{"id":138,"date":"2011-06-06T22:51:59","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T02:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.weddingsforaliving.com\/?p=138"},"modified":"2019-05-05T10:37:58","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T14:37:58","slug":"what-does-a-wedding-planner-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingsforaliving.com\/what-does-a-wedding-planner-do","title":{"rendered":"What Does a Wedding Planner Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dictionary answers ‘what is a wedding planner?’ with the following definition:<\/p>\n

wed.ding plan.ner n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. a person hired to plan and organize a wedding, reception and possibly the honeymoon in consultation with the bride and groom.<\/p>\n

wed.ding con.sul.tant n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. someone who owns a wedding planning business. May plan the entire wedding or simply give advice to couples who want to plan their own wedding.<\/p>\n

2. one who gives expert or professional advice to couples planning a wedding, reception and\/or honeymoon.<\/p>\n

Wedding Planning Professional Titles<\/h3>\n

In the world of wedding planning, several terms exist to describe the role of the individual hired to professionally plan a wedding.<\/p>\n

I primarily refer to the term ‘wedding planner’ to describe this profession. You’ll also see other terms like bridal consultant, wedding consultant and, occasionally, wedding coordinator (although, not very often, since the term ‘coordinator’ is not a favorite of mine.)<\/p>\n

For the purpose of this site, however, each term is interchangeable and refers to a person hired to plan and organize a wedding.<\/p>\n

And although in different parts of the country, each of these terms may have a very specific meaning with regard to what tasks are performed, try not to get too hung up on your professional title. It’s totally up to you to decide which one works best for you in your wedding planning career.<\/p>\n

Think of a wedding planner as a general contractor.<\/h3>\n

Let’s imagine you were building a brand new home. You’ve shared your vision of what you want your home to look like with your general contractor and you have a budget and a time-frame of when you want your home completed.<\/p>\n

Once you and the general contractor agree, a contract is drawn up and signed by both parties and the work on building your home begins. It’s unlikely that the general contractor will actually perform the work, instead s\/he is responsible for finding and then overseeing all of the different sub-contractors to construct your home. Plumbers, roofers, landscapers, painters, and so on.<\/p>\n

Assuming that all goes as planned, you get the home you’ve been dreaming about and the general contractor is paid his\/her fee.<\/p>\n

The role of of a professional wedding planner is very similar.<\/p>\n

After the bride and groom articulate their wedding day vision to you, and both parties feel comfortable with the working relationship, a contract or letter of agreement is signed and the planning process begins.<\/p>\n

One of the first things on your to-do list is to create a budget followed by a timeline and then you start to pull together a ‘dream team’ of vendors–the florist, the photographer, a venue, the limo, the party bus rental<\/a>, the caterer–to bring your client’s dream wedding to life.<\/p>\n

You, the professional wedding planner, are the main point of contact and on the actual wedding day you and your staff are there to ensure that everything happens according to plan.<\/p>\n

You’re paid for your time and professional services and your couple enjoys one of the best days of their lives…and then live happily ever after!<\/p>\n

A Laundry List of Responsibilities<\/h3>\n

Take a look at the following list of professional duties that explain ‘what is a wedding planner?’:<\/p>\n