12 Things Wedding Planners Can Do For You

Working with a diverse portfolio of clients from around the world including Myanmar, Peru, USA, Germany and Australia this year allowed me to create unique and personalised wedding visions for my wedding planning couples. Although some of these plans have now moved to 2021 and 2022, my wedding planning service is all about producing tailored joyful and inspirational celebrations.

 If you’re considering getting help with your wedding planning and you’re unsure whether to get professional support, in the next few paragraphs I will be revealing to you the 12 Things a Professional Wedding Planner could do for you, so stayed tuned in…

1.      SAVING TIME

If project planning isn’t one of your strengths, a Wedding Planner can save you between 200-300 hours of wedding planning.

 Very often the misconception about Wedding Planners is that we’re an extravagant expense, where in fact by using a Professional Wedding Planner you get your time back to concentrate on the things you enjoy the most – have I mentioned that we can take a lot of the stress away with our service too?

 How much value do you put on your spare time? Can you afford giving up 200-300 hours for wedding planning? Let me know in the comment box below.

2.      CREATING A PLAN

Wedding Planning involves juggling both smaller and bigger projects as part of the overall wedding plan.

Wedding Planners create personalised timelines for your wedding and ensure everything happens seamlessly. All the while arranging all those necessary appointments, fittings and consultations on your behalf and keeping your wedmin on track. That way you enjoy the fun part only.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have all those appointments organised for you and taken care of? Give me ❤️ in the comment box below if you agree.

3.      CREATING AND MANAGING A BUDGET

It is often part of our service to create a realistic wedding budget and ensuring it is met – having worked in the wedding industry for years and with hundreds of vendors and suppliers, we understand the market that we’re in daily and we can easily navigate through estimates for you.

We can also easily understand what it takes to turn your dream wedding day vision into reality, while providing your accurate guidance.

Do you know how many couples stick to their wedding budget? Up to 20% of couples struggle to keep their wedding budget on track. Does this surprise you? Give me a YES or NO in the comment box below.

4.      SAVING MONEY AND MAXIMISING YOUR BUDGET

Reverting to the previous point about wedding budgets, we can truly maximise your budget and save where you might not have anticipated. This is where we can guide you and make recommendations in allocating resources based on your priorities.

Imagine sourcing your decorations for your ceremony and a separate set for your reception – is this the best way to use your resources? Maybe it is, but it is our job to understand your budget and help you make clever decisions on what’s truly important to you.

Are you maximising your budget and making the best decisions?

5.      SOURCING YOUR VENUE

Having worked for clusters of venues in my career including city center hotels, mansion houses, country estates and marquee venues, in addition to having a vast network of venue contacts from my time working for an international wedding venue directory in Scotland, I can easily identify venues that are best suited to your requirements.

Additionally, there are so many ways in which you can maximise your wedding budget when considering wedding venues. I’ve recently saved one of my couples the cost of my part-wedding planning package by choosing their venue based on their set criteria, while having my support along their exciting wedding planning journey.

What is / was the most important aspect to you when considering wedding venues? Let me know in the comment box below.

6.      SOURCING AND NEGOTIATING WITH SUPPLIERS

Wedding Planners have got a very unique ability to source and negotiate with vendors and suppliers based on the fact that we’re well connected and work with suppliers we know will provide you with the best products and services.

You could almost say that booking suppliers through your Wedding Planner gives you a guarantee of quality, as we don’t easily give our personal recommendations. Because of this loyal relationship with our industry partners we’ve got the bargaining power for you.

Can you believe that a Wedding Planner can save you on average up to 20% of your wedding budget spend using trade deals? Give me 🌟 in the comments below if you’d be happy with this saving?

7.      LIAISING WITH ALL SUPPLIERS AND VENUE ON YOUR BEHALF

When you choose to work on your wedding plans with a Professional Wedding Planner, we will liaise with your venue and suppliers on the smallest of details by becoming your one and only point of contact for the entire wedding planning journey and be the main person who takes care of all wedmin for you.

Doesn’t that sound amazing? Give me YES in the comment box below if you’d love to have wedmin all taken care of for you.

8.      CONDUCTING THE BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Your Wedding Planner could be your ‘fixer’ and as previously mentioned we draw from an extensive network of connections and years of experience and research.

The chances are that when we recommend a supplier or venue to you, we’ve worked with them before on a wedding or a project, and if we haven’t, they always come with the highest recommendation from those partners we already work with. Either way, we ensure we vet all suppliers before making our recommendations and provide you with our own set of pointers and observations, making decision making a lot easier.

How much time on average does it take to plan your wedding including all the research?

A.     100 hours?

B.     200-300 hours?

C.      500 hours?

Let me know in the comment box below.

9.      HELPING YOU STYLE

Many couples often have a few ideas aided by our experience we put these ideas into a cohesive and stylish vision for your special day.

Working with the best of the best in the industry we come up with moodboards that will perfectly highlight your personal and unique aspirations for your desired wedding day.

Would it be easier for you to have your wedding vision drawn out for you?

10.      ORGANISING YOUR GUESTLIST

Guestlist management is often part of the full wedding planning package and this is the element which probably takes the most of your wedding planning admin time.

As wedding planners we can take care of all your RSVPs, organizing them cohesively into tables with all requirements clearly noted.

Additionally, we can be that one point of contact that can take the stress of responding to all FAQs on your behalf and updating your wedding day website.

Anyone who finds this part most challenging give me YES in the comment box below.

11.      RUNNING THE SHOW

With On The Day Coordination Package we can ensure that all those months of wedding planning come together – call us Master of Ceremonies, Conductors or On the Day Coordinators, our job is make sure that the entire focus is on the two of you and that we make it happen for you.

