When planning their big day, couples can quickly become overwhelmed with details. From theme to location to vendors to attire, it can feel like the decisions to be made are endless. Fortunately, professionals are here to help! Ryan Gray of Shades of Gray Photography offers his thoughts on enlisting a professional to help bring a couple’s vision to life.
The first step is deciding what kind of professional best fits a couple’s needs. Some may choose to hire a wedding planner, while others may go with a month-of coordinator or even a day-of coordinator. The key differences between a planner and a coordinator are the scope of the work and the timeline for services. A planner is involved in the process from the beginning, assisting with budget management, selection and contracts for both venues and vendors, arrangements for guests, and more.
Couples hiring a coordinator will handle these tasks on their own; the coordinator then helps execute their plans. Coordinators will communicate with vendors, ensure that wedding festivities run on schedule, and manage unexpected issues on the day of the wedding. Because they are involved for a shorter time and the scope of their work is narrower, a coordinator’s services will almost assuredly cost less than a planner’s.
Once a couple has chosen either a planner or a coordinator, Gray tells them to lean into the wealth of expertise a professional brings to the table. This is particularly important if a couple envisions a theme for their wedding; “I typically would not recommend going forward with a theme unless you have a wedding planner, month-of coordinator, or have a good friend assisting!” says Gray.
The professional can offer invaluable practical advice on how to implement a couple’s theme while taking into account the venue’s environment (rural, urban, indoor, outdoor, etc…). In addition to this practical knowledge, hiring a professional is “also great for creativity and creating a vision board with someone else to develop the best outcome for you,” Gray notes.
A key element on this vision board will be the wedding attire, another area in which the advice of an expert is immensely helpful. A wedding planner can recommend attire that complements both the venue and theme. A planner will also most likely have a list of trusted stylists and other vendors, ensuring that the couple’s vision is in good hands every step of the way.
Knowing they’re in good hands helps a couple relax and enjoy their wedding. This is, perhaps, the most important reason to hire a professional: “It will assist you with solving critical items on your wedding day that you otherwise thought you might be able to accomplish on your own,” advises Gray. “You may end up stressing too much or overwhelming yourself on the actual day.” The couple has already made one of the most important decisions of a lifetime–deciding to build a future together. A professional’s help allows them to be fully present when celebrating their choice to choose one another.
Photos Courtesy of Ryan Gray, Shades of Gray Photography
