. Will she be attending meetings with your vendors? If the answer is no, and you are hiring her for full service, walk away as you will spend most of your planning months filling your planner in on the details of meetings.
13. Are there any other packages besides full service and day of? Ask if you can pay for just what you need and customize something in between the two extremes.
14. Does she know it’s your day? There is a difference between a controlling personality and a disciplined work ethic. Make sure you know the difference.
15. Pay attention to her personality and how it mixes with yours. If you are not comfortable enough to talk about pricing and likes/dislikes in the initial consultation, then do not hire the planner. You will have to hire someone that you can be honest with as you definitely do not want to spend 8 months planning your special day with someone that you cannot talk to.

Good luck and keep in mind that the wedding industry is filled with people who got into the field for the sole reason of making money. Just like any other profession, dealing with the “cash cow” vendors versus the ones that do it because they have a love for the job is the difference in service. The trick is learning to spot the lovers of the wedding world!