WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER?

One main question we get when new clients call us is when is the best time to engage a planner. Many people don’t realise that you can actually bring in a wedding planner at any point in your wedding planning journey and that’s why we offer three broad packages to work with clients based on individual needs. Our packages are broken down as full wedding planning, partial wedding planning and on the day wedding coordination.

But what is the BEST time to bring someone on?

Well, ideally, your wedding planner will be on board from the beginning of planning your wedding. And I’ll tell you a few reasons why.

so you don’t blow the budget

We help you scope your budget from the start and ensure you don’t book anything that’s going to throw out that budget.

We understand market rates and we know based on your total budget and your priorities how much you can afford to spend in each area of the wedding. If you spend 75% of your budget on the venue, or 25% of the budget on the photographer generally you’re in big trouble as when you add everything else together it racks up quickly.

When you work with a wedding planner the first step is to flesh out a wedding budget and allocate mini budgets to work against for each area. If you choose to spend more you’re at least making an informed decision that won't lead to a panic months down the line.

so you don’t pick the wrong venue

Excited couples select venues and don’t think about the logistics. We totally get this as most couples have never planned a wedding or large event before and so don’t really know the complexities of working with venues. Whether it’s a blank canvas warehouse, a surf club or a cute venue in the middle of nowhere we do have clients who buy into venues that need a lot of DIY or have limitations on what they can provide on site. But we’re always happy to help!

A word of warning. DIY = Way more time, and often more money than a package venue. When your wedding planner sources the venue for your wedding we use our expertise to advise on the implications of a venue. Even popular package ‘wedding venues’ have limitations on things like bump in and out times, menu changes or just elements you have to provide for yourselves that people don’t realise.

As experienced wedding and event professionals we always know up front what we’re dealing with rather than any surprises down the road and we’re able to negotiate at the signing phase if there are certain things that you want contractually. This could be early access to ensure you get those overhead installations done in time or BYO wine because you want to serve something really special. It’s always better to be aware at the start then a few months before your wedding day.

so you don’t hire the wrong suppliers

This is pretty simple but we have a huge network of trusted suppliers and it’s always tough when client’s come to us having already booked suppliers that don’t really match their vision (even if they’re great / reputable etc.) Another common mistake is when clients hire too many suppliers where you could have had a different supplier that covered two parts of the day.

The industry is full of amazing creatives so let us find you the ones that are right for you.

OK this is great, but we’ve missed the boat on full planning. We have our venue and a few other bits booked. Can I still bring in a planner?

ABSOLUTELY! With Samantha Burke Events you can bring us in as your wedding planner at any point. Our partial wedding planning services are really bespoke and we work with you to understand what you’ve done so far and what else needs managing. Essentially we work out where you are in the process and put in place plans to to hand everything over. We work with about 50% of our clients in this way and it works really well. Fret not!

But I’ve already planned everything, I just need someone to help in this final month and on the day.

Not a problem. On the day coordination is a perfect package for you. From one month out we’ll pick up on creating your run sheet, communicating and coordinating all your suppliers, reconfirming all the bookings and then we’ll be there on the day to oversee it all. Allowing you to relax and know that a wedding industry professional with years of experience is going to be there to make sure everything goes to plan.