So you’re getting married? Awesome and congratulations! This is always such an exciting time. As the joy of engagement grows, you’ll have to decide on the most important factor: your wedding date! That little number will be the guiding force to picking a wedding venue, booking wedding vendors, and even what guests can attend.
Luckily, when you hire a wedding planner, that’ll be the hardest decision, because once you pick your planner, you’ll have a new guide to the entire experience. Think of wedding planners like the fairy godmother (or godfather!) showing up and making magic happen.
But since you’re probably new to the wedding industry, there are some really important things to take into consideration when finding the best wedding planner. See, not all wedding planners are the same. In fact, there are also wedding coordinators and their purpose is really different.
While I’ve created a blog about the difference between wedding planners and wedding coordinators, there so much more to it all when picking the right one for your wedding day!
So let’s get started on the best questions to ask a wedding planner!
What are the benefits of working with a wedding planner?
The amount of benefits of hiring a wedding planner cannot be overstated enough. Of course, I’m a bit biased—but let’s go over the top benefits and I’m sure you’ll agree!
- Stress reduction—Hiring a wedding planner can make a world of difference for your entire wedding experience. I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve planned where things go topsy-turvy on the day. If I hadn’t been there, all of the stress would’ve been on the couple. Could you imagine dealing with a delayed caterer while trying to get married to the love of your life?
- Saving Money—We’ll go over this more in other wedding planner questions to ask, but weddings can be so expensive and your planner can help you keep the costs down. Before booking vendors, they can give you a rough estimate on vendor services, keep track of the payment schedule, ensure the final payment is made to avoid late fees, and even negotiate costs with their preferred vendors.
- Coordination—This goes hand in hand with stress reduction, but a great planner or coordinator will make sure all of the vendors are on the same page for the timeline and how many hours they need to be there, create said timeline, have a backup plan in place, meet vendors on the day of, track dietary restrictions, handle contracts, set up and tear down at the venue, track how many people are coming…the tasks they keep track of are endless!
Finding the Right Wedding Planner
How do I find the right wedding planner for my wedding?
The types of services offered by a wedding planner or wedding coordinator can vary, which we’ll cover more soon. But first, because you can hire one, you need to find them!
If you aren’t sure where to start, you can begin by using websites like The Knot to begin the search. Depending on the situation, your venue might have some recommendations. Some venues might actually require wedding planners or at least a day-of coordinator for any of their weddings, so make sure to clarify that one!
You can also find wedding planners at wedding expos, Facebook, friends/family, and even TikTok! Any place that advertises or shares about weddings is a good place to start!
Once you find your perfect wedding planner, let’s go over the questions you’ll want to ask.
Availability and Services
Are you available on my wedding date?
The very first thing you’ll want/need to ask a potential planner is about their availability. Before the interview process can even begin, you have to ask this! While some wedding planning companies have multiple planners, some are just a one-person show—so you’ll want to make sure the date is free no matter what.
On that note, you’ll also want to ask them about their policy on the amount of weddings juggled on the same day. If they don’t just support one client per day, make sure to clarify their back-up plan. In fact, if there’s just one planner available, make sure to also clarify the back-up plan!
Experience and Expertise
What’s your experience in the wedding industry?
Like any kind of wedding vendor, everyone’s functioning at different experience levels. Trust me when I say that you need someone who has experience in the wedding industry. I’ve heard horror stories of beginner planners thinking being a wedding planner means one thing…and absolutely botch the day. A wedding planner is the glue to your big day. You need someone who ensures everything will run smoothly.
Make sure to also ask about their experiences with events that have similar guest counts. A planner that has only been a wedding planner to events with fifty guests might become easily overwhelmed with a wedding that has 200 guests.
And make it a point to ask about their experience with full-service planning. How many weddings have they done? This can also influence your decision.
Planning Process and Timeline
Can you walk me through your planning process?
Wedding planning is only for the most detail-oriented. On top of that, every wedding planner has their own process. It may or may not work for your personality, goals, or vision.
Some couples might have assumptions of how available their wedding planner will be. You’ll want to ask how many meetings you can expect to receive. Some offer one or two meetings, while some provide unlimited meetings.
