Hire a wedding planner
A wedding planner manages the suppliers, budget and timeline for a wedding, and runs the day itself. Services are sold at three levels — full planning, partial planning and day-of coordination — which differ greatly in scope and price. Most couples book twelve to eighteen months ahead, though coordination is booked much later.
What wedding planners do
- Hold the budget and track every supplier payment and deadline
- Recommend, vet and contract suppliers to fit your style and budget
- Build the wedding-day timeline and circulate it to everyone involved
- Manage the venue relationship, site visits and access windows
- Run the day, so questions go to them instead of to the couple
When people book wedding planners
- Full weddings, from engagement to the day
- Day-of coordination for couples who planned it themselves
- Destination and multi-day weddings
- Micro-weddings and elopements
- Rehearsal dinners and welcome events
What to ask before booking a wedding planner
Take these to every candidate. The answers are usually more revealing than a portfolio.
- Which level is this — full planning, partial, or day-of coordination?
- How many weddings do you take on the same weekend?
- Will you personally run our day, or someone else from your team?
- Do you receive commission from suppliers you recommend?
- How many site visits, meetings and calls are included?
- What is your plan if a key supplier cancels close to the date?
What to have ready when you post a request
The more of this you can give upfront, the more accurate the offers you get back.
- A total budget that includes the planner's fee
- Guest count, date and any fixed cultural or family requirements
- Suppliers already booked
- The three things that matter most to you, and what you will trade away
- Who else has a say in decisions
What drives the cost of a wedding planner
Quotes vary because these factors vary. Knowing which apply to you makes two quotes comparable.
- Service level, which is the single biggest factor
- Guest count and number of suppliers to coordinate
- Destination or multi-day weddings, which add travel and nights
- How much is already booked versus sourced from scratch
- Extra staff needed on the day for a large guest count
- Peak season and Saturday dates
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Booking day-of coordination expecting planning — the coordinator inherits your decisions
- Leaving the planner's fee outside the budget it is supposed to manage
- Hiring after most suppliers are booked, which removes most of the value
- Not confirming who from the team will actually run the day
- Building a timeline with no buffer, so one delay cascades through the schedule
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I book a wedding planner?
For full planning, commonly twelve to eighteen months before the date, because the planner's biggest contribution is in early decisions about venue, budget and suppliers. Day-of coordination is booked much later — often two to three months out — since it only covers executing plans already made.
What is day-of coordination?
A coordinator takes over your finished plans a few weeks before the wedding, confirms every supplier, builds the final timeline and runs the day. It costs far less than full planning, but it assumes the planning is genuinely complete. A coordinator cannot make the decisions you have not yet made.
Is a wedding planner worth the cost?
It depends on the wedding and on your time. For a large or multi-venue wedding, a planner's supplier relationships and timeline control often offset much of the fee. For a small, simple celebration the honest answer is that you are buying back your own time, not saving money.
Can I hire a planner for just part of the wedding?
Yes — partial planning exists for exactly this. You might handle the venue and guest list yourself and bring in a planner for suppliers and the timeline. Define in writing which parts are theirs, because partial planning is where scope most often blurs.
Often booked together
Ready to book a wedding planner?
Post what you need and compare offers from verified wedding planners near you.