After that initial excitement of your engagement, you will soon be browsing through endless wedding magazines, websites and of course spending thousands of hours on good old pintrest.com …. And before too long you will most likely be feeling totally overwhelmed by the overload of information and daunting decisions to be made. That’s when you and your fiancé might start to consider hiring a professional wedding planner , especially if you are looking at a destination overseas wedding.
For any couple getting married abroad, a professional wedding planner might seem like an extravagance, but a good planner can save you time, money and a lot of stress !
Depending on your budget and needs, you can contract various levels of service:
- A full-service planner who will be with you from venue location right through to the wedding day ends.
- A venue location service – just to help you find the right venue
- An on the day coordinator – who will be present on the day to ensure every aspect of the day runs smoothly and be the point of contact for all suppliers.
NOTE: Many venues offer an in-house planner as part of their wedding packages , but make sure you’re clear on exactly what level of service they provide. In house coordinators usually just handle on the day wedding issues and offer a list of their preferred vendors, they will not get involved with guest accommodation and transport & many other services a private planner with offer, so having your own planner may still be a great help.
Before interviewing potential wedding planners, you and your fiancé should have an idea of:
- How much money you have in your budget
- How many people you would like to invite
- Your preferred wedding date
- Your vision for your wedding (NOTE: If you aren’t sure yet don’t worry—getting help with this is one of the reasons why you’re hiring a wedding planner!)
If you are conducting interviews from overseas, do insist on a face time /skype call , it is important to see as well as speak to a potential planner. After the interviews ask yourselves …..
- Did we feel the planner listened to us ?
- Does the planner understand or interpret accurately our vision for the wedding ?
- Did we get a strong sense that the planner will help us keep within our budget?
- Was there a good sense of connection between us and the planner?
Listen to your instincts. Your wedding planner is the person you’ll be spending the most time with, so it’s important to pick someone who’s compatible with you and your fiancé.
The most important questions you should initially be asking are related to the Planner’s experience . For an overseas wedding planner, it is essential that they are fluent in the local language of the country .
A professional Planner in Spain will be operating under a legal status, will be in insured and should have at least 5 years demonstrable track record and be able to give you a selection of genuine testimonials .
Here are some of the questions we recommend you ask ..
- How many full-scale weddings have you planned? When was your last one?
- How many wedding clients do you take on in a year? How many do you expect to have during the month of our wedding?
- Is wedding planning your full-time job? If it’s part-time, what is your other job?
- Are we required to book only the suppliers you recommend or do we have the freedom to hire someone even if you haven’t worked with them before?
- Do you take a commission or discount from any of the suppliers you would refer us to?
- Will you be present at all of the suppliers meetings and will you assist us in reviewing all of the supplier contracts and making sure everything is in order?
- Will you invoice us for all the supplier’s fees or will we need to pay each one of them ourselves?
- For the supplier’s who will be on site the day of our wedding, can I provide you with checks or cash for final payment that you will distribute to them?
ABOVE ALL FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THE PLANNER YOU CHOOSE WILL BE ON YOUR SIDE, LOOKING AFTER YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT ALL TIME !