Planning the best wedding ever: picking your wedding planner
Photography: Melli & Shayne | Wedding Planning: Alessandra Linoci
When planning a destination wedding, a good wedding planner really is worth their weight in gold. They’re there to hold your hand through the whole planning process helping you to select suppliers, style and design your day, solve any issues that come along, coordinate logistics and keep everything perfectly on track.
We’ve spoken to three of the top wedding planners in the business to get their insider advice on how to pick the right planner for you and how to work with a wedding planner to create your big day.
ALESSANDRA LINOCI
Alessandra Linoci Events is a wedding planning and styling studio based in Italy that creates considered and atmospheric celebrations. Alessandra plans and styles soulful, chic destination weddings in Puglia. With her personable, honest approach she specialises in bringing to life immersive and memorable celebrations that feel completely authentic.
While every couple obviously wants a planner who’s experienced and professional, I believe it’s also crucial to find someone you personally click with from the get-go. This person will be responsible for turning your dream wedding into a reality and has a lot of control over where your money gets spent. And you’ll be spending quite a bit of time with them in the lead up to the big day, so make sure it’s a good fit on both a professional and personal level. I strongly advise you to try and meet face-to-face before hiring, as this will give you a much better sense of their personality and style...it's almost like dating :)
Style and portfolio are very important too. Make sure that you take a look at the weddings that they have done previously, not only to get inspired for your own event, but also to ensure that their style matches yours.
Experience and budget most of the time go hand in hand. Experience does matter and it is key in this job. Most planners know what their time is worth and will charge accordingly. Keep your budget in the forefront and understand that a wedding planner is an investment in your day. It may seem like a no-brainer to go with the "best deal," but I would caution you not to make a decision based on cost alone.
Photography: Diego Mariella | Wedding Planning: Alessandra Linoci
I always appreciate when couples have a lot of questions as this gives me the possibility to fully explain my working style, so don't be scared of asking anything you feel is important. Write down a list of your key points and curiosities.
Make sure you discuss budget feasibility and ask for honesty when it comes to realistic expectations. A professional planner will tell you if it's a no-go, if you have a comfortable budget or if you may need to stretch it to realise all the aspects you have in mind.
It's very useful to ask what the wedding planning process would look like. How will you communicate, how many meetings you will need to have, how they prefer to be contacted (I personally hate WhatsApp for example as it's too confusing and I can easily miss important information), how the selection of your vendors will work and how much you will be involved. Also ask for references if you think you need them, they will be delighted to provide them.
If they can copy another wedding you really love. And if you do and they say yes, that's a red flag.
To insanely negotiate your vendor's prices. Any good wedding planner will be assertive and negotiate the best deal for you even without you knowing, and they will happily go back to the vendor on some occasions to ask for further price adjustments. However as a professional they will know the value of the suppliers work and it's not fair or respectful to diminish other professionals' value, crossing that border and asking for crazy price reductions.
Local connections are so important when it comes to planning a destination wedding. From hands-on experience at your wedding venue to local networks and vendor connections to local permits and laws, a wedding planner who really knows the area will be an invaluable resource. Not only do you need the comfort of knowing your wedding is in capable hands but also that you are hiring a person that is very well established on the ground and has got the right contacts and resources to face any possible inconvenience. This will give you so much peace of mind and will ease the stress of handling unforeseen road bumps.
For more on Ale and her work check out her profile here or see what she’s up to on Instagram @alessandra_linoci_events
THE WEDDING BOUTIQUE ITALY
The Wedding Boutique Italy are self confessed romantics that love Italy. Based on the Amalfi coast, Catherine and the team plan and design beautiful and carefully curated events all over Italy, created with their signature style and vision.
The team produce incredible experiences for their clients, derived from a unique combination of international experience and local insight. If you’re travel lovers, looking for a breath-taking adventure, dancing and dining under the stars, this team could be for you.
Photography: Gianluca Adovasio | Wedding Planning: The Wedding Boutique Italy
One of my main things is that a pretty website or lots of Instagram followers doesn't mean a wedding planner is good at their job, or has the experience you require. Make sure you check what their actual experience is and what their values are? Location can play a factor in certain areas such as Lake Como, the Amalfi Coast, Venice, whereby logistics aren't the easiest so prior knowledge and/or a very good local contacts book is useful, but essentially a planner who is good at their job can more or less work anywhere.
