Engaged couples are looking to installment loans to pay their wedding planners. The new wave of weddings means bigger and grander affairs. Many grand affairs need one central professional to envision, plan and orchestrate them.
The wedding planner
The wedding industry is a $120 billion industry, with the average wedding costing $27,000. Although wedding planners used to be solely for the affluent, lately they are much more mainstream, playing parts in even the smallest wedding affairs. Shane McMurray, of The Wedding Report, stated that the growth in wedding planners can be attributed to people “waiting longer to marry and often they are too busy pursuing careers to plan their big day.” In addition, more people are trying to replicate what they see on TV and movies for their own weddings.
What to watch for when hiring a wedding planner
If consumers are in the market for a wedding planner, there are a few hints and tricks to choosing the right one.
- Just because wedding planners claim to be professional doesn’t mean they will be. The reality is that people can call themselves wedding planners even if they have little to no experience actually doing it successfully. The best way to circumvent this issue is to do some research. The Association of Bridal Consultants and June Wedding are two societies that only promote certified planners.
- Wedding planners should be willing to help the bridal family stay calm. As one wedding planner stated, “If someone comes to me and says ‘I want the perfect wedding,’ I’ll tell her she’s come to the wrong man. Things are always going to go wrong—but that’s why you need a professional.” A wedding planner should be able to handle problems without calling the bride or groom for every small detail. They should be intuitive enough to understand what the family wants and, short of a major disaster, handle it themselves.
- Consumers should understand what level of service they are getting. Some planners commit to being there every step of the way. However, with the growing popularity of the industry, many planners overbook and make appearances at only the most detailed weddings. For a full-service wedding planner, expect to need installment loans or some extra funding because the normal rate for a full-service planner is 10-15 percent of the entire wedding budget.
- Clients should ask the wedding planner how many weddings they are working the same month of their wedding. Tracy Ernst, a wedding planner, stated, “A consultant shouldn’t have more than two weddings in a month, certainly not more than three. (If the planner exceeds) that, they don’t stay in business very long.”
- Couples should be aware that mixed-faith marriages can cost more. Wedding planner Heather Rohrer stated, “In our initial consultation, I’ll ask if there’s anything unique about a client’s wedding and that will open the door for added cost.” For example, she recently suggested to one couple custom yarmulkes. Of course, in the end, they were at an additional cost of $5 each. Research shows that dual-religion ceremonies normally cost clients an additional $10,000. One wedding planner suggested, “To minimize the tab, have a clear vision of what you want and communicate it at the earliest stages.”
Wedding planning in the future
Wedding planning can be a very helpful service if consumers know what to be wary of. Using installment loans, additional funding from family or an inheritance can greatly help the overall planning, but people need to have a clear, and rigid, budget. In the end, a wedding planner who is certified and comes with a few good recommendations can make an event as close to perfect as can be expected.
Sometimes people will hire wedding planners that really don't put in their best. They are either not up to date on what your expectations are or simply hasty in their planning. If you need a wedding planner to help you through the makings of probably one of the most important events of your life, make sure you find one that is really in your best interest.