This includes managing suppliers, setup, organising the flow of the day, handling any on-the-day emergencies all the while soothing nerves and providing a helping hand.

This service is particularly popular with our full and part wedding planning packages or with couples booking dry hire venues or venues.

Would it not be amazing to have a professional making your dream wedding vision happen behind the scenes for you? Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

12.      GIVING YOU SUPPORT AND ADVICE WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST

Finally, the most important element of working with a wedding planner is relying on a person who is available at a time that works for you, for us this is not a regular 9-5 job, this is passion and this is commitment to you and your guests.

We are there to advocate for you, while offering sound and objective advice, and we never get bored talking about weddings… has this given you a better idea on the benefits of working with a Professional Wedding Planner for your most important day?

Feel free to share your worries, concerns or questions in the comment box below or privately email them to me. I’d love to help with things small and big – I’d love to make things easier for you!

Travelling Central Europe in search of traditional wedding customs.

After travelling over 3,000 miles across Central Europe, I thought I would share with you my most interesting discoveries relating to various cultural wedding customs.

I started my journey from Edinburgh on Tuesday 14th January heading to the beautiful capital city of Prague in Czech Republic.

I have been to Prague in my early teens with my Granny, but I’ve always dreamt of going back and this dream has finally come true.

Following my visit, I thought to share with you all the wedding traditions I’ve learnt about:

Wreath of Rosemary

Bridesmaids create a wreath made with rosemary on the night prior to the wedding for the Bride to either wear or hold during her wedding ceremony, this is in hope for wisdom, love and happiness. Rosemary sprigs are also given out to wedding guests as favours to encourage happiness and fertility.

Rope gate

Another popular tradition in Czech weddings is for the couple to be stopped right outside of the ceremony venue with a rope decorated with flowers and empty bottles by the friends of the Groom. It is his responsibility to pay his way for the sins of his adolescence, permitting entry to the wedding venue.

Smashing plates

This one is a responsibility of a venue coordinator to smash a plate right in front of the wedding couple as they arrive for their wedding breakfast. It is the couple’s job to clean it all up in front of their guests, giving them the opportunity to prove the harmony in their relationship, and willingness to work as a team in the face of all obstacles.

Love of Beer

Beer in Czech Republic can often be found cheaper than a bottle of mineral water – this is yet another reason why weddings in Czech Republic are so popular.

Eating soup jointly

Could you imagine enjoying your soup jointly, using one soup spoon? This tradition prevails even today, showing that married couples must always work out difficulties together and go halves in everyday life.

Disappearance of the Bride

When the wedding is at its peak, the Bride is carried out by the Groom’s friends. The Groom must find her as soon as possible, if he doesn’t achieve that within a given timeframe, he’s got to yet again pay his way to be re-joined with his newlywed Bride. This symbolises disconnection of the bride from her parents and the start of a new life with her brand-new husband.

After five days of enjoying many amazing Czech attractions and their world-class beers, I headed from Praha Hlavni Nadrazi (Prague – Central Train Station) to Wroclaw Glowny, Poland on a four hour inter-state train journey through the mountains.

I travelled north to my home town of Legnica, in the south west of Poland. Whilst visiting family and wedding professional friends in Poland, I remembered a few polish wedding traditions, some of which featured at my own wedding two years ago.

Majority of weddings in churches

Polish people in majority are Catholic, which means that most wedding ceremonies will take place at a church, followed by a reception at a banqueting hall or venue. The Polish Government signed an agreement with the Catholic Church, meaning that all Catholic wedding ceremonies are legally binding.

Love of Vodka

Poland is very well known for its vodka, which is very reasonably priced, which is why so many wedding traditions involve vodka!

Firstly, the wedding couple are greeted with one shot of water and one shot of vodka upon their arrival to the Wedding Breakfast. Whoever selects the vodka is expected to be the boss in the relationship. The Couple then proceed to throw the shot glass over their left shoulder, symbolising the start to their new married life together, leaving the past behind.

Finally, vodka is provided on all tables for guests to enjoy along with a selection of mixers and replenished throughout the night, ensuring the guests have the best celebrations.

Bread and salt

Another tradition dedicated to the arrival of the couple to their Wedding Breakfast is the provision of a ‘wedding bread’ and salt. Both sets of parents are responsible to greet the couple with a specially decorated, and baked for the occasion, loaf of bread and salt. The Couple tear off a piece of bread and consume it with a pinch of salt. The bread symbolises no hunger and the salt flavour in the marriage.

Long celebrations

Can you imagine your wedding celebrations lasting two, three days or sometimes even a week? In Poland, this is quite standard. Most weddings last a minimum of two days, with main celebrations and the ceremony on day one and a full meal with all family and friends before the guest departure on the second day. In the highlands of Poland, however, weddings will last up to a week and each day will involve a different activity for the wedding celebrations.

Midnight Games – pol. Oczepiny

Since all weddings in Poland last into the wee hours of the following morning, sometimes as late as 7am, all guests gather round the dance floor at midnight to take part in the Midnight Games  (pol. Oczepiny). These games are normally organised by their ceremony witnesses and can involve both physical activities as well as quiz style games. This is a fun way to break the night and involve both the wedding couple and their guests in ice breaker activities.

After over a week of travelling, visiting family and enjoying some plentiful Central European food, I am now back to my beloved home in Scotland, to see you all soon at the upcoming open days and wedding showcases in Edinburgh.

If you have liked this blog, hit LIKE below and let me know which of these Central European traditions you liked the most.

Wishing you all a fantastic February!