Hire a planner you connect with. Hire a planner that will represent your style well, and ensure you feel a positive connection toward the planner. “You’ll be spending a lot of time with that planner over the course of a six-to-18-month period,” says Geneve McNally, a principal planner at DreamGroup Productions. “It helps if you respect their style and enjoy the look of their past work.”
Hire for the right reasons. Wondering what the ‘right’ reasons are? Ask yourself if you’re looking for expert advice, direction and assistance in cultivating a memorable and efficient wedding experience. “Hire a planner you trust so that you can hand over details like vendor research and behind the scenes work and allow yourself to enjoy the more fun aspects of planning the wedding,” she says.
Do your homework before you hire. The longer someone has been in the industry, the more experience they will have in being able to maximize your wedding vision, style, and budget. Obtain references from past brides and at least one reputable vendor and make sure, when comparing planners’ fees, that you’re comparing apples to apples.
Trust Your Planner. “A planner’s power in the industry comes from their relationships and connections,” McNally says. “This means that when working with a planner’s preferred vendor you can expect to receive an above-and beyond level of service, as these vendors want to maintain a positive relationship with the planner and do so by taking extra special care of their clients.”
Don’t Micromanage. Make your vision known to your planner through discussion and a sharing of ideas, and be honest with the planner about what you like and what you don’t. “Wedding planners are not mind readers,” McNally cautions. “The time to ‘get it right’ is in the present, not after the fact when it’s too late.”
DreamGroup Productions is an independent and well respected planning company that strives to maintain their goal of bringing stylish, well executed weddings to the Vancouver scene. DreamGroup planned Erin & Burke‘s soiree at The Terminal City Club.
