Wedding Planner - How to be your own

When you think about your wedding budget and the total amount you have allotted, would you be willing to increase that budget by 10% or 20% to relieve some stress? If you answered yes, then a wedding planner is worth it to you, but I suspect you don't realize how easy it is to use the Internet to plan a wedding. If you answered no, you're going to find certain information invaluable. But first let me explain what a wedding planner does.

The more you pay a wedding planner the more he/she does. The less you pay a wedding planner, the more you have to do. For instance a wedding planner may have a list of all the event centers and places to hold a wedding ceremony or reception. They may have a list of caterers and new trends. They may also be able to get a bridal couple a discount on any number of services. Conversely, they may recommend a more expensive service because of a certain commission they make. There are a lot of pluses when using a wedding planner, but there are a lot of minuses too. Consider carefully how much you're willing to do, and decide if paying someone to take the burden of some of those tasks, is worth either reducing the amount of your budget by 10-20% or adding that 10-20% to the budget amount.

Now you may be asking yourself "How much work does a wedding planner relieve me of?" That's a good question and really again, relies on how much you're paying. If your wedding planner doesn't work on an hourly basis, then using them for the maximum services available is best. Some planners have specific prices for specific duties. Lets say for example you just want someone to confirm vendors and give you a list of things to do? Thats going to cost around $1500-$2000. If you want the planner to do say everything; color choosing, vendor confirmation, visiting vendors with the couple etc etc, that is going to cost around $5,000.

With these costs in mind, are you willing to spend it or save it or apply it to the honeymoon or wedding?

I've put together a list of things you will need to do, should you begin planning a wedding on your own.

There are many vendors you will need to call and get cost lists, menus, dates available etc. You'll also need to confirm the dates you choose at a later time and arrange for deposits to hold the dates.

The list of wedding vendors is endless: caterers, bartenders, event center, churches, florists, decorators and on and on. Don't be afraid to ask your parents, siblings or friends for help. You'd be surprised how willing people are to help with wedding planning. For some people, like myself, its a great joy to do the planning.

There are hundreds of ways to save money on wedding vendors when planning a wedding on a budget. For instance did you know you can sometimes hire your own staff to serve at the wedding? Paying $25 an hour to the event center staff vs paying your sister's friends $10 sounds pretty good right? It doesn't have to be someone you know or have even met, just make sure they come highly recommended by a friend. One of my bridesmaids had a childhood friend that tended bar at our wedding for about $50 for the whole night. He made drinks, served beer, checked ids etc. Be careful to hire licensed staff and purchase insurance!

Before you do any calling for decorations, dresses, or caterers, you'll want to pick a theme or colors. Why do you want to do this first? Well mainly because if you choose black and white and want tulips as a flower.. well you get the point. Choose your colors first or a theme. Themes have a wider scope and narrow your searches. A beach theme is pretty focused or even a more broad theme like Winter. Either one you'll reduce half your search for items. Themes are easier to plan than colors, if you choose a popular theme.

Popular themes such as an Hawaiin theme, or beach can be searched on directly. Type beach wedding theme in your Google browser and you'll be treated to hundreds of choices. Type French Colonial red and white historical wedding themes and you'll probably come up short. That doesn't mean you can't plan a wedding around any theme you want. Goodness, people have weddings underwater and midair at 3000 feet. Any wedding you want is only dependent on your budget and the time you spend planning.

Choose a range of dates. If you narrow your dates down too much, too early you will have a hard time picking any caterer you want. Having a range of dates gives you a chance to get a better, or cheaper, or both, caterer. Don't say July 5th - July 10th.. say instead; "the last weeks in June til the first week in August". That's just a guideline but it allows you to play with dates.

How many people is it important to have at your wedding? If you prioritize your guestlist as number one, then you probably don't want a wedding on a weekday, when guests will have a hard time getting ready after work. Weekends are more expensive. Summers more than winter, December more than January. June more than August. You'll also find more available vendors during off peak times. Vendors are also more willing to discount their services during off peak seasons.

By starting early you can get vintage bridesmaid dresses you need in matching styles and sizes. Having extra time planning lets you get styles which may be unavailable at the last moment.

Shop early for your dress for the same reason, its important to have exactly what you need and the time to find it at the best price. Write down the style number and company name and type that directly into the web browser. Write down all the prices you see and the websites you find them at. (an excel sheet is perfect for this).

Keep track of everything you find, florists , flower species, wedding favors. Check different websites for prices and put it in your list. Enlist friends and family in the search.

Happy Weddings!