Is Hiring a Wedding Planner Actually Worth it?

Hiring a wedding planner can seem like a luxury. But before you decide to DIY, read why it might be worth the investment.

It’s tempting to opt for planning your wedding yourself. You know what you want better than anybody, and you’re more than capable of making that happen. It’s additionally tempting when you have so many sources influencing you to DIY. (Thanks, Pinterest)

But most of all, there can be quite a bit of sticker shock when you find the right planner. Wedding planners can range anywhere from $1500 to $10,000+. That alone can be incentive enough to say “no thanks” and take on your wedding yourself.

But before you do that, let’s look into what wedding actually planners do. That way you know what you’re signing up for, and what you’ll have to tackle yourself if you go without one.

Enjoy being engaged—instead of being engaged in the details 

If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that planning a wedding is a LOT—a lot of effort, a lot of money, and a lot of time. Seriously, one wedding planner, Amy Nichols, estimates that it takes couples 200-300 hours to plan a wedding on their own. And that’s not including the time second-guessing all of your choices... But with a planner’s services, that time is cut down to less than half of that. 

That’s because a wedding planner listens to what you want, and then basically becomes your surrogate in the planning process. They take the reigns and allow you to spend literally hundreds of hours—that you wouldn’t have had—together. 

Additionally, planning a wedding is stressful. So those 200-300 hours aren’t necessarily going to be fun. There’s a lot of back and forth, a lot of budgeting, and a lot of fear that things aren’t going exactly the way you always dreamt it. And that’s the thing about planning a large event, some of the awesome ideas you get from Pinterest aren’t possible to recreate exactly. They might require elements that are out of production, aren’t in season, or aren’t within budget. But that’s when a wedding planner’s value really shines because…

Planners have ideas you wouldn’t have thought about

So even when you find out that the centerpieces you had your heart set on are impossible to get, your wedding planner will have tons of ideas to achieve the same look or goal. They’re used to pivoting and constantly have their finger on the pulse of all things wedding and design. So where you might have spent hours trying to find the closest thing to what you had in mind, planners often have ideas that you would have never thought about, but that fulfill the vision.  

And not only can they provide excellent substitutions, but they’ll also bring fresh, additional ideas to the table. Whether it’s suggesting a unique seating chart idea or simply reminding you that you’ll have to provide flatware (this oversight has actually happened, without our services of course), no aspect will be missed. And even though most brides know what they want, you’d be surprised how many brides have told us that they were thankful for the ideas they would have never thought of. 

They know which vendors will fit your needs

Most wedding planners already have a list of preferred vendors. This is a hard-won list of vendors that do a great job and are great to work with. This is not a step to be taken lightly. Your team of vendors has an important role in making sure your day goes smoothly and that it’s exactly what you expect. The last thing you want to do is hire a friend-of-a-friend DJ who makes bad jokes and forgets to announce your cake-cutting. 

Additionally, they know the vendors well enough to know which vendors can best achieve what you have in mind. They’ll already know which vendor has a big enough tent for your backyard wedding, which bakery has the best gluten-free cakes, and which venues provide tables and chairs. And if they don’t already know the vendors personally, they still have a leg-up because…

They know the right questions to ask to get you what you want

It goes without saying, but wedding planners have experience. They know exactly what to ask all potential vendors to make sure every need you have will be met. With a planner in your corner, you know that no detail will be missed. And you won’t have to write an email the week before the wedding to ask the venue if they have enough outlets to support all the string lights you bought... They also aren’t afraid to ask anything. Seriously. It can be uncomfortable to ask for multiple requests or ask for a better price. Sometimes couples prioritize being polite and end up not getting exactly what they want. But wedding planners take on that responsibility so that you never have to settle. You can just tell them what you want and they’ll go to bat for you.

And not only do they know the right questions to ask vendors, they know the right questions to ask YOU. It may seem obvious, but it isn’t. A lot of couples get into the planning process thinking they know exactly what their hoping for but for some reason, the reality isn’t meeting their expectations. A wedding planner can look at all of the moving parts and help boil down what’s missing. Like maybe you bought all of the elements you liked from a wedding you saw on Pinterest, but it isn’t looking the same. Your wedding planner will be able to ask if it’s the exact elements you liked or if it’s the bright airiness of the inspiration wedding. From there you might decide to switch to a venue with more natural light or lighten your color palette to make up for the darkness of your particular venue. 

Planners know from experience what details are important (and which ones aren’t) 

When it comes to planning your own wedding, every detail seems immensely important. And it is. But when it comes time to prioritize what deserves a large chunk of your budget and what doesn’t, your wedding planner will have the expertise to know where you can cut corners. 

And beyond that, they also know which things aren’t worth the stress. So you found out one of the flowers you wanted in your arrangements isn’t available? No problem. Your planner knows that you can switch out azaleas for rhododendrons and no one will know the difference. This is especially true if your planner is one of the few that does the double duty of planning and making the floral arrangements. 

