Join Katie Ley, owner and principal planner of boutique wedding planning company Katie & Co Occasions and learn how to find the perfect wedding planner for you.

What’s the best way to find a wedding planner?

 

Word of mouth

When it comes to planning a wedding it can be a very overwhelming task, so that’s where word of mouth can play a big part. Planning a wedding is an emotional thing and there’s a lot of money involved so you want to be working with someone you trust. Speaking to friends and family who have recently been married and getting their recommendations for a wedding planner, or any wedding vendors for that matter, can go a long way and make the search go a lot smoother. 

 

Preferred Vendors Lists

Venues are another great way to find experienced vendors in your area. When you’re speaking to a venue coordinator ask for their preferred vendors list. The planners they work with on a regular basis who are comfortable working with that venue will be your best bet outside of word of mouth referrals. 

Searching online

If you decide to find your wedding planner by searching online. The first thing you’ll want to do is is find a planner that matches the style you envision for your wedding. Once you have a handful of planners you like the next thing to do is star reading reviews. Google, Facebook, and Wedding Wire are all great sources for finding online reviews of wedding planners.  

 

“Watch out for someone who is immediately going to say no a lot.”

 

What are some red-flags to look out for when talking with a planner?

“If you’re asking questions and the planner is saying, “no, I don’t do that.” That’s something to look out for. Most planners are very flexible and accommodating, they’re willing to move mountains for you. So, if you’re getting a lot of no’s right off the bat, that’s someone I would stay away from. You also want to hire someone with a lot of experience, so if they don’t give you good answers to your questions and they don’t seem to have a lot of knowledge, I’d stay away from them as well.” 

 

How will a couple know when they’ve found the right planner?

“Feeling is a big one. Weddings are a big investment in your time, you’r money, your emotions. When you hire a wedding planner, you’re going to be spend a lot of time with that person and they’re going to get to know you fairly well. You want to feel comfortable with them and that you can be totally honest with who you’ve hired. You need to able to ask those open questions and not feel intimidated. And you need to feel that your planner will get along with your family and friends.”

Match your planner to your style. 

“Planners definitely have certain styles and you can see that by looking at their websites and their instagram feeds. It’s important that couples make sure the style they’re looking for is something that the wedding planners they’re looking at promote. Planners aren’t necessarily locked into a certain style, but when planners are playing to their strengths and what you want is what they do really well, it’s going to be a better overall experience for everybody.”

 

Where are wedding trends moving in 2021?

“Micro-weddings and elopements have been a big thing.  It’s been pretty special—I had a couple of weddings last summer that went from 200 people down to 10 and 20—they are very intimate, there’s a closeness and you can feel the love resonating in the room. I think we will definitely see more Micro-weddings and elopements in 2021. The next few months will tell us what to expect in the coming year, but right now it’s anyone’s guess.”

 

What are some ideas that seem really great but aren’t?

Slideshows

“Slideshows are something I would recommend couples avoid for multiple reasons. Whether it be the laptop not being compatible with the projector, or the music doesn’t work, or the computer is not charged, there are so many things that can go wrong with a slide show and that’s one reason I’d avoid them. Another reason is that they generally go on for far too long. Slides of your baby photos might be cute for a couple of minutes, but nobody wants to watch that for 20 minutes. A good way to incorporate photos into the wedding day that I’ve found is to perhaps at the cocktail reception, or the guestbook table have photos of your parents when they got married, or a family album people can look through.”

 

Signature Cocktails

“Signature cocktails are a great way to infuse your personality into your wedding, but I’d recommend limiting them number of cocktails per person to 1 or 2 and make sure the bar is closed during dinner and speeches and simply have wine service available. This way you can be sure that everyone will be on their best behaviour and won’t be getting up to go to the bar during the speeches or during dinner.”

Champagne Tower

“They look super impressive, but they never work. You’re either going to end up with a ton of broken glassware or champagne you can’t drink. In movies, it looks like the glasses fill up perfectly, they don’t. There’s champagne everywhere and you’ll wind up paying for all the open bottles even though all of the glasses aren’t full.”