10 Things Your Wedding Planner Wishes You Knew

You've enlisted the help of a wedding planner to execute your vision for your big day – great decision! But now you want to know how to make the most of that investment. Jessica and Michael Masi of Masi Events are here to help. They've pulled together the 10 things your wedding planner wishes you knew so the days leading up to your wedding go as smoothly and stress free as possible.

1. Take a Moment

Take time for your own planning during the process. Even though your wedding planner will save you time and money, make sure to be timely in your responses when they send you information or present you with vendors. For example, if they send you band recommendations and you don’t respond until a month later, those bands might not still be available. But the most important moment to take is on the wedding day itself. Pause and be present. The day will go by quickly.

2. Trust in Us

Trust the wedding professionals you hire and their process. Make sure to give them the flexibility they need to do their jobs. For example, when it comes to photography, definitely do a photo shot list with groupings of your family and friends. However, don’t give them the exact angles and poses you want. Trust the creativity of your photographer and let them decide where the lighting is best that day and what arrangement will work the best. By giving your planner and other vendors flexibility and trusting their expertise, you will get the best results.

3. Organize Your Ideas

Your planner gets invited to a lot of Pinterest boards titled "Wedding" or “Wedding Ideas” etc. Title your board with initials or your last names for easier reference for your planner. Also make sure to include comments on what you like about the photo you pinned. If it’s a photo of a close up of a bride and her bouquet, the planner might think you love the bouquet, but in reality, it was the wedding dress that you were drawn to.

4. Don't Be a Copy Cat

There are a lot of ideas circulating online, on social media, and in magazines. While it's okay to draw inspiration from these photos, don't try to replicate them. Trust your planner and give them details about you as a couple so they can create a wedding that is unique to you. There is nothing more crushing to a creative soul than telling them to make an exact copy of a centerpiece or idea.

5. Communication Is Everything

Read through the timeline your planner provides carefully. If you have something in mind and it is not on there, then they probably don’t know about your desire for a special dance or incorporating a tradition. If it is not on the timeline, then it won’t happen because your planners are not aware and will not be able to coordinate it with the other vendors.

6. Find a Personality Match

A wedding planner is a personal decision. They have to be a good personality fit since you are working with them sometimes a year or more out before the wedding day. It is important to not just request packages, but to take the time to meet with them in person or schedule a call to make sure it is mutually a good fit. This is also a great way to start cultivating a relationship with them and a wonderful partnership.

7. Schedule Vendor Meetings in Advance

When scheduling meetings or planning a trip to plan for a destination wedding, work with your wedding planner to check in with all the vendors you'd like to meet with prior to booking flights to make sure they are available. For example, you don’t want to assume that you will be able to schedule a tasting if the chef is out that week. Also allow for 2-3 business days for your planner to confirm your appointments. Wedding vendors work weddings over the weekend and typically are not available for client meetings during that time.

8. Bad Weather Happens to Good People

Make sure to be realistic about weather calls and be happy with your Plan B scenario in the case of inclement weather when selecting a venue. A while back, at one of the most beautiful weddings we planned, it rained during ceremony. We had umbrellas for all of the guests while the clients embraced the rain and did not allow the weather to damper their special day.

Often times, clients only think about how the weather might affect the wedding itself. However, it is important to consider the impact that inclement weather will also have during the setup, which may call for going with Plan B.

9. We're Not Out to Crush Your Dreams

Sometimes your wedding planner will suggest not doing something or replacing one idea for another. There is always a good reason behind the suggestion. Our recommendations are based on past experiences, logistics, and expertise – every suggestion is with our clients’ best interest in mind.

An example of this was when we received a request prior to the wedding day to carry and move a 6 tier wedding cake over to the dance floor during the reception for cake cutting. Analyzing this scenario logistically, there were too many variables for this to become an epic fail, and we advised the couple to cut the wedding cake from the existing location.

10. Don't Over Analyze Your Decisions

The planning process should be fun and enjoyable! It’s important when planning a wedding to review the information presented to you and be able to make decisions so you can move on to the next part of the planning process. If you don’t absolutely love something from the start, then you most likely won’t like it later, so don’t overwhelm yourself with overanalyzing something.

Planning a wedding takes time, and the goal of your wedding planner is to make this experience stress free as we scratch things off the to do list. While your planner is there to guide you, ultimately the final decision is yours.