Choosing California, the Golden State, as the place to hold your wedding was your first terrific choice, but now your second choice is who is the best person to plan your California wedding? You may think the best person is yourself, but beware the pre-wedding stress that planning your special occasion may bring. This is why hiring a wedding planner, even for coordinating just a few services on your wedding day, will save you not only a lot of worry and time, it will allow someone else to shoulder the wedding day responsibilities so that you can enjoy your special day.
Selecting a Wedding Planner in California
Like most wedding services, location is key to finding your wedding planner. The further a wedding vendor has to travel to perform their services, the more you will pay for their fuel and time. Therefore, search first for
wedding planners in your local California region that have a long-term relationship with many local and specialty vendors. This will ensure that your wedding planner's costs stay low and so do the costs of the services you choose.
There are many things you can do to check a wedding planner's reputation, such as evaluate their website, their shop, their phone etiquette, their references, their level of organization, their
certifications and
association memberships , and of course, references from friends and family members. Also, ask yourself if you'd like to have a
single person with their own company plan your wedding, or if you'd feel better trusting a large company or group. Though it may seem as if a large company would have more resources than an individual, a single person that is highly capable should be able to not only organize your entire wedding, but will also bring you the kind of personal touch and one-on-one relationship that is key to seeing your personality shine through at your wedding.
Budgeting for a Wedding Planner in California
You probably already have at least a vague idea of what your wedding budget is and what portion of that you want to spend on planning services. A good wedding planner will openly talk about pricing, budgeting, cutting corners, and will be able to adjust to a small or large budget. One of the first questions you can ask your potential wedding planner is whether they give complimentary consultations and whether you and your groom must use all of the planner's services. If you already have a family member that owns a flower shop and wants to donate flowers to your wedding, will your planner refuse to work with them or will they happily coordinate colors with the flower shop? Does the planner have a cookie-cutter process when servicing their clients or can they customize their wedding planning strategy to your needs (and at what cost)? Ask how they calculate their fees and then consider what percentage of your total budget will be paid to the wedding planner. Your services from them should not only include the personalization of your wedding day and the use of top local vendors at the cheapest prices, but also the number of times you'll meet with the planner and the ease of contact you'll have with them. The wedding planner should be upfront about number of extra visits, phone calls, emails, and hours of availability.
Planning with California Flavor
A wedding planner that is familiar with the great state of California will have scores of ideas about how to incorporate the flavor of your local region into your wedding day. Take, for instance, the colors of California's vast landscapes: you can shine with yellow tones on a sunny Southern California day, or blush burgundy red to match the merlot you serve in wine country. Check into
Yosemite in the spring for a steep wonderland of waterfalls and green meadows, or let the Golden Gate bridge grace the background of your wedding with its majestic features and vivid orange hues. Your wedding planner should have lots of past experience with a multitude of local venues for you to choose from or they should be able to build your wedding around your chosen location.
