Should I Hire A Wedding Planner For A Small Wedding?

Written by Erin in Budget and Finance,Planning Tools and Tips

Wedding planning is complex, and no one should deal with more stress than they already do! You’ll need a terrific team in place to carry out your idea if you want to have the wedding of your dreams. The main confusion for most couples is about whether to hire a wedding planner for their small wedding or not. In this article, we’ll discuss everything about that in detail.

Yes, you should hire a wedding planner whether you’re arranging a small wedding or a big one. A wedding planner will help with everything from vendor management to negotiating wedding venue contracts. They can also advise you on price, style, timeframes, and everything in between. Additionally, they are experts in handling any last-minute issues that may arise.

Everyone’s wedding is unique. Some couples prefer a grand spectacle with a live band and top-tier venue advantages, but others prefer a carefree, relaxed afternoon of fun or perhaps a weekend destination wedding. In both cases, hiring a wedding planner will help you a lot. Continue reading to learn why hiring a wedding planner might benefit you!

Why Hiring a Wedding Planner Is a Good Idea

We feel that every bride requires assistance with wedding planning. Every couple has its own set of circumstances. If you and your future husband both work full-time jobs, don’t want to handle all of the planning yourselves, or have no idea what you want your big day to look like, hiring a planner is probably the best option.

Let’s have a look at what a wedding planner is and the reasons to hire for your big day.

What Is The Role Of A Wedding Planner?

Wedding planners, also referred to as bridal or wedding consultants, are in charge of helping clients plan full weddings or certain wedding events. They negotiate vendor contracts, coordinate wedding day activities, and consult with customers about wedding logistics.

Top 5 Reasons to Hire A Wedding Planner

Here are the top five reasons to hire a wedding planner for your small wedding:

1. To Save Valuable Time

Saving time and effort throughout the preparation and wedding day is one of the most common reasons why couples hire a wedding planner.

Wedding planners handle all the tedious tasks, such as selecting the location and booking the vendors, so you and your partner can concentrate on other things, like enjoying your engagement!

Considering how much time you would save by hiring a wedding planner might be well worth it, even with only six months till the big day.

Wedding planners frequently used to be wedding suppliers or had a long working relationship with them. This demonstrates that they are knowledgeable about the industry and are aware of precisely what must be done at each level of the planning process.

2. Reduces Stress

You can avoid handling all the labor-intensive work by delegating some tasks to a wedding planner. One is that they have extensive knowledge of the industry and are knowledgeable about both the trustworthy and the best-selling providers. Additionally, they are accustomed to managing logistics so that you may unwind rather than stress about everything at the last minute.

Wedding planners not only make the bride and groom (as well as their friends and family) less stressed, but they also take some of the pressure off of the suppliers. They can deal with the vendors calmly because they aren’t as stressed out as those directly involved in the event. It makes things easy for everyone and helps avoid potentially tense situations.

3. They Are Quite Well-Informed

A wedding planner frequently communicates with photographers, stationery designers, DJs, florists, photographers, and caterers.

They can recommend you the best vendors for your big day. Moreover, the wedding planner might be able to negotiate price reductions you wouldn’t otherwise get because they have ongoing ties with most local vendors.

4. Keep an Eye on Your Spending

We won’t sugarcoat it for you: it’s harder than it seems to keep inside your budget. You decide to improve your table settings at one point. Next, then? You’ve gone over budget by thousands of dollars. While there are several strategies to prevent you from tumbling down this slippery slope, a wedding planner may undoubtedly be of assistance.

Wedding planners have been around for a while. They are aware of what items ought to cost and the value differences. They can assist you in navigating the wedding industry price tags and setting up a budget tailored to YOUR objectives.

5. Legal Aspects Will Be Covered

When we say that all legal considerations will be taken care of, we’re referring to destination weddings or getting married abroad.

Legal considerations may need to be addressed if you intend to wed abroad; a wedding planner can advise you and ensure everything goes according to plan. A skilled wedding planner will assist you with the finer points in this to make things simpler.

Are you struggling to decide how much you need to spend on your wedding?
Download our free calculator here to help you finalise your wedding budget number.

How Much Does A Wedding Planner Cost?

The average cost of a wedding planner in 2021, as reported by The Knot 2021 Real Weddings Study, was $1,700. But bear in mind that this was the national average in 2021 before you stick with this specific figure (emphasize on average and national). This is consistent with averages from prior years. Higher-end estimates are above $4,000, while lower ranges can cost several hundred dollars.

