In these especially challenging times, planning your wedding can come with more than a few speed-humps, and you may feel you need a professional’s help, now more than ever.
There are lots of really awesome wedding pro’s in South Australia, and we all offer different types of assistance so it can be tricky figuring out who’s right for you.
When a potential client first contacts me I often spend quite a bit of time running through the options and one of the biggest distinctions that you need to figure out is what, exactly, the difference is between a Wedding Planner, a Wedding Stylist, and a Wedding Coordinator.
Read on for a breakdown of what each different wedding service can provide for you -
What Does a Wedding Planner Do?
Wedding planners are all about the logistics, from vendor referrals, and attending meetings, to day-of execution of your vision. Planners take the guesswork out of the process, making planning a wedding as seamless and smooth as possible. A planner will keep track of your budget and handle the logistics. Some planners also provide design or styling services, helping with the creative specifics of your wedding day, while others opt to leave those details to a wedding stylist - which means you'll need to hire two professionals to create the day you've dreamed of.
PRO TIP: When speaking with a Planner, be sure to discuss whether or not they also offer design services.
Wedding Planner Duties
* Puts in up to 250 hours on your project
* Provides personalised checklists
* Schedules and attends vendor meetings
* Creates detailed timelines and floor plans
* Helps determine and manage your budget
* Attends site tours
* Attends the rehearsal (and can manage it if necessary)
* Oversees everything on the wedding day (makes sure everyone adheres to the timeline, handles blunders, manages vendors, and executes your vision on-site).
Hire a Wedding Planner If...
* You have the budget for it
* You want the least possible amount of wedding-related stress
* You have no free time because of a demanding job
* You have no clue where to start when it comes to planning, and your organisational skills aren’t the greatest
* You have a very short time frame for planning
* You’re throwing a destination wedding and/or a wedding weekend involving multiple events
* You’re hosting your wedding in an unusual space (ie, not a hotel, restaurant, or function centre)
What Does a Wedding Stylist (aka Wedding Designer) Do?
A Wedding Stylist’s role is purely aesthetic and doesn't include things like budget management or creating the timeline. They specialise in design, consulting on everything from floor plans and lighting design, to the flowers, furniture, linens, and cake. They help with the decisions that will give your event a cohesive, and beautiful look. It's more than choosing linens and chairs, a designer has an artistic eye that allows them to conceptualise the whole event and truly transform a space.
Wedding Designer Duties -
* Puts in up to forty hours on your project
* Creates the wedding’s design concept
* Provides colour palette guidance
* Oversees the decor budget and vendors (including florist, rentals, lighting, stationery)
* Sources special props and equipment
* Attends a site visit to visualise where you want everything to go, devise a layout, and identify potential problems
* Creates floor plans
* Ensures all of the decor elements are in place on the wedding day
Hire a Wedding Stylist If...
* The decor is the most important element of the wedding for you
* You’re confident in your organisational and logistical skills, but your creative skills aren’t the best
* You’re trying to pull off a very specific theme, or you have a million wedding style ideas that you can’t narrow down
What Does Wedding Management Mean?
You may have noticed already that as well as wedding planning and styling, Sparrow also offers something called Wedding Management. It’s an absolute gem of a service and by far our most popular with couples.
You’re probably familiar with ‘Wedding Coordinator’ or ‘On-the-Day Coordinator’, and at Sparrow we've taken that role a bit further, expanded it, and created 'Wedding Management'.
Here’s how it works - You’re going to take care of planning your wedding, but we’re going to give you the professional resources to do it. We’re talking vendor recommendations, monthly checklists, and a budget plan. Then we're going to back it up with regular phone dates so you can ask us questions, get advice, and we can cheer you on. When you're three months out from your wedding day, we have a hand-over meeting, and Sparrow comes on-board as your full-service Wedding Planner, meeting face-to-face on the regular, and making sure everything you’ve done up to that point is in good shape. It’s a really good combo of ‘Planner’ and ‘Coordinator’.
Wedding Management Duties -
* Puts in up to fifty hours on your project
* Meets with you before the wedding to get a handle on what you’ve planned thus far
* Checks in with your vendors to confirm the logistics
* Creates timeline and floor plan
* Completes a final walk-through of the ceremony and reception sites
* Addresses any overlooked details
* Attends the rehearsal (and can manage it if necessary)
* Oversees everything on the wedding day (makes sure everyone adheres to the timeline, handles blunders, manages vendors, and executes your vision on-site).
Go for Wedding Management if...
* You want to play an active role in planning your wedding but would like someone else to take care of the last-minute details and make sure you haven’t missed anything.
* You’re extremely organised and detail-oriented, but you want to free up your family and friends to celebrate your wedding day, not do all the work
* You don’t have the budget for a full-service wedding planner
A Few Key Things To Keep In Mind
Book Ahead of Time - Whether you're hiring a wedding planner or a stylist it's best to secure them as soon as you know your wedding date - even if they aren't getting involved until the month before. This tactic also can help you get the most for your money. For example, if a couple books early, I’m happy to provide them with our list of vendor recommendations.
Vet Your Pro’s - There's no certification required to practice wedding planning so do your homework before hiring anyone. As with all the vendors you might hire, read reviews, ask all the questions you need, and ask for referrals from other couples.
If You're Going Without a Professional, Still Put Someone in Charge of Day-Of Tasks - Someone - not you - needs to make sure the wedding day itself runs smoothly and that everything you’ve planned is executed properly. But what if a professional wedding planner is not in your budget? While most venue coordinators are happy to handle basic on-site logistics and simple setups, like arranging place cards on a table or placing menus on each plate, keep in mind that their first duty ultimately is to their venue, not you (meaning they're making sure the food is served on time, not that the DJ is playing the right songs or that there are enough pens for the guest book).
The best option in this case is to ask a responsible, trusted friend to handle a few important tasks, and then to thank that person with a gift card to a store they love. But you have to be really understanding that this is not the person's profession - don't expect everything to be perfect, and remember not to ask so much of them that they can’t enjoy being your guest.
If you’d like to learn more about how Sparrow can make your wedding day picture-perfect, jump over to our Services pages and fill out an inquiry form. I can’t wait to meet you! Emma xo