Do you think you can control your marriage expenses and stay within budget if you plan your wedding by yourself? Katie and I got married on a shoestring budget over 10 years ago. While we weren’t in school at the time, balancing life while planning a wedding can be challenging to say the least. We recall having to write checks to vendors the next morning with money we were gifted at our wedding. While we had the help of our family, much of the responsibility was on us. If we could go back and do it all again and plan our dream wedding, without a doubt, we would hire a wedding planner.

Over the years we have worked with some of the most talented wedding planners and event stylists right here in Wisconsin.

• Sash & Bow Event Planning – Green Bay 
• Et Voila – Events – Stevens Point
• Kase Styles – Wausau 
• Green Bee Floral & Design – Medford 

As photographers, we know that a wedding day well planned will allow us to do our best work and deliver the highest quality images possible. Time is the most valuable resource on a wedding day and planners not only make the day look incredible but help you be able to relax and just enjoy the day as it unfolds, knowing that someone totally has your back. Mom’s are great, but we want them to enjoy the day too!

A professional wedding planner can help take a huge weight off you and your partner and also help you save money.
Here are 4 ways a wedding planner can help you save money:

#1. Negotiation Skills
Wedding planners have been in the business for a while. Through experience, they know the best of vendors and have the necessary skills to negotiate with them. When you hire them, they will use their network and negotiation skills to get what you want at a price you could’ve only dreamt of.

Planners have built relationships that allow them to couple services and save you money. For instance, we work with planners to deliver both wedding video & Photography services. They often will help with contact, contracts, and invoices to ensure you’re well taken care of. They also work with florists to ensure your vision comes to life. Special thanks to Green Bee Floral and Design for allowing us to capture her creations and designs during this styled shoot. Check out the wedding video! 

#2. Realistic Budget Planning
You may have meticulously planned your wedding budget, but is it realistic? Have you prioritized the items and allocated funds accordingly? A good wedding planner by your side scrutinizes the budget and advises you on:

• What you should be spending?
• What you should be cost-cutting?
• What you can do without?

Thus, helping you make the most out of your budget. Full Coordinator services we believe are the way to go. From scheduling to conceptualization, design, logistics, and more having someone’s feedback and professionalism every step of the way is a must if it can fit in your budget. Ask planners for examples of ways they helped save couples money in the past.

#3. Less Time off from Work
Hiring a wedding planner means you don’t have to take time off from work to plan your wedding. This also means that you’ll have no or less unpaid leave and more holidays to spend on your honeymoon. While many of our couples are either finishing up graduate school or working full-time, most are living outside of the area in which their wedding is taking place. This can really be tricky in planning vendor consults etc. Giving full creative freedom to your wedding planner will streamline your communication with just one individual instead of having to juggle conversations with dozens of individuals and businesses. In the past, we suggested task management software like ASANA and using a brand new email address set up for after your wedding. Similarly, a separate checking account that is linked to both parties personal checking. This can then become your joint checking account after your wedding. We use MINT to help us track our personal expenses.

#4. Cost You Less on the Emotional Front
Planning a wedding is a full-time gig. Comparing the prices and services, searching for a perfect venue, interviewing the vendors, making a to-do list, etc. take up most of your time. Everyone is different, we get it, but if you’re like us, you like simple and stress-free. No wedding is without a few stressors, but mitigating as much of it as possible should be one’s goal from the very beginning. How can you have one heck of a party that doesn’t lose all of its allure before the big day arrives? We’re a big fan of short engagements, so if you’re engaged and thinking of having a wedding two years from now, reconsider. Move things up! At the end of the day, what matters is that you marry your soulmate and of course you have beautiful photos and video to help remind you for decades to come!

A wedding planner frees you up from all your wedding planning responsibilities, thus leaving you less worried and stressed.
Although a wedding budget and your wedding planner will help you save money, they cannot guarantee the last-minute costs that may crop up during the final days leading up to the wedding. So, the best thing to do is keep an emergency fund ready to accommodate these last-minute surprises.