MIAMI VALLEY — Nearly 40 percent of engagements happen between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. December is the peak month for engagements. It’s exciting to plan your perfect day, but it can be stressful at times. Consider hiring a wedding planner to make your wedding day perfect.
Wedding planners can assist with a variety of things. They can help find vendors and navigate hard family dynamics, help with set-up and the timeline, as well as being an extra set of hands. Planners can relieve everyone’s stress. To help you navigate finding a trustworthy wedding planner, Better Business Bureau offers these tips:
• Set a budget. This will help determine if fitting in a wedding planner will work. Keep in mind planners usually charge in one of three ways: a flat fee, an hourly rate or a percentage of your overall wedding bill.
• Do your research. Look at the planner’s website and online reviews. Also, ask family and friends for recommendations about who they’ve used.
• Check out the planner on social media. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be a great way to find additional perspectives on the planner’s work.
• Set up interviews with potential candidates and ask questions, such as what’s your availability? How do you charge for services? Will you charge extra for mileage and supplies used for the wedding? What will your service cover? Do you have references or certifications? What background knowledge do you have regarding event planning? Do you work with a team? Will you go with me to my dress fittings?
• Prepare for your first meeting with the business. Bring pictures and examples of what you want and be sure to ask questions, such as awards received and memberships in professional organizations.
• Make sure personalities mesh. You have to be comfortable sharing your vision with them.
• Pay with a credit card, which will provide you with protection in case you need to dispute charges.
• Choose someone who has experience based on the kinds of weddings they’ve done, types of families they’ve handled and wedding venues they’ve decorated.
• Don’t fall for high-pressure sale tactics.
• Get everything in writing and understand the details before you sign. Make sure the dates of service are correct and the compensation is what was agreed upon with no hidden fees.
For more tips on hiring a wedding planner, visit https://www.bbb.org/all/wedding. Contact the BBB for lists of BBB Accredited wedding planners and Business Profiles on ones you may be considering. Visit BBB.org or call 937-222-5825 or 800-776-5301.