Yup, that’s right. There are some planners that also handle florals. (Like us!) They’ll be intimately acquainted with your vision and they’ll be so invested in having a great wedding, that the florals will be over-the-top amazing. Not to mention you cut out an additional vendor and extra fees. That way you really get the best bang for your buck! This leads to maybe the most important point…

Wedding planners can actually save you money

It’s counterintuitive but it’s true. While wedding planners seem expensive, they are typically only 10% of your whole budget. So after that initial investment is made, wedding planners actually become your biggest advocates for savings. 

Right off the bat wedding planners can get you the best discounts or know when’s the best time to get in on a venue because they have established relationships with vendors and venues. Additionally, having a planner makes vendors want to work with you. Take this example from a real person’s experience:

“Another little perk is that I feel like vendors are generally more on their A-game with us because they don't want to burn the bridge with a local planner. Weddings don't usually generate repeat clients because people plan to get married once, but having a wedding planner involved means they could be suggested in the future if they do a good job. I found a makeup/hair team that I loved who gave us a discount because they saw it as an opportunity to get in with our planner and hopefully be recommended by her in the future.” 

So having a wedding planner, especially one with a good reputation, will open doors to amazing vendor deals. Also, wedding planners are well versed in knowing how much things should cost. Especially if it’s a vendor they’ve worked with before. So when a vendor slips in an unknown fee, your wedding planner is going to squash that real quick.

Another way wedding planners can save you money in the long run? They stay on top of the budget. Seriously. Once your planner knows what you’re working with, they’ll make sure that everything stays in line. Without that, it can get really easy to tack on needless expenses for every little detail. And like we said earlier, they know what’s worth it and what isn’t. So they’ll be able to keep you within budget while still making sure you get everything you want. When you aren’t versed in wedding planning, it can be too easy to be talked into getting the upgraded version of everything. Wedding planners are basically your dad coming to the car dealership with you to make sure you don’t get taken advantage of. Speaking of family…

They can take the heat from any pushy family and friends 

If you don’t understand this point, must be nice. All kidding aside, many couples have people in their lives who are really excited for them and want to be involved but end up overly inserting themselves in the process. Or the couple has a person who straight up believes they know better—and isn’t afraid to say so. 

Enter the scapegoat. Or, I mean, the wedding planner. When your well-meaning sister keeps sending you ideas or offering to do signage you can say, “Oh, it’s okay we have a planner!” Or if your mom insists you serve prime rib instead of the cool tapas you want, you can say, “Oh that’s a great idea, I’ll see what my planner says!” That way you don’t have to be the one saying no and getting flack. A planner might be $5000 but diverting drama? That’s priceless. 

Not only do you get to enjoy the planning process more but you get to enjoy the day

It’s widely understood that a wedding planner does a lot of the work leading up to the day. I mean, they are a wedding planner. But they don’t just plan. They’re there with you through the whole wedding day. They’re the first ones on the scene to set up. So you get to sleep and enjoy your morning coffee. They’ll be around to remind you to eat something, to make sure your hairstylist doesn’t forget your hair accessory, and all of the other million things it’s easy to forget when you’re in the midst of such a huge moment in your life. 

And not only do they make sure you’re all set and that all vendors have what they need to do their parts, but they also field anything that might come your way. If you do your own wedding planning then YOU are the one people come to with any questions, needs, or wants. And then when the day is over, a wedding planner is the last to leave. They do all of the take-down so that you get to leave without thinking twice. That alone can make it worth it!

But if you’re like us, you’ll want to hear from other people who were in your same situation. So we rounded up actual opinions from redditors (the MVPs of answering questions honestly) to see what they said about having a planner:

“I can tell you from my sister's wedding and all of the weddings I've been in with or without coordinators [it] is 10000% worth it. Every wedding I've been in with one was such a carefree, fun experience, but the two wedding parties I've been in without one were stressful and so much less enjoyable because of things a [planner] could have managed.” - Waitforitttt

“Having our planner has pretty much made this a fun and very low-stress experience and although she was pricey ($12k, about 10% of the total wedding) she is more than worth it to me.” -jlrol

“I hired a full-service planner and it was a fantastic decision. She presented us with top-tier vendors that we didn't even think we could afford, negotiated with them on our behalf, and as another poster said, you feel like the vendors work a little harder because they want to sustain that relationship with her. Also, she will be the first person at the wedding set up and the last person to leave at the end of the night…Her services were $2,100 and she has already made more than that back with her connections.” -teesams

Your wedding is a huge moment in your life. And though it can be tempting to try to save money upfront, when all is said and done, it’s really about how you’ll remember this life-changing experience. A wedding planner ultimately makes the difference between remembering how much work your wedding was and remembering how much fun your wedding day was. 

And on the day of, the last thing you want to deal with is stress. The whole point is that you’re getting married to the love of your life! That’s the only thing that you should be thinking about. (That and dancing your butt off with all of the people who love and support you!) With a wedding planner, that’s exactly what you get to do.