I Used to Think :: Part 1 :: The Wedding Planner

How hard could wedding planning be? Seriously. You google the vendors your need, look at their portfolio & reviews, and make some decisions. Then on the wedding day you just let them do their thing and trust the ones you hired to make the wedding of your dream become a reality.

Yep. That is what I used to think.

But those thoughts slowly began to diminish as I saw vendors miss deadlines, brides late to their own weddings (when makeup & hair take too long), brides stressed out about this problem or that…

Then I met…a wedding planner. They arrived on the wedding day and I thought “here we go…someone that is going to get in my way, tell me what I can’t do, and just take control of everything.” Next thing you know the bride was ready on time. Then the ceremony started and everyone knew what to do. Then the formal pictures went faster than ever. The wedding planner was making sure everyone was listening and where they needed to be. Then came the reception: the wedding planner was putting out fires that the bride never knew about. The couple got to eat dinner & have the private dance they wanted. This was amazing!

The wedding that costs tens of thousands of dollars was actually stress free for the bride. They were able to enjoy it without hearing about who was late, what happened to the cake, or that there wasn’t time for this or that.

I went home that night with more energy than I ever had after a wedding and a new found love for wedding planners. When wedding planners do their job it allows other vendors to focus on theirs. As a photographer I am often keeping up with the schedule, helping with boutonnieres, & running errands. I am always happy to help where I am needed…but wouldn’t it be better for me to be focused on being behind the camera capturing it all?

Ahhh…the wedding planner. A breath of fresh air that is now at the top of my lists of things to recommend. They know the industry and how it works. They know how to plan to make your day flow. And I can tell you with complete confidence that the weddings I have photographed with a wedding planner are more fun for the bride and go smoother than the weddings that don’t have one. 100% of the time. Yes…100%.

So this Dallas wedding photographer used to think you should save some money on the wedding planner and use it to buy some wall art. But now, I say hire a wedding planner. A good one. And enjoy your wedding. The pictures will be better, the flowers will seem more beautiful, the cake will taste better, & the music will drop beats you never knew about.

Speaking of music…stay tuned for my next post about DJs

Cover Photo:
Julie at Forever Events and Weddings with DJ Rod Baker  and I enjoying working a wedding together.