How to Find Your Perfect Wedding Planner

For many, finding a wedding planner is a one time ordeal. That also happens to be the problem, you have no idea what to look for. Certainly friends can help, hand you a list of planners to meet with, but no two brides are the same and neither are their expectations or budget.

Referrals

This is the obvious first step. Go around and ask your already married friends about their experiences. It is also important to note that you shouldn't just go to the friends you thought had a great wedding, but also to the not so great. Don't just ask about the positives, but the negatives too. Get enough information about them as both an event organizer and a personality. This isn't just someone who is going to help you plan your big day, but someone you are going to be spending a lot of time with. A wedding planner should strike the perfect balance between organized and personable, and of course a little fun never killed anybody.

Budget

Your budget always seems to be a fickle thing, but when choosing a wedding planner it is certainly important to have in mind. Expect to pay 10-15% of your total wedding expense on a wedding planner, though some may charge an hourly rate. The important thing here is that you can save yourself a lot of time simply by going around and asking for quotes. Knowing the difference between what is negotiable and what is way out of your price range is what's really important.

Interview

Not everyone is born a great interviewer, but interviewing is not so different from being the interviewee. Don't expect the wedding planner to come in prepared with a list of questions to ask themselves. Come ready with a list of standard questions and work your way up to the more complicated and specific. There are two thing you should be looking for during the interview, vision and leadership. Whoever you go with needs to share your vision, that means someone who understands what you want and can build on it in ways you hadn't thought of. And leadership, not only must they be confident, but someone you see as being capable of executing your vision and tackling any possible problems that may arise.

Go with Your Gut

What your friends tell you and the impressions you get from an interview may not always agree with each other. Planning a wedding is no simple task and there will be lots of different opinions and personalities to deal with once the planning begins. The one opinion you will always want to trust is that of your wedding planner. So unless someone has had a truly terrible experience with the wedding planner you want, you should go with your gut. We are naturally good at judging people on a quick first impression, which leads me to believe that if your gut tells you they're the right fit for you, they probably are.

Got any tips on finding a good wedding planner? Tweet us at @whodoyou_trust and let us know! And if you're planning a wedding this summer and still looking for the perfect wedding planner WhoDoYou can help! Find the best wedding planner recommended by your friends!