RESEARCH

• Look through wedding magazines or search engines to see which planners are listed for your area. Start by reading their websites thoroughly to understand how they operate.

• Read the websites carefully for typos and bad grammar. If they cannot proofread their own work, then can you trust them with your stationery?

• Contact them for more information. Do they respond within an acceptable timeframe with clear and concise details?

• Arrange a consultation with at least two that meet your requirements. This should be arranged at a time and place convenient for you.

CONSULTATION

• During the consultation, does the planner ask lots of questions regarding your personality and any initial plans?

• Do they understand your wedding vision? They should be enthusiastic and build on your ideas.

• Do you have a rapport and feel at ease with them? Remember you will be in close contact during the planning so you must actually like them as a person!

• What special touches can they recommend for your wedding?

• How long they have been in business and how many weddings have they organised? Can they provide references?

• Ask how they charge, for example do they charge a fixed fee or a percentage of the budget?

• Ask if they accept commission from suppliers and are discounts passed onto you?

• Ask to see proof of public liability insurance.

• Do they have a portfolio for you to look at from past weddings?

THE PROPOSAL

• When this arrives, does it match your recent discussion?

• If the quote is not acceptable, then contact the planner to discuss. Could there be any items that could be removed?

• Check whether there are any extra charges, i.e. travel, accommodation, administrative work.

• Once you book a planner, make sure you sign a contract. Read it carefully.

• Don’t forget to use your planner as an information source; they may be able to
advise you on any issues of concern.

• Keep in regular contact with your planner and update them of any changes.

For more information regarding wedding planners, please contact the UK Alliance Of Wedding Planners website or call on 020 8715 3316 / 01376 561 544.

Or for further advice contact The Designer Card Company, providers of gorgeous wedding invitations and other matching wedding stationery items.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 2:29 pm and is filed under Wedding News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.