Depending on your budget and desired service, several wedding planners offer various levels of coordination. The survey includes information from American couples with different budgets and wedding planner preferences. For instance, couples who had a destination wedding paid a planner $2,200 more than those who planned a wedding in their hometown. This is understandable given that destination weddings frequently have more moving parts.

Consider hiring a wedding planner solely for day-of coordination if you’re trying to cut costs. Wedding day planners ensure everything is set up correctly, streamline communication with all of your vendors, and assist you in moving from one element of your celebration to the next. They enable you to put all your attention into enjoying your wedding day and the planning details to one side.

Does Having A Small Wedding Truly Help You Save Money On Your Wedding?

The typical California couple spent $39,000 on their wedding in 2019. A smaller wedding can help you save money. This is because the biggest wedding expenses proportional to the number of guests (specifically venue and catering). If you reduce these items, your costs will fall dramatically. 

However, many venues and catering still have minimum spend amonts. You might need to spend extra time sorting through your alternatives to locate the best solution. You can hire a wedding planner to help with this.

Moreover, even a backyard wedding could include hiring caterers, serving staff, generators, portable restrooms, rentals, and other services that an all-inclusive venue would have provided. If you’re planning a small wedding, there will be fewer guests, so fewer caterers and staff will be required. So you can save a lot of expenses with a small wedding.

The Perks and Benefits of Small Weddings

Small weddings are a new trend after Covid. Here are some benefits of small weddings:

1. More Quality Time

Consider all the large weddings you’ve attended where the bride and groom spent the reception visiting each table to spend a little amount of time with each guest. The act of greeting everyone one by one can be stressful for newlyweds, and they frequently miss the meal and other ceremony details they’ve spent months meticulously organizing.

They also don’t really get to interact with guests one-on-one for a very long time. A small wedding allows the couple to interact with their guests more personally and truly share the day with them.

2. DIY Wedding Plans

If you and your partner prefer doing things on your own, organizing a small wedding is the ideal opportunity for you to add to the beauty and ambiance of your wedding ceremony by enhancing the decor with your DIY ideas.

To make your wedding day look beautiful, you might invite your family and friends to contribute their handcrafted decorations. When it comes to DIY decor ideas for the wedding, there are many options, such as origami, vintage bangle hangings, paper lanterns, and much more.

3. Saving Money

Saving money is one of the most apparent advantages of a small wedding. The average cost of a wedding in the United States ranges from $20,000 for the least costly state to $55,000 for the most expensive. The biggest wedding budget-saving strategy is to invite fewer guests.

The number of visitors you have will determine how much food you need to buy, how much space you need to rent, and in some situations, whether you also need to offer transportation or security. The costs can be significantly lowered with a smaller wedding or an elopement with just the two of you. You may still have a lovely party, especially if you can use the money to buy the most important things for you two.

You can cut costs on many items, including gifts, alcohol, decorations for a big reception, big venues, food, hair and makeup, and flowers for a big wedding celebration. 

In our article here you can find alternatives to fresh flowers that will help to save costs. 

We recomend choosing just one or two highly prioritized items to splurge on. This will make your small wedding more memorable by having the things you truly wanted, without wasting money on things that don’t really matter to you. You can read more about this approach here.

4. Your Ideal Vendors

The amount of people you will invite is one of the most important elements that will impact your wedding costs. After all, it influences the cost of the venue as well as the flowers, rentals, food, and drinks. Because larger-scale weddings call for a greater capacity for setup, service, and breakdown, it directly impacts your vendors’ labor line item.

All of this implies that when you’re spending less in each of these areas, you might have some extra money to spend on the photographer of your dreams you never imagined you could afford. This applies to every type of vendor, including planners, designers, florists, caterers, stationers and musicians.

5. Fewer Guests Means Less Stress

Nowadays, catering for events can be a planning nightmare due to the abundance of allergens, intolerances, and the downright fussy. Gone are the days when visitors were served a church buffet. Along with the food, the problems of where to house everyone and how to get them all from point A to point B can be substantially reduced when you minimize the number of people.

6. You May Reduce Waste And Practice Eco-Friendliness

A smaller guest list will result in substantially less waste being produced. Since there won’t be as much to rent, you can eliminate any disposable things. You can reuse your decorations after the wedding as well. There will simply be less of everything, including paper invites, flowers, food, plastic cups, and décor.

Conclusion:

Anyone can throw a party, but this is your big day, not a backyard BBQ. Wedding planners not only relieve stress, allowing you to enjoy your engagement, but they may also save you a lot of money. The planner will serve as an impartial third party, keeping you grounded and on track. We hope our tips will make it easier for you to decide whether to hire a wedding planner for your small wedding or not.

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