How to choose the right destination wedding planner for your big day
- Research wedding planners and contact them before hiring
- Shortlist wedding planners who can work with your vision
- Find a planner whose strengths and skills match your needs
- Use a loan against property to finance the D-day
Planning a wedding can be an overwhelming task which, when undertaken alone, may leave you feeling exhausted as the D-day approaches. Moreover, planning a destination wedding involves a huge amount of research and often requires someone to do the groundwork for you. Hence, to host a splendid celebration it is fitting that you hire the services of a reliable destination wedding planner. While many resorts and venues may suggest options for wedding planners, finding a destination wedding planner that is compatible with your sensibilities is not an easy feat.
To help you pick the right destination wedding planner, here are 5 tips you can make use of.
Do your homework and connect with wedding planners before you hire
Couples normally plan weddings down to the last detail and as you prepare to host a wedding at a new destination, be it domestic or overseas, you should extend the same amount of care to picking a wedding planner. After all, the competence of the wedding planner you have on board dictates, to a large extent, how the day will play out. Today, thanks to the internet, you can conduct your own research and view social media profiles to get a taste of what you can expect from a particular destination wedding planner. Photos and videos of weddings managed alongside client testimonials will help you shortlist a few well-suited and worthy planners.
You can also ask your recently-married friends and colleagues for wedding planner referrals but once you’ve roughly gauged a planner’s capabilities it’s important to establish contact. While it’s ideal that you meet your planner in person, a video call may also suffice to know first-hand whether the destination wedding planner you’re considering understands your needs and has the means to execute them.
Ensure that the destination wedding planner understands your vision
As you zero in on a wedding planner, it’s crucial that you communicate to the professionals you wish to hire how you envision your wedding to be. You should get to the details and explain every ceremony and function involved and how you want them to be executed. Also, establish clearly what are your must-haves and what are the elements you can compromise on.
By getting to the nitty-gritties, you give the destination wedding planner a blueprint to work with and this ensures that both you and the planner are working towards the wedding of your dreams single-mindedly. If you sense that the two of you don’t share the same vision, it’s best to part ways before sealing the deal.
Understand what the wedding planner can provide you with
A wedding planner is only as good as the services he/she is able to provide. The best wedding planners’ partner with reputed vendors and have a seamless system of logistics in place. Moreover, there are different skillsets like negotiation and accountability that a wedding planner must have. For instance, if you go in for a destination wedding planner who places much value on opulence but lacks the skills to negotiate, you may get a specially-tailored bridal dress and tasteful bridal makeup packages but at a rate that doesn’t fit your budget.
Verify that the wedding planner can work in your budget
It’s vital that you clearly spell out your budget at the very start, so that neither you nor your wedding planner are surprised at the final results and the cost of your wedding. A good wedding planner is one that can blend your vision with the cost of services at the location you’ve chosen. Hence, before you partner with a destination wedding planner, draw up an estimate of the total cost of the wedding, including the planner’s fee. Then shortlist finance options such as a destination wedding loan against property to secure a corpus and find out whether your planner can work with the budget proposed.
Find a planner that can give you the time and effort you require
It’s key that you hire a wedding planner that does not have too many engagements or clients to deal with in the days approaching your wedding. Celebrations at a destination wedding involve many contingencies and you may need to make multiple decisions at the 11th hour. This may take the form of arranging for a change in bridal makeup packages or transporting guests to the venue after a delayed flight. So, it is advisable that you have on board a planner who is free to fill in the gaps when required.
Use the tips mentioned above to zero in on the right destination wedding planner and once you draw up the day’s expenses, avail solutions like a destination wedding loan against property to make the wedding of your dreams a reality.