So gain clarity as soon as possible. Any good wedding planner will be able to explain their process succinctly and clearly. The perfect wedding planner will even have lists of milestones, spreadsheets, and other tools used to keep the entire process as smooth as possible.
Any good wedding planner will be able to answer these basic questions. If they don’t brandish even a few lists or spreadsheets, even to show past wedding timelines, then you probably might want to chat with someone else.
Budget and Pricing
What is your pricing structure?
Every couple plans a wedding with a budget in mind. While that budget will vary wildly per couple, it’s one of the more important questions to ask a potential wedding planner, and wedding vendors in general, what their fees are.
The price will vary wildly, depending on whether it’s a wedding planner or wedding coordinator. It’ll also depend on their experience, the time of year (busy season is a thing!), the size of your wedding, and so much more.
Ask about what their inclusions are, as well. You’ll want to fully understand what is included and if there are any additional costs you’ll want to anticipate.
Finally, you’ll want to ask about their pricing structure. Some planners do a 50/50 payment plan, but you’ll need to clarify this. It’ll be easier to budget payments when you know what is due, when!
Vendor Recommendations and Management
Do you have a preferred list of vendors?
One of the top benefits for hiring a wedding planner is their connections with other vendors. Most wedding planners have a list of preferred vendors that they love working with and trust to make your special day the best it can be.
This will also help you with the selection process as you work through the wedding planning process. Your wedding day is only as strong as your list of vendors, so lean on their list of preferred vendors!
Communication and Availability
How often will we communicate during the planning process?
I already mentioned asking about meetings, but I can’t emphasize enough that you need to make sure you understand how many meetings you can expect to receive. Planners experienced with full-service planning might have a cap on the count of vendor meetings and planning meetings they permit.
They may even count the time on phone calls as meetings.
If you go over this time, there may be additional fees, so get everything in writing ahead of time.
Contingency Plans and Problem-Solving
How do you handle unexpected issues or wedding-day emergencies?
Weddings are unique in the events industry. There’s more emotion, personalities, and hiccups that can happen. Almost every wedding day has unexpected mishaps or hiccups. Your planner needs to be able to tackle every unexpected situation with grace and quick thinking.
Ask potential wedding planners about their approach to unexpected issues or emergencies. Do they have backup plans? Have they ever had to replace vendors last minute? Can they give examples of situations they handled?
Don’t hesitate to ask the wedding planner questions!
References and Testimonials
Can you provide references for past clients?
On top of asking questions about past weddings and finding out how many weddings they’ve coordinated, you can also ask for a few references if you’d like. For some couples, reviews online are enough, but most wedding vendors have at least a couple past clients willing to rave about their experience.
Insurance Coverage
What kind of insurance coverage do you have?
Especially after 2020, couples and vendors alike learned a lot of lessons about terms like Force Majeure and non-refundable. That’s why I always recommend every couple invests in wedding insurance, even for smaller events. I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve heard about that were postponed or canceled, but there was no wedding insurance—some couples lost a lot of money.
But your vendors should also carry personal liability or professional indemnity insurance. Some venues might even require it (you’ll planner will know more about this!).
Cancellation Policy
What Is Your Cancellation Policy?
One of the top questions to ask a wedding planner is about their cancellation policy. There might come a time while you plan your wedding day that something happens and you need to cancel. While this should be outlined in your contract, make sure to include it as one of the questions to ask a wedding planner.
Wedding Vendors
Will you help us find potential vendors?
I don’t know any full-service wedding planners who don’t recommend vendors, usually on a curated list. It’s just a part of the full-planning service. Your event planner will most likely attend some vendor meetings (although this could be an additional fee).
A wedding planner’s goal should always be to find you the perfect match as a part of the planning process!
Final Thoughts
Interviewing wedding planners can seem daunting, just like hiring any other vendor, but it’s worth it in the end. Weddings will always through you curveballs, just like any event with a mind of its own, but a great wedding planner will make it all smooth sailing (as much as possible!).
When you begin the process, make sure to reach out to Moments and Milestones for the best wedding planner in Georgetown!