I asked this question a couple days ago but.....would you hire a wedding planner?

Question

Sorry I gotta ask again....I had 3 very helpful answers but I was hoping for a couple more maybe even a few guys opinions.....

I'm in the process of becoming a wedding planner. I just started and already I have 2 weddings however I am doing both of them for free because I don't have experience yet and I need it, and they are my bfs friends. I think I have a really good shot at this being as I live in Victoria B.C which is pretty busy with weddings. But since I haven't charged anyone yet I'm not sure if a lot of people would be willing to pay for one? And if so, what would you be willing to pay?

I'm thinking of charging about $1500-$2000 for a full year of planning and being on site that day. Does that sound like to much or not enough? It takes up A LOT of time and gas so I think that's a reasonable price.

Answer 1

Actually, I've thought abut being a wedding planner myself. But where I am, they really want you to be "certified", which means going back to school.

Here's my thing...you might want to use the 2 wedding you're doing to figure out a few things:

1. How much time each wedding takes you. keep a log. Track your hours.

2. figure out how many wedding you want to do a month and a year. Also figure out how much money you want to make each month and year.

3. Base your charges on how many hours you anticipate spending on each wedding by figuring out how much you want/need to make per hour from the first 2 points.

If you're good at what you do, wedding planners can be quite pricey. I live in a big city in the states, and some wedding planners charge up to $10k if the wedding is elaborate and they do everything.

I think your prices are about average for where I am. I have looked into some planners here and they typically range from $2000-$5000 depending on services. Some are less if the bride has done alot of the legwork and it's just pulling together the final pieces a month or two before the big day.

Also, think about offering different levels of service. Some brides want to do the beginning planning and just need help close to the end. Others want end-to-end planning and really don't want to think about the details. So, in order to get the best cross-section of brides, you might need to do some of both.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Hi from Saskatoon!

No, we just pitched in and did all the work ourselves.

A wedding planner usually charges 10 per cent of the budget. I think you need to talk to some established wedding planners in your area to see what fees they charge. For example, our budget was 25k, so a wedding planner would have gotten 2,500.

Answer 3

i think you're going a little cheap.. 4-5000 sounds more like it.

Going cheap isint always good; sometimes it makes you look like you aren't any good!

Answer 4

In order to know if you are charging the right amount you will have to come up with a list of your duties first. Then decide just how much time you're going to be spending. Check your local area for wedding planner's who have websites listing their prices. A very good way to get terrific experience is to work for a wedding planner for a few years. This is a really challenging job so get ready!

Answer 5

If the planners in my area charged $1500-2000, I'd hire one. The cheapest I can find wants $500 a month and she charged me $100 just to talk to her which I didn't know she was going to do. We sat down to talk to her and then after we were finished she started talking about consultation fees and if we hired her the $100 would be deducted. My fiance and I were just stunned. She should have said something before we started talking!  

I think your price is very reasonable!

Answer 6

i would most definately pay that for a wedding planner,

i am getting married shortly and at this point after all the work i have just done, i wouldnt even think twice, and wish i had hired one

i say go for it,, put yourself out there

Answer 7

For someone with little to no experience (two wedding is nearly NO experience) that is WAY too much, unless you are certified.

There are classes and schools you can take to become certified as a Planner.  

Answer 8

I would absolutely hire a wedding planner!  First off... even though the wedding planner has to be part of the "budget", its actually the planners job to fit his/her fee into the wedding budget, the planner knows the venues and can negotiate for better prices..which most brides don't do.  So in the long run it'll probably save some money and it'll save TONS of stress.  I think that $1500-$2000 is decent..but be sure that your contract is VERY specific..otherwise you will be taken advantage of.  And that equals you being unhappy because you will be working your butt off and end up making less that minimum wage for all the hours.  #1 rule: Be specific of what your duties and billable hours will include.  Anything over that I would charge extra for.  Good luck!  You will love it!

I forgot to add:  Even though you are doing the 2 weddings for free, ask the couples, since it is free, if you can have 1 or 2 of the wedding photos for your portfolio.  I think that will be a very reasonable request.  Maybe even bring your digital camera and take some shots of the reception set up before guests arrive.  It'll be good to start a portfolio for future clients to see.

Answer 9

I would hire a planner if A. I didn't like to plan/didn't feel like making time to plan and B. I had the money. So think about whether you have the market where you live. And if you do, fabulous. I like to plan and honestly, my entire wedding budget was just a little more than what you are charging to plan a wedding, so I wouldn't hire one. But I don't think I'm the type of person you're going to be marketing toward.

Answer 10

Would I hire a wedding planner?  Of course!  Planning a wedding is stressful and having a planner is great because it is you who can negotiate deals with caterers and the like.

It doesn't sound too much as long as the people know for sure what they are getting from you.

Answer 11

Its good to see I am not the only person trying to have this job. It's a really hard job to get you have to create your own company.

Ummm I think it usually is 15-20% of the total cost of the wedding gose to the wedding planner so it would be a little more then that considering the average wedding is $28,000. But your defaintly in the ball park & with gas prices (with what they are now insane) & having to drive around all the time I would charge the 20% for sure.

Answer 12

i've got to be honest, we didn't hire a wedding planner and we didn't have any problems planning our wedding. my friend had one and i guess she was helpful but a lot of the stuff she did was stuff that could easily be handled by the bride herself. and on the wedding day, she spent more time being in the way than actually helping out. weddings are already really expensive....i don't really see the need to spend a few extra thousand dollars for someone to do what i could do with a little extra organization, you know?

i don't want to be a downer or burst your bubble. WE didn't use one because our vendors were already pretty good about coordination on the big day. we had a church lady to guide us through the entrance...our caterer set up the reception all, served dinner, AND packaged up remaining food and drink AND our gifts before the reception was over, and our dj handled the bouquet and other activities. we paid a pretty penny for their services so it we felt justified in asking them to handle those details. but my husband says that had our wedding been more detailed or more extravagant then a wedding coordinator probably would have been helpful. try to cater to the venues around you for recommendations. and up your price...$1500-$2000 is a bit low i;d think!