Consider their brand identity; do the weddings produced by the planner you like resonate with your wedding vision? Are you a good fit for each other budget wise? These are important things to establish from the get-go.
More than anything it's good to get a sense of who they are, their values as a company, their breadth of experience, why they do what they do, and so on. Not just a pretty portfolio, or a curated Instagram. Of course that's great to have, and indicative of their design expertise and brand, but connection is so important. We will be working together so closely, on what could be one of the most important and emotionally charged (in the best sense) days of your lives, so you want someone that you feel you can trust and with whom you connect on a deeper level.
A question not to ask would be, can you offer a discount? Before this point I would already have worked out if we are a good fit for your budget, and if we are still talking it's because I think we could be. So as soon as a client asks me this, it causes me to think that they don’t value the service we offer which is a very big red flag for our working relationship. Instead you can ask:
- How do you set your rates?
- Why is this your rate when I have found other services that cost less?
- What do you think makes you stand out?
Most business owners will be more than happy to let you know what is at the core of their business, and the both of you will get a chance to see if you're a good fit for each other.
Photography: Elias Kordelakos | Wedding Planning: The Wedding Boutique Italy
For more on The Wedding Boutique check out their profile here or see what their up to on Instagram @theweddingboutiqueitaly
REBECCA MARIE WEDDINGS
Rebecca Marie creates aesthetically beautiful and meticulously planned celebrations, authentic to each couple. With a modern style that is effortless, romantic and guaranteed to ignite emotion and create an unforgettable experience for your guests. Rebecca has extensive experience in planning events all over the world, including Europe and Australia.
Photography: Courtney Marie Photography | Wedding Planning: Rebecca Marie Weddings
This is an extremely important question and if the answer is anything other than a resounding yes, run! A wedding planner worth investing in is one that is money savvy and can help you get the most bang for your buck, while staying within budget where possible.
>
Your potential wedding planner should listen to your plans or ideas and build from them, be sure to look at previous weddings and editorials they have been involved in and have a look across their social media channels and website. Most planners will have their own style, and some even specialise in a particular aesthetic.
Make sure you are comfortable in saying no to any ideas you are not certain of or requesting changes throughout the process. Be as clear as possible from the offset and let them know what sort of things you do and don’t like. This will ensure the wedding planner will get your vision completely.
Wedding planners often require a minimum budget to work with when it comes to a full planning option, make sure the planner you are enquiring with is within your budget range. Some planners charge a fixed fee whereas others charge a percentage of your wedding budget.
This is a good time to also ask about charges that may not be included, perhaps for travel, accommodation or additional admin fees. Ensure you receive a contract with all included services detailed in writing and read it thoroughly.
There are lots of factors that contribute to a planner being perfect for you.
One of the most important things to consider is obviously whether they are within your budget initially.
A style and personality fit are equally as important; you will be speaking to this person a lot and they will be there on your wedding day and of course if their portfolio of work is similar to the style of wedding you're imagining then that is definitely a good start. However, it doesn't mean to say they wouldn't be able to accommodate to your style of wedding if their portfolio has a different vibe, so definitely discuss this early on in your wedding planning communications.
Lastly, where is your planner based? In some instances a planner based near to your dream destination is a bonus however in my opinion not a necessity. A good destination wedding planner who works in a variety of locations and destinations is also definitely worth considering. Be sure to ask about their previous destination wedding experience but don't let it put you off if they haven't planned a wedding at your specific venue before. Sometimes fresh, experienced eyes are a great tool to have and a good planner will have the skill set to execute a wedding anywhere in the world!
Photography: Rebecca Kerr Photography | Wedding Planning: Rebecca Marie Weddings
For more on Rebecca Marie check out her profile here or see what she’s up to on Instagram @rebeccamarieweddings
Written by Beth Butler, marketing person and lover of all things weddings; with a particular passion for beautiful photography, muted florals and a good cup of tea.
