DO I NEED A WEDDING PLANNER?
December 16, 2016
DID I HAVE A WEDDING PLANNER FOR MY WEDDING?
A lot of people ask me if I had an independent wedding planner for my wedding. The answer is actually ‘no’. Do I wish I had one, for me the answer is ‘no’. Why? I was really lucky to find, or should I say, my husband was the one to come across our dream wedding venue. They had such a great team in place with a dedicated wedding coordinator / event manager for our day who was our main point of contact, along with the owner of the venue, meant that we didn’t need any extra assistance. It was exclusive use, a bridal prep / suite was on site and it was very ‘us’ and to ‘our taste’. They had recommended caterers and suppliers and we trusted their judgement and kept up-to-date with any recommendations they made.
OUR WEDDING DAY
Our wedding day was just perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anymore – I cannot believe where the 6 years has gone. I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about my wedding as I do like to keep my private life and business pretty separate but below are a few photos of our special day. I was happy to take on the planning side of our wedding (like a lot of brides) and like I said I didn’t mind pulling everything together and working closely with the wedding coordinator / owner at the venue. I trusted them and they exceeded our expectations. You tend to find that venues that are privately owned have great wedding teams in place, sometimes with the owner having a lot of ‘hands on’ experience which I think is a really nice touch. This is especially true with exclusive use wedding venues / hotels as well.
HOWEVER, NOT ALL VENUE WEDDING COORDINATORS WORK ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
This is unfortunately true, hence why I am often pulled in for ‘wedding assistance’ or ‘wedding day management’. Quite often venue wedding coordinators don’t work weekends, they are purely there for the sales / admin side and your wedding is handed over to the ‘operations team’ the week of your wedding, possibly run by people you have never met. This is where it can become awkward and slightly worrying for a couple. You have spent months sharing your vision / wedding ideas with a wedding coordinator (who you have possibly made a great connection with) and they aren’t even there on the day to ensure everything is how you want it to be. How can you be sure that the information is passed on correctly to the relevant people involved? Again this is where I become involved, the paperwork that I go through with a couple prior to the day goes through all of this kind of detail. Believe me nothing will get forgotten so you can relax and enjoy your bridal preparations with your bridesmaids and family. Plus I am ‘independent’ so I work for ‘you’ and not the ‘venue’.
WOULD I HAVE CHANGED ANYTHING ABOUT MY WEDDING?
The only aspect I possibly would have hired an independent wedding planner for would have been to narrow down our wedding venue search. I remember us looking for hours / weekends at different venues, arranging visits and being really disappointed with the customer services we received and they just didn’t work logistically. We initially wanted a castle / stately home style wedding but due to us wanting a winter wedding, they just didn’t work for us and the mix of curtains and carpets just left me thinking how could they be covered / replaced! Due to décor and our vision, we ended up opting for a barn conversion, 6 years ago, there weren’t that many around and certainly not in the locations we were looking at.
WEDDING PLANNERS CAN BE HIRED FOR DIFFERENT REASONS
A wedding planner certainly isn’t for everyone and some couples use independent wedding planners for different reasons. I’ve had couples book me for a wedding venue search and then gone ahead on their own to sort out the rest of their wedding plans (like I possibly would have done). I recommend wedding venues that are the ‘right fit’ with my clients and not just ones where I know I will be needed. I feel it is so important to provide what my brides / grooms are asking for, as I would have been this type of couple.
Marquees and tipis are entirely different and couples who choose this style of wedding often become partial or full plan clients due to the detail required. Quite often if these are at a couples / family home that connection / respect is really important as well as finding likeminded suppliers. There are so many logistics to consider with this type of wedding and full support is definitely required the week of the wedding as well as the day itself.
Sometimes I find the wedding venue and then couples do continue with full wedding planning including wedding day management. It really does vary from couple to couple what wedding assistance they need. Quite often, if there is that ‘perfect match’, couples do often want me to assist with the rest of their wedding, as they can’t imagine the rest of their wedding plans happening without me. One of my main specialist areas is working with couples overseas that are wanting to get married in the UK. My knowledge and expertise in the wedding industry really does help, especially with time zone clashes and being ‘in the know’ with suppliers and venues.
LIFE CAN GET IN THE WAY WITH WEDDING PLANNING
A lot of professional couples or couples with children just don’t have the time to plan a wedding or the passion for all of the detail, that is where I can come in to assist and manage the wedding. Because wedding planning is my full-time job / career, quite often the research has already been done and straight away I can point couple’s in the right direction. Sometime couples just decide a month before the wedding they want to hand everything over to a wedding professional as they have basically ‘burnt out’ and just want to recharge ahead of the big day. This is where partial wedding comes in.
WHY HIRE ME FOR YOUR WEDDING, WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT?
Having worked on over 100 beautiful weddings in almost 5 years, I still get butterflies the night before every wedding which really shows how much I care and that nothing will get missed on your special day. I have an extensive Lookbook / Showcase of stunning weddings and have been extremely fortunate with my couples, a lot of which I can now call friends.
LOVELY WORDS
Amy and her hand-selected team of vendors delivered the most personalised, relaxing, elegant experience we could possibly have asked for. The long road to the big day in July included 2 ½ years of planning, a venue switch and approximately 4600 miles of distance coordination. Amy was heavily leaned on for organisation, thematic, and at times, therapeutic advice. Her professionalism and soothing personality were obvious and well-appreciated throughout the process. On the day, Amy’s presence allowed us to become one of the guests and truly enjoy our party and our people. Amy seamlessly moved the event ahead, on schedule, and exceeded all expectations. We will only ever have beautiful memories of our day and our wedding planning experience.
Thank you, Amy. Could NOT have done it without you!
Madison and Philip Jackson
Vancouver, CanadaLiving in Cambodia, we were a little worried about looking for a venue for our wedding in the UK – finding that special venue that is just ‘us’, with availability on our limited time frame, in a location to suit all family members, on our budget. As soon as we met Amy, our fears evaporated!
She spent time finding out our exact wants, needs, style and dreams for our big day, and then was able to find our perfect place.
Amy is always quick to get back to us, and is ever so knowledgeable about wedding venues in the area.
We just booked our dream venue yesterday, and can’t wait to continue planning our big day with Amy’s wonderful support.
Kate and Becky (wedding booked for July 2017)
Phnom Penh, CambodiaIf I could give Amy six stars out of five I would. She is absolutely outstanding. Amy never imposes an agenda on you; she works hard to find out your vision and then goes over and above to help you realise that dream. She was a real rock for us to lean on in the lead up to our wedding and such a star on the day itself. She has such a passion for weddings, I promise she will make your day so much better than you thought it would be.
Janani and Matthew Crowson
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
You can read more lovely words by clicking here……
So, if you feel you need assistance finding a wedding venue, partial wedding planning, full wedding planning, wedding day management or any other wedding assistance please get in touch. All of my services are uniquely tailored to your exact requirements, every wedding and couple are different so my services are very bespoke. Please do get in touch sooner rather than later as I only take on a limited amount of weddings per year.
(The above 2 photos were taken by the lovely Benni Carol Photography – thank you girls)
Wishing you all a relaxing Christmas and amazing New Year and thank you for taking the time to read this Blog. My 2016 Highlights Blog will go ‘live’ on 1 January 2017. If you have just got engaged I hope to hear from you very soon.
Warm Wishes
Amy xx
Amaranthyne Weddings
Exquisite | Elegant | Exclusive
Beautiful weddings across Lincolnshire, Rutland, the Vale of Belvoir, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire and the whole of the UK
