Hello DreamGroup,
My daughter is getting married next year and we already have our venue
confirmed. She and her fiancé are both very busy with school and their
jobs and will not be very involved in the day to day dealings of the wedding.
The responsibility of planning the wedding is quite seemingly going to land on
my shoulders as a result. I have limited time myself with no interest in
managing all the logistics and staying on top of all the details involved in
planning a wedding and want to hire a planner. The problem is both my
kids and my husband think I'm nuts and should be able to handle it
myself. How do I help them understand just how much work goes into this
and how do I convince them that hiring a planner is the way to go? Thanks
so much for your help here. And hey! If you can convince them
consider yourself hired!
Sincerely,
Donna M.
Busy Mom of Bride
Hello Donna,
Great to hear from you! I'm glad you e-mailed as I do so love a
good challenge!! I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had
to work extra hard to help a sceptical groom or suspicious Father of the
Bride better understand just what a planner does and can do for them!
Most often these "non-believers" will say things like... "Well
we have the venue and the photographer booked, what else is there?"
That one in particular makes me chuckle because choosing a venue and hiring
a photographer are the two easiest tasks of a very long and time consuming
list of tasks that will need to be addressed over the next 6-18
months. And approximately 100 hours of planning.
I have point formed below most of the tasks and duties a planner might
assist a couple with over the course of their planning journey. Take some
time to go over it with your husband and by all means have him give me a call
if he would like me to tell him first hand just how valuable hiring a
planner is.
The thing I often close with when trying to help someone understand the
value of working with a reputable planner (I say this because we are not all
created equal) is that I have yet to have a client say that hiring us was a
waste of money. In fact, most say that we were their best wedding
investment! So there you go. When Sarah and I first
started DreamGroup we used to love it when at the end of the wedding night our
biggest sceptics (to be honest most often a mother or father) would come up to
us and say, "I get it now". We often say we wish we
could bottle that realization and understanding so that future couples
and their families could "get it" before it was too late.
The lowdown on a Wedding Planning Journey...
1. Meet regularly to discuss and
manage ongoing needs and vision for the wedding.
2. Shortlist and help clients hire their Vendors. Ones that
meet the client’s budget, date, and style expectations.
3. Allocate your Budget to maximize its
purchasing power and allow the client to see what their vision will cost them
so any adjustments can be made before it’s too late.
4. Provide ongoing Inspiration and Ideas to help
personalize a client’s wedding.
5. Create a wedding plan of action. **Check out DreamGroup's e-book The Step by Step Guide to Planning the Perfect Wedding http://www.dreamgroup.ca/ebook
-- outlining tasks and responsibilities that need to be addressed.
6. Offer important reminders to help client stay on track and motivated.
Procrastination
is a huge Wedding Planning Pitfall that will be avoided with the help of a
planner.
7. Support the client through any family
issues or tricky dynamics that need to be overcome.
8. Provide Honest Insight and Advice throughout the
Planning stages to help the client maximize their vision, priorities, and/or
budget and avoid unnecessary planning pitfalls.
9. Facilitate and confirm communications and contracts
between vendors and the client to help ensure that the end service is the one
provided on the day.
10. Finalize balances due and facilitate
payments as needed.
11. Take on the responsibility for the overall
success of your wedding day!
12. Offer reminders and a finalized checklist to ensure the
bride & groom have not forgotten any important planning details.
13. Create a realistic wedding day timeline (and therefore
accurate schedule) outlining all vendor start and end times, all ground
movements including confirmed addresses and contact information, key
celebratory elements, speech timing , etc.
14. Oversee or Conduct the Rehearsal.
15. Pick up Wedding Day Bits & Pieces to be set up at
the Venue. i.e. place cards, favors, cake topper, dessert flags, Polaroid
cameras, guestbook.
16. On Day Execution: Available by
phone and on site as needed throughout the day to ensure a smooth wedding day
flow and to troubleshoot any on day occurrences so the couple and their family
can focus on enjoying themselves and being present in every moment the day
brings.
Happy convincing Donna and maybe we will meet sometime soon!
Wedding Planner signing off! Until
next week… keep those questions coming in! Submit your questions by
emailing us at askaplanner@dreamgroup.ca
Cheerio,
Genève
Genève McNally, Principal Planner, DreamGroup Productions
Genève first
began her wedding career in 1999 as the Catering Manager for one of Vancouver’s
most sought after wedding venues, Brock House Restaurant. In 2004 Genève
and college friend Sarah Shore ambitiously started up what is now one of
Vancouver's longest running and most trusted wedding planning companies,
DreamGroup Productions Inc.
These
days,
in addition to working with her clients in a full planning capacity and
raising her two wonderful boys Harrison and Campbell with her husband,
Genève
focuses her attention on the sales and marketing aspects of the company
and is
most often the friendly voice you will chat with when first inquiring
with
DreamGroup. Genève is known to inspire and excite both clients and
industry associates alike with her exuberant personality and joie de
vivre! Her ability to be refreshingly candid and her in depth knowledge
of the wedding industry have earned her the friendly moniker “Two-Cents
McNally”. Genève also teaches the Wedding Planning classes offered
through the dg Academy and is the chief correspondent behind
DreamGroup's weekly
Blog feature Ask a Planner.
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