Do You Need A Wedding Planner? 6 Honest Reasons Why

There’s no doubt about it, weddings are expensive. I think they are worth it (obviously) but if you are looking for areas to cut in your wedding budget trust me when I say, I completely understand. It’s normal to wonder… Do you need a wedding planner? After all, it’s easy to see hiring a wedding planner as a luxury. Unlike your wedding florals, decor, or venue, a wedding planner isn’t something anyone “sees”.

It may surprise you that when a couple asked me the other day if I felt like a wedding planner was an absolute necessity, I said YES!

As a wedding photographer, I’ve seen firsthand other vendors all work together to pick up the pieces when there is no wedding planner or coordinator hired. I’m always happy to jump in and help, don’t get me wrong, but every time I need to run and tell the DJ something or track down your father for the first dance, it’s less time I’m doing the job you hired me to do! And I really, really love the job you hired me to do.

So today, I’m going to share 6 reasons why you need to hire a wedding planner for your wedding day.

1) So you aren’t stressed doing it all yourself

You are only engaged for a short period of your life. Whether that’s six months or five years, you deserve to enjoy that time as nearlyweds. Go on dates, have engagement photos taken, throw parties. Not only do I not want you to be stressed on your wedding day, but I also don’t want you to be stressed leading up to your wedding day either!

Speaking of your wedding day… let’s talk about your wedding photos. If you are stressed out while I’m taking them, you’ll remember that feeling. Don’t get me wrong, if you do have something come up on your wedding day, I will do whatever I can to take your mind off it and help you remain completely present (and madly in love!) in the moment. I’m good at that! A wedding planner helps too though!

Do you really need a wedding planner? Detroit Wedding Inspiration

2) To Help you with your Vision

It’s easy to get caught up in all of the beautiful wedding photos on Pinterest. But unless you are a professional designer? It can be hard to see how everything will come together on your wedding day. It’s also really easy to miss things! A wedding planner will take your vision, make it better, and make sure all of the pieces flow together cohesively on your wedding day.

wedding invitations from a Detroit wedding planner

3) A Wedding Planner Finds you the Right Vendors

Your wedding day is only as good as the vendors you hire. Okay, maybe that’s a little bit dramatic, but I know you don’t want the drama of fighting with a vendor on your wedding day. Hiring the right vendors will not only make the wedding day smoother but the planning process easier.

I will speak from experience as a wedding photographer. Yes, you want someone who shows up, takes photos and delivers them in a timely manner. But you also want someone who asks for the detail shots you don’t want missed, makes you relax during engagement photos and helps you plan your timeline so you know exactly how many hours of photography coverage you need.

fall wedding in Detroit

You only plan a wedding once, and you don’t know what you don’t know. A wedding planner can not only help you find the right vendors, but they also know the right questions to ask.

4) Vendor Management

Remember when I said you don’t want the drama of fighting with a vendor on your wedding day? Even if you hire professional wedding vendors, sometimes there are things that come up on your wedding day you couldn’t have possibly accounted for.

A wedding planner takes care of all of the “behind-the-scenes” so most of the time, you will never even know there was an issue. They also act as the “go-to” person for all of your wedding vendors so you don’t have to assign one of your bridesmaids to answer texts from the DJ asking you where to park or the officiant wondering where they are supposed to meet you.

bride and groom take photos outside Detroit wedding venue

5) Keeps You to Your Budget

Not only will a wedding planner help you create your wedding budget, they help you stick to it. Please don’t trust sites like The Knot or WeddingWire to tell you how much to spend where. Your wedding budget should be customized to your priorities, and your wedding planner can often even help you save money by showing you where to splurge and coming up with creative ways to save (that you and your guests won’t notice).

bride and groom kiss outside movie theatre

6) Manages the Day with Day Of Coordination

I know you might think you don’t need this but trust me, you do. Even if you don’t hire a full-service wedding planner, you need to hire a day-of coordinator (often referred to as a month-of coordinator because, in order to help you with the day, they need to prepare).

I’m speaking from experience here, because this is one thing I wish I had done on my own wedding day.

My parents were running around the morning of my wedding doing all the last-minute things instead of enjoying the moments before my wedding. The rentals and decor I had carefully considered for the last year? I trusted family to get it ready and despite their best intentions, things were missed. My mom was trying to manage my vendors during cocktail hour for me. On top of all of that, my family took care of the breakdown after the reception. I wish I could go back in time and make the day a lot less stressful on everyone by just hiring a wedding planner!