I am thinking about getting a wedding planner. I know it would probably cost around £1000 but I have heard that by getting one of these can sometimes save you well over £1000 anyway as they have contacts and know where to get the best deals.
I cant even imagine trying to plan it on my own and knowing what to do and what I have spent and where to start. I am not pleased with the budget I have either so I know if I get a wedding planner I can leave the stressing to her and I can tell her what I want and she will have to try and get it with the budget and know how to work with it.
Has anybody had a wedding planner? If so what was your experience like ? Good ? Bad? Worth it?
PLEASE HELP!!!!:help:

My friend used one as she was getting married in a different city to where she lived and didn't fancy travelling back and forth every weekend.

Make sure you like them. Apparently it can still get stressful even if they are doing the planning and not you and when she had to say 'NO STOP ' it was easier because they could talk frankly and laugh later.

It was a great wedding but theirs was very expensive so not sure about saving money.

Whatever you think you'll do, you'll stress anyway, so why not spend the grand on your honeymoon or add it to your budget, which will make it go significantly further.

I planned all of mine singly handedly, and that included making my own favours, cakes and bridesmaids dresses. The groom was working out of the country (with the best man) so I did all of his stuff, my mum was in hospital and the chief bridesmaid was away on a training course for the 2 weeks before the wedding.

It IS possible to do the planning yourself, and I'd say that it's significantly easier if both of you are equally involved or if you have close families that you can trust to help. Especially if your budget's tight, I'd think very hard before spending such a large portion of it on s wedding planner.

Hi,

I also planned my own wedding although it was 10yrs ago.

I had not realised how much wedding planners were costing for a job that seems to be relevantly easy.

I have been thinking about taking this up as a career so if i caould be very cheeky:D , could you let me know if you go for a planner or not and also any area that you would have prefeered a little more assistance.

Good luck with your chioce, i only wish i could have been more in to the whole wedding planner business i could have arranged yours

I was expecting people to say it's better to save the money . The thing is I really cant even bare to think about where to start and if I save a grand by getting one then at least I have got one who has been able to organise it for me .I know I will still be stressed but at least I will have somebody who really knows what to do. I dont know what I need or what the best place to have it is . I can tell my wedding planner what I want and then they can find it for me.

Hi,

Why not tell me what you want and i will do the work for you.

Pay me instead.

Only 2 catches, yours will be the first one i have done apart from my own

I wont charge £1000

Another consideration, of course, is your total budget.

Spend £1,000 on someone to help you spend £3,000. Sounds a bit daft. Doesn't it?

However, if you are planning on blowing £20,000, I suppose a grand here or there will go unnoticed!

Personally, I think that it is a waste of money. Once you start, you will see that it isn't really such a big deal. You will also have the added bonus of the wonderful sense of satisfaction when it all goes well.

There are many sources of information and help.
This Forum and the internet being a good start.

It is your day so do what feels right, but if you are spending over £20,000, can I come too?:D

Why not save every single penny, and not get married?

Or spend a few quid and get married in the registry office?


Personally i've never understood the reasoning behind spending thousands just to wear a big frock in front of people you've not seen for years (not to mention actually like) and to eat a bit of cake.


I'd rather go somewhere lovely, just me and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with, and truly and simply make our feelings known to each other.

saying that me and my partner do that most weekends when we can get away for the day anyhow, and I don't feel I require anything more to solidify our relationship.....

Sorry I can't help you with your wedding planning, the thread just got me thinking... :)

Hi clairerob

Personally I wouldn't bother with the planner, it's a waste of money unless you have an unlimited bank balance of course!

The internet is a great way to save money. Have a look on www.confetti.co.uk They have a chat forum which was invaluable to me when I was planning our wedding. The girls on there are all in the same boat and will share all their money saving tips! There's even a for sale forum where you can pick up some bargains.

You can also create a personalised 'to do' list to help you get organised. Once you start organising, you'll get hooked, and you'll be obsessed with bargain hunting!

Ebay is great too. I bought bargain stationary from there, and I also bought gorgeous pink rose buttonholes from there for my best friends (didn't bother with Bridesmaids) 80p each - bargain!

If you get stuck, please feel free to PM me, I'd love to be able to help out!:D

My son is getting married in 2007, and his fiancee would not want a wedding planner, she is thoroughly enjoying all the research & preparations. I did all my own arrangements too (albeit a long time ago). I would take the advice given here & save the money towards your honeymoon or house. Good luck.

I'm currently organising my own wedding - it's not as difficult as it seems once you know what you're doing. There's some good websites like confetti.co.uk or hitched.co.uk that give you an idea of everything to think about.

I have a couple of spreadsheets for guest list and budget that have made things so much easier for us - if you want I can email them to you? PM me if you want them.

I think if you have a limited budget a wedding planner is an expense you can do without.

Hi :wave: from another recent bride :wave:

If you're not confident in organising your own wedding, contact all of the suitably sized hotels in the area and ask if they have a wedding coordinator. Arrange to go and have a chat. Decide how much you want them to do, and how much you'd like to do youself. And get yourself off to a couple of local wedding fairs, and the huge one at the NEC for good measure ;)

Consider having a winter wedding to get the best deals from hotels - particularly if your guests are likely to stay in the hotel too. Jan, Feb, Oct and Nov are probably good months to negotiate with.

Unless you're planning to spend squillions, it's unlikely that a wedding planner could save you enough to cover their own bill.