Planning a Wedding - Choosing your Wedding Planner and Gifts

Not so long ago Weddings used to be small and intimate affairs which and was arranged and planned by the blushing bride and their mothers.  Weddings can take a year to plan to ensure that once in a lifetime opportunity is a happy occasion.

 Most of their jobs consisted of calling the local florist who made very traditional arrangements and flowers for the wedding party, talking to the local minister, and choosing and writing invitations. Of course, they also have the joys and excitement l of finding a wedding dress and the dresses for the bridesmaids. There were other small details but nothing a determined mother-of-the-bride couldn’t handle. The reception was literally a piece of cake. The local bakery provided the cake and the church ladies added punch. Don’t faint but most brides used paper products so there would be no mess to clean up. The wedding and reception lasted around two hours and then it was off to the honeymoon. That was then; however, like everything else times have changed and this is now.

 Today arranging a wedding has changed and not for the fainthearted. When weddings became extravaganzas, brides and their mothers began looking for help. They began to hire wedding planners. The indispensable wedding planner becomes a part of the family for the duration of the engagement period. For the sake of argument, we will make our wedding planners female even though there are many men who are suer wedding planners. Think of the wedding planner as a person who has to be all things to all people. She wears so many hats that she would have to have ten heads to park them all.

First the wedding planner needs to meet with the bride and her mother or even the fiancé if he is interested. Sometimes and bride and her fiancé plan the wedding alone especially if the couple is older. This first meeting is very important because the bride and her wedding planner must be a good fit. The first meeting is almost like a courting ritual because the wedding planner must exemplify faith and friendship to the bride as she will be helping to plan the most important day in the bride’s life. If the ‘date’ works out for all parties, then a contract will be signed. The wedding planner should list all of her duties and, of course, they must agree on a commission for the planner. On second thought maybe Dad or whoever is paying should also be present. Generally, a deposit is expected after all aspects of the wedding are decided upon.

After the deal is struck, the planning begins. Most brides have already done a bit of planning. Some brides already have a wish book to show her wedding planner. Together they need to decide on a theme. Yes, you have to have a theme to have a wedding. All of the planning revolves around the theme and, even more importantly, the budget. They also must come up with a color scheme, table decorations, reception arrangements, a wedding hall, church decorations, outfits for the wedding party, caterers, and a thousand other details. The list goes on and on.

The wedding planner’s main job is to take care of all the details of the from the large complex tasks such as arranging the guest lists, the church, the wedding cake  etc  right down to the little things that make all the difference on the big day. One of the main jobs is to keep  bride from being stressed and makes every wedding perfect. You could say that she is  seen as a  fairy godmother for every princess bride.

Although planning a wedding is a s stressful job, one wedding planner said that "she gets to spend her whole life planning the happiest day of a couple’s life". What could be better than that?