The benefits of using a wedding planner.

As a wedding videographer who’s sole purpose is to capture peoples weddings and create authentic emotional wedding films, it might seem a little strange that I’ve decided to write a blog about wedding planning and the benefits of having a specialised wedding planner over see the running of your day.

But I’m in the somewhat unique position of seeing what works at weddings and what doesn’t. When a couple book me I always make a point of letting them know I am here to give any advise on the day if they need it based on that mentioned unique position, let me explain.

Wedding creators and wedding capturers.

I’ve been known to coin the phrase ‘wedding creators and wedding capturers’. By this I mean there are wedding suppliers who will help create a wedding and without them is almost isn’t possible. These are the suppliers such as florists, cake makers, table and general decor companies, Hair and make up artists, caterers, musicians, DJ’s etc. These suppliers will often visit the wedding venue prior to the bride and groom even arriving and leave without even seeing them. Or some may never even visit the wedding venue at all. I am always very grateful to these people because without their hard work and effort the people, venues and settings I am entrusted to film wouldn’t be what they become. But they fairly see how the weddings go, what works well and what can be improved. Exceptions to the rule such as DJ’s and Band’s but they a will arrive at a wedding late in the day, and not see they whole event, plus they have the job of performing which means they aren’t able see much of what is going on.

Then there are the capturers, this is the smaller group being made up of me, the videographer and your photographer. It is our job to capture your day so in years to come you can watch your wedding film or glance at your photos and be instantly taken back to that special day. Because of this task we see it all, from the bridal prep, through to the first dance and often beyond. We watch countless couples interpret their joining in different ways, many similar but never the same. I suspect if you were to have a completely candid chat with a wedding photographer they will to tell you which speeches melted their hearts and which left them in fits of laughter.

The Maestro.

But there is one more person who straddles both team create and team capture, that is the maestro, the conductor who not only creates or collaborates with a couple to create their dream day, but is also there throughout to see just how well everything goes and assist in the smooth running of every element, the Wedding Planner.

It is in a wedding planners interest to make sure every element of the wedding experience is a wonderful one, they are often the link between the couple and the suppliers so a couple aren’t burdened with any complications such as timings rescheduling or complications on their day. They are also there to ensure the suppliers are able to do their roll to their best by having all relevant information and any query’s answered in a timely manor.

Because much like a wedding videographer and photographer the wedding planner is present at weddings they see all the things we do that work, such as speeches all together either before or after a wedding breakfast as apposed to spread out between courses (my pet hate sorry not sorry). Or don’t work, such as no one taking on the toast master roll introducing each speech giver and letting guests know when the speeches are finished and everyone can relax and make their way to the bar or eat their meal. Honestly nothing more uncomfortable than two hundred people mumbling to one another, “Are they done, shall we clap?”.

But why are they called a wedding planner? I may have appeared to have gone about writing this a little back to front. I’ve highlighted the roll of the planner on the wedding day before I have gone into the hard work that makes up the majority of what a couple will have booked the planner for, actually helping with planning and organising the wedding. This was not by mistake, this was hopefully to show just why a wedding planner is invaluable. Like most professionals in any given field, its their experience in doing the task.

Often, so very often a couple will feel they are more than capable of doing all their planning themselves. And yes, it can be done. But there is a lot of work involved. Allow me to give the example of videographer as its my roll at a wedding and I’m aware I might ruffle feathers if I speak too freely about others professions.

Choosing a videographer is not just a case of scrolling through instagram and selecting a someone who’s has a few nice shots of a beautiful couple who look completely besotted with one another in lovely golden hour light in the middle of a field. Of course you want that, who wouldn’t. But how do you know those couples are actully real couples? They might all be models from styled shoots? Something photographers and videographers do to showcase their work in a particular style. (beware the photographers/videographers who’s portfolios are made up entirely of styled shoots, just saying)

Visually they are great but asking a model to strike a pose is very different to asking a couple who have been rushing with adrenaline all day to relax, smile and be themselves.

A wedding planner will have worked with a number of videographers and will know them to be not only good at their job, but also good with people, good and being discreet, and know that they can be relied upon to deliver in what ever circumstances are present.

The wedding planners experience in this example will save a couple potentially hours of reading through reviews, interviewing potential videographers, and upsetting friends who have recommend the videographer they used at their wedding who’s wedding film you actually thought was pretty cheesy and wasn’t so keen on.

Now this is just one example, just one supplier where a wedding planner has saved you time and effort leading up to what couple possibly be the largest event your’ve ever hosted. Extend this help and time saved across the many different suppliers you will no doubt need to book for your wedding and the maestro could be saving you from missing deadlines at work, loosing relationships with friends because you’ve had to cancel social events in order to interview suppliers and stopped unnecessary strain on the relationship with the person you wish to spend the rest of your life with. I’ve used the word once already but I’m going to use it again, invaluable!

Wedding planners will know the route to creating the perfect day, they know this because they have done it time and time again, in different ways using different tools. Yes you could buy a Jaguar E-Type in spare parts and read through a thousand articles and watch a million and one instruction tutorials on YouTube learning how to put it together. But then you’ll need to read through a bunch of reviews of part suppliers who can help you source the right components to get that beautiful car on the road. If you were to pay yourself an hourly rate for all the time you have spent getting the classic car road worthy again so you can have the time of your life traveling through the countryside of your choosing with the roof down and the wind in your hair living your best life, how much would that hourly rate be and could that money have been better spent on the right outfit to wear on those trips?

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