Questions to Ask A Wedding Planner Prior to Booking
Weddings vary so much from event to event. A wedding should be a expression of each couples uniqueness. When selecting a wedding planner is it important to find a professional who can take your vision to heart and provide guidance that will ultimately result in a day that reflects your vision, love, and personality!
In order to accurately gauge if a professional has the ability to accomplish this, there are several questions that can be asked prior to booking to properly vet the professional you are interested in. Below is a list of quality questions to inquire about before signing a contract with your wedding planner. Please note- a lot of these questions may be answered on the professional’s website. Asking too many questions may land you with an overwhelming amount of information! Be sure to ask the necessary questions so you are able to gather important information that will help guide your decision!
Questions to ask prior to booking a wedding planner-
The basics-
Are you available on my date?
I don’t have a date set, what if we ultimately pick a date that you are not available?
How much do your services cost?
What services do you offer, what are the differences between your packages, and what package will best fit my needs?
Are there any additional fees?
Experience & expectations-
How long have you been a wedding planner?
How long have you been a wedding planner in my area?
How many weddings do you take on in a single weekend?
Will you personally be at my event?
What would you say your wedding planning “style” is?
Can you tell me about a wedding that you planned that you are particularly proud of?
What is your experience with problem solving?
Can you give me an example of something that went wrong at a wedding and how you handled it?
If we run into any issues throughout the planning process, how will you advocate for us?
How much access will I have to you throughout the planning period?
After I book, what are the next steps to working together?
Package questions-
How much support do you offer with pre-wedding planning? Specifically-
During the vendor selection process, will you provide options?
How many options of each vendor will you provide?
Am I able to express my desires/interests for certain vendors?
Who will make the ultimate selection?
Will you offer guidance if I am unsure what elements I should be considering about certain vendors?
Will you review contracts provided by other vendors?
Will you track my budget and spend?
Will you provide design consultations?
How many meetings will we have before the wedding?
How often will we have meetings leading up to my wedding?
Will you solely be responsible for assisting with my wedding planning or do you have other staff that I will also be working with?
Will you create my invitations, send invitations, and track RSVPs?
Will you create any signage for the wedding?
Will you attend venue walk throughs, vendor meetings, etc. throughout the wedding planning?
Will you create a day of timeline?
Will you provide the other vendors with this timeline?
If so, when will this timeline be created and sent to the other vendors?
Will you create a timeline to provide to the family and bridal party?
If so, when will this be created and distributed?
Do you include day of coordination in your wedding planning package?
How many assistants will be present on my wedding day?
Do you include decor set up and breakdown in your package?
Will you help manage vendors on the day of?
How much communication do you typically have with the other vendors leading up to the wedding date?
Will you coordinate their arrival, set up, and breakdown times on the wedding day?
Will you take care of payment for outstanding balances on the wedding day?
Do you have any decor included in my package or available for rent?
The logistics-
Do you have insurance to provide to a venue if necessary?
Do you require a vendor meal(s)?
If we have any issues with vendors following the wedding will you still be present to help advocate for us?
Do you have any references?
Things to consider when looking for a wedding planner-
Involvement in wedding planning- How involved do you want to be in the wedding planning process? Some couples would like to be very hands on in all elements of the planning process, while others would prefer to be next to surprise on the wedding day! To find the right planner for you, you first need to decide the level of involvement you are comfortable with.
Alternatives to full wedding planning- If you are determined to do all of the wedding planning, but will still need someone to take care of the logistics and “behind the scenes” aspects of your wedding day, a Day of Coordinator may be a better fit for you. If you will need a little support on the planning but have it mostly covered, you may need a partial planning package! If the wedding professional you love doesn’t have a package that is quite perfect for what you need, ask if they can customize a package for you!
Payment schedules- Wedding planning takes a lot of hours and hours cost money! The planner will probably require payment on a schedule throughout the planning period to be compensated for the time they are spending. Be sure to talk through this payment schedule and discuss how it will fit into your overall budget.
Be upfront with budget- A professional wedding planner will completely understand if you are not able to work their packages into your budget. They may not be able to offer alternative pricing, but being honest about budget upfront will give them the opportunity to explain how they can or cannot fit into your overall budget.
If you haven’t selected a wedding date yet- Since most wedding planners will help with date and venue selection you likely will not have a date set at the time of booking. Discuss what will happen if you ultimately select a date that they are not personally available on.
You more or less get what you pay for- If someone quotes you $2k for the same package that someone else is quoting $10k, there is likely a large difference in experience. This doesn’t mean that the quality of work will necessarily be significantly different, but it is a very strong possibility.
Things to do after booking your wedding planner-
Get to planning! Ask your first steps after booking. This will likely be reviewing the budget, making a game plan for the planning process, and going over what you are looking for in a venue.