Dear Brides and Grooms,
Happy Thanksgiving Week! I am so thankful for so many things this year, especially the blessing I have to do what I love for a living. One of the biggest reasons that I became a wedding consultant was to help couples plan and enjoy weddings that don't break the bank! While funds are tight for most of us right now, here are 10 top cost saving ways to utilize a wedding consultant during your wedding planning. I do think that all couples need to hire a consultant for at least wrapping things up and executing the big day, but here are some other small ways to use us that can save you tons!!!
#1 - Don't Break The Bank!
As a wedding consultant and event designer for the past 10 years, it's part of my job to know what things cost for your wedding based on your wedding date, time, location, and ingredients. All consultants can be hired per hour to help you create a REALISTIC budget for your wedding so that you don't break the bank. Many of my couples ask me how to get discounts, or save money on their wedding, and I always tell them "know your budget, tell the vendors exactly what you have to spend, and stick to it, a creative and caring vendor who can help you will do everything they can realistically to make sure they fit your needs and win your booking".
#2 - The Search Is Over!
I spend everyday networking for my clients so that I know the newest and best wedding vendors to fit all budgets and needs. You can hire a wedding consultant to give you a custom list of recommended wedding vendors that fit your personality, lifestyle and budget needs so that you don't have to worry about wasting your time looking in all of the wrong places.
#3 - Location, Location, Location!
As a wedding consultant a large part of my job includes touring new wedding locations so that I know the best places to refer my clients based on their needs and budget. Wedding consultants can be hired to bring you on tours of wedding locations that suit your needs so that you can find the perfect location to wed in!
#4 - Accessorize!
Most wedding consultants carry lines of retail items such as ring bearer pillows, flower girl baskets, unity candles and holders, gifts for your wedding party, favors, and so much more. If you hire a wedding consultant who carries these items they often offer a discount to their clients on these items that makes them more affordable than if you were to get them elsewhere.
#5 - Get What You See In The Magazines!
You can ask a consultant to help you find resources you see in the magazines such as specialty linens, table top items, specialty rentals, etc... As professionals we have access to everything you have seen in the magazines and beyond. The best part about it is that they will do the search for free or little per hour rate, and then simply charge you for the product and shipping or delivery charges.
#6 - Try Before You Buy
Thinking about having an at home wedding? Or not too sure about the location you've chossen for your big day? You can hire a wedding consultant to come out and evaluate the location for you, giving you an idea of what elements you would need to make it work, and a rough idea of what it would mean for your wedding budget. It's smart to do research first before moving foward on a big investment like a wedding.
#7 - DIY With Help!
If you are undergoing a major DIY wedding, you can hire a wedding consultant by the hour to help go over your nuptial plans. We can review your budget, help suggest vendors for your needs, help you outline your rental shopping list, send you to resources for wholesale items for DIY projects, give you reality checks on your timeline, site layouts, and any other advice you may need.
#8 - Design Kick Start!
Not all wedding consultants design as well, but you can hire one who does to help kick start your design idea. Wedding designers can be hired to create a one of a kind design board and resource list for your special day that outlines suggested color palletes, linen and table top choices, cake design, lighting design, favor choices, etc...
#9 - No Sweat!
Don't feel like you need a wedding consultant to coordinate the wedding day for you? If you are having an ultra simple wedding such as an elegant dinner party with few or no traditions, this may be true, but all couples, their families, and friends deserve to not work on the wedding day! Did you know you can hire most wedding consultants and their staff to execute just the set up for your event? This allows you piece of mind that when you arrive to your ceremony and or reception site it will look just as you planned with out any sweat off your back=)
#10 - We Love Company!
Many couples call on wedding consultants to help them find some of the most important wedding vendors to them. I always ask couples to tell me what their top 3 most important things are about their wedding. The answer is always different. Sometimes a couple tells me for example that the music, food, and entertainment are the three most important things for them. You can hire a wedding consultant to not only recommend wedding vendors to you for these three items, but you can also hire a consultant to procure them for you, which means they will contact them on your behalf first to make sure that they fit your wedding date, time, location, needs, and budget, then set up your first meeting with that vendor, attend the meeting with you to help you ask the right questions, and then review the proposal from the vendor before you move into contract.
No matter if you decide to utilize the knowledge and talents of a wedding consultant and designer or not for basic day of services, you now know a lot of other ways you can use a consultant to save money, time, and stress when planning your wedding.
It doesn't matter what kind of service you are planning on hiring a consultant for, they all offer complimentary one hour initial consultations to learn more about your wedding planning needs and help you choose what you'd like help with from them.
Best wishes planning your special day! We look forward to the possibility of getting to help you plan the perfect day!
Love,
Nicole and Team
