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25 May, 2017
Do I really need a wedding planner?
This month, I attended the only event of its kind in the world – Destination Wedding Planners Congress (DWP Congress) – a Congress that brings together high-end destination wedding planners under one roof to meet with a lavish spread of organisations who push the boundaries of industry excellence.
At this Congress we exchanged ideas, thoughts and struggles. Little did I know that I wasn’t the only one experiencing these feelings and concerns in my business. I am writing this article because I feel that it is important for Maltese couples to learn to distinguish the difference between a wedding organiser, a professional wedding planner, a destination wedding planner and a newbie in this sector.
I receive a lot of queries from couples, asking me if I deliver the service of wedding coordination during the big day. The answer is, I do, but only to those clients who choose to embark on this journey with my services and expertise, meaning that if I am with you all along your journey right until the big day, I will be with you on the big day as well!
On the other hand, I refuse to do coordination solely on the big day. The reason being that I am passionate about my profession; it pains me when I see things that are not up to standard. I prefer to lose money over staining my reputation.
So, what differentiates one wedding planner from another? Do you really need one? I would say that in Malta, we can categorise them into four types. Here goes –
Newbies
As a client, before paying any deposit or signing any contract, you should look for the history and reviews of the wedding planner you are dealing with. Some people are opening their wedding planning business without any knowledge or experience. There is nothing wrong about that, however, I suggest to these people to start off by offering their service for free to a friend’s wedding or two.
If you always dreamt to become a wedding planner, this is the best way to start. Through these experiences, you will learn some of the nooks and the crooks of planning weddings. It also helps you to start building a portfolio prior launching your business to the market. There are many issues a wedding planner will have to face. Not every good idea applies to every wedding. You need to be sure that your ideas are doable, manageable and successful.
There are also courses one can take to become a wedding planner.
Wedding Organisers
If you have the time at your disposal, and you see that you do need help just on the day, a wedding organiser on the big day is all you need.
Wedding organiser is another term for a wedding planner, but in Malta it seems that a wedding organiser is someone who offers his/her services solely on the day, and basically do the work that our parents used to delegate to one of their relatives and ‘baptise’ him as the best man, a decade ago! These type of wedding organisers mostly accept every client that comes along, even taking on board more than one wedding on the same day. This means that on the big day, you might have another person in charge, instead of the wedding organiser you have been dealing with.
Professional Wedding Planners
If you do not have time to go to every wedding’s fair or scout around the island to find the best service or price; if you do not have any idea where to start from; if you want a stress-free journey (even on your big day) then you need a professional wedding planner.
Services offered may vary from one wedding planner to another. Wedding planners are there to help you plan your wedding. One can opt for fully or partially wedding planning services. A wedding planner is there to help you manifest your dream wedding, proposes ideas and helps you find the best suppliers currently available in the market. Not every wedding planner offers the same services. For example, on top of professional wedding planning services, I also offer design of the decorations, setup and cake.
I follow closely these wedding discussion pages on social media platforms wherein couples ask a lot of questions to those who got married before them. Their replies will be genuine – I mean, think about it, if my videographer did a good job on my wedding, I am going to suggest him to others. However, not every videographer offers the same service and style of shooting. In a nutshell, what was good for me is not necessarily good for someone else. We all have different tastes and penchants, so if you want to avoid all this stress, a professional wedding planner is really what you need.
In the introduction, I also mentioned destination wedding planners. This might sound relatively new to some of you. So, I will elaborate more on this type of service in my next blog. Stay Tuned!