A Professionsl's Approach to Wedding Planning
By Barbara Clark, of An Elegant Affair

Planning a wedding is unlike planning any other kind of celebration. It is fraught with expectations and emotion. A professional wedding planner can help plan a stress free wedding.

Some of the major elements that go into planning a wedding that a professional wedding consultant or planner is trained to help you with are: establishing a realistic budget, finding the appropriate wedding and/or reception site, interviewing prospective & qualified vendors, developing the timeline, helping with etiquette & protocol questions, and finally, directing the wedding to ensure that the wedding day goes smoothly!

The very first thing the professional wedding planner will do is meet with the bride to determine her vision of the day. This is the time to establish the budget. Is the amount of money the bride has to spend consistent with her vision of the day? If not, what compromises can we make to give her what she wants and stay within her budget? The consultant’s job is to help the bride find ways to keep the cost down and help prioritize what items are most important to her. For example, is it the dress? music? food? music? location? Armed with this information we can proceed to planning a beautiful wedding.

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions by brides-to-be.

A. Question: What percentage of the budget is generally spent on the reception?
Answer: 50% to 55%. The consultant must research available wedding reception locations based on the bride’s specific criteria (style,number of guests, budget), and make appointments to view these venues.

B. Question: What is the ideal amount of time one needs to plan a wedding?
Answer: Twelve months, especially if you have a specific reception site in mind Once the venue has been chosen, the bride signs a contract and gives a deposit. This is usually nonrefundable and goes toward the total cost of the event.

C. Question: When do the wedding invitations need to be mailed?
Answer: Six to eight weeks before the wedding. The bride should allow enough time to order, address and mail the invitations. One also needs to build in time to call people who do not RSVP, which is a job the wedding planner can often do for you.

D. Question: What is the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding director?
Answer: They may serve as both. The wedding planner helps from the beginning of the process to the end, while the wedding director oversees the rehearsal and day of the event to help everything run smoothly. Some wedding consultants will not oversee just day of events but others will, so you can check with the individual consultants.

These are just of few of the many questions a bride may have when beginning the wedding planning process. If you decide to work with a professional wedding planner, remember that you will be working with this person closely and should feel comfortable about expressing yourself. It is important that the consultant you have chosen has the time to devote to you and your wedding affair. The confidence of having a professional there will allow you to truly enjoy your own wedding, one of the major events of your entire lifetime. Photo by Gregory Knott Photography