Must-Ask Questions For Wedding Planners
Updated: Nov 1, 2020
We know that not all soonly-weds are aware of the challenges and obstacles their wedding planning journey will bring. In contrast to popular belief that wedding planners are an additional cost, it is actually recommended that engaged couples hire a wedding planner to save them from unnecessary expenses. Here are our must-ask questions to help you find the perfect wedding planner that could turn your dream wedding into a reality!
These questions are tailored to understand your planner’s role and fit your wedding planner with a grasp of what's important to you and your partner.
1. Are you available on my wedding date?
This is important because if your potential planners say that they are not available on your date, that’s when you know that they are not the ones for you. Of course, you don’t want to waste their or your time having negotiations when they are actually not free on your prospective wedding date. But if you don’t have a specific wedding day yet and you’re willing to wait for a specific planner, then you may consider hiring them.
2. What sorts of services do you offer?
It is essential to know because this allows you to understand how your wedding planner will help you fully. At BTLife Events, we offer three different wedding planning services: Full Planning, Partial Planning/Month-of Coordination, and Ala Carte Planning/Day-of Coordination.
3. Do you handle professional services, contracts, and payment processing?
This gives you a hint on how your process will look like when you are looking for other vendors. Not all planners do this; it depends on what kind of planners you have and the type of services you have contracted to.
4. Can you walk us through the process of selecting other vendors and how we would be involved?
Each wedding planner has its own unique approach to this. Whether your planner has their preferred list of vendors they had already worked with, don’t stress yourself about this. Ask to be informed on how you will be working together.
5. How many meetings do you offer? How often can we contact you?
Depending on the plan that you guys go with, this will vary greatly. But for full planning services, some planners offer monthly or bi-weekly meetings. And also, don’t forget to ask your planners about the nature of the sessions. Some may prefer face-to-face meetings, but others may be too busy for this.
6. How involved will we be in the planning process?
Take note that no couples are the same, just like no planners are precisely the same. This depends on whether you would want to be included in every single decision or if you’re the couple that literally wants to just stand up on the altar on the day of your wedding.
7. Are you the coordinator who will be working on our event?
This mostly applies if you are working on a large wedding planning team because some planners have multiple day-of coordinators and assistants underneath them. So if you are interviewing someone from a large planning firm, ask if he/she will be your coordinator on your big day. In that sense, if he/she said no, you would not be surprised if his/her assistant suddenly appears at your wedding and claims to be your day-of coordinator.
8. How many people on your staff will be at the wedding?
This is important to know in logistics, vendors count, and vendor meals, affecting your budget. Asking this question to your planner will give you an idea of how many people you can expect on-site and how many chairs you need. And of course, if it is someone who will stay on-site for 4-6 hours, then you have to provide them vendor meals.
9. How many day-of hours are included in your service?
Remember, not all planners show up on the day-of. Your specific planner maybe someone that only works behind the scenes and not a full-time day-of coordinator. But if your planner is your day-of coordinator, ask them about the hours they will render on your wedding day. In that case, if your planner only offers 6 hours of day-of coordination, then you have to be selective about what hours you would like them to be there for you.
10. What happens if you’re sick or otherwise unable to be there on the day of our wedding?
This is significantly important to ask because you never know, and even if you plan for the unexpected, there is so much that you can plan for. So if your planner is sick on your wedding day, ask them how the process will work. Do they have somebody else that they contact to show up and take their place without missing a beat? Or will it be a backup planner from someone on their team? Ask how the process and procedure will look like. Prepare for a backup plan and a backup plan for your backup plan.
11. How do payments work? (Percentage of the budget or flat fee?)
Don’t forget to ask your planner about how the payment works. Is it a percentage of your budget or a flat fee? Are there additional charges? These questions need to be clarified before you book your planner, so you won’t get shocked by their pricing when it’s time to deal with the payments.
12. Are there travel fees associated with our location?
This comes down if you’re planning to have a destination celebration and events that require more than one day. Whether your planner plans to stay on-site rather than going to the site, come back home, then go back to the site, this must be discussed. Don’t be shy to ask all these sorts of things that require a lot of logistics transportation moving around.
13. How much are additional hours?
This question is a must to ask if you are dealing with a planner with an hourly rate. If you’re not comfortable with the per hour additional fee, it must be clarified from the start.
Other Questions:
How long have you been in business?
Do you have a business license?
Are you a certified wedding planner?
Is wedding planning your full-time job?
Are weddings the main events that you plan?
How many weddings have you planned?
How many weddings do you plan in a year?
What is the average size of the wedding you usually plan?
How many weddings have you planned similar to ours?
Do you have a team? What are your team members’ qualifications?
Will you plan the rehearsal dinner and post-wedding brunch?
What is your backup plan for inclement weather or illness of their team?
Have you planned any weddings at our venue?
Will you be present at all vendor meetings?
Do you handle contracts with our vendors?
Do you have preferred vendors?
Are you able to get discounts from certain vendors?
If there are difficulties with vendors, do you handle them?
Do you have insurance coverage?
What time will you arrive for the festivities and leave?
Do you have photographs to show other weddings you have planned?
Can we come back and see you set up for another wedding you are coordinating?
How do you handle the pressure?
What challenges have you faced with weddings in the past, and how did you deal with them?
Will you create a timeline?
How do you communicate the schedule to everyone involved?
What will you wear at our rehearsal, ceremony, and/or reception?
Can you provide references?
What is the total cost, and what is required for a deposit?
Do you offer payment plans?
What type of payment do you take – cash, check, credit card?
What is your cancellation policy?