What Does A Wedding Planner do?

The Initial Meet Up

This is when the Planner and the Client have a chat for the first time and determine the " Five Ws plus How" of an event:

• When - is the event
• What - kind of event is it
• Where - will it be held
• Who - will be attending
• Why - is it taking place
• How - much is the budget 

From these questions, the Planner will then get a rough idea and picture of how the Client would like the event/ wedding to be. What decor goes with the theme, how to secure a venue that can accomodate the number of guests and so on.

A scene from "Father of the Bride" 

And then...

She or He will proceed to source and secure the vendors or service providers such as event decorator/florist, photographer, sound & lighting, entertainment and the list goes on; all the time ensuring that the wedding budget is maintained. Budget is almost a god in a wedding/event planner's life. 

Scribbles during meeting to understand clients visions which then transformed into illustration and then transformed into reality by the decorator

With a pool of reliable service providers, quotations will be submitted to the client who will make the final decision on which vendor suits their budget and requirements. Once the client has selected the vendors, the Planner proceeds to keep track of all details and payments made by the client to the vendors. Special requests made by clients must be relayed to vendor asap and constantly updating the client & vendors alike to ensure everyone is on the same page...so to speak.

The list of things to do for a planner does not stop here... it is endless. Advice on design of the wedding invitation, choices of flowers to suit the style of the theme and what flowers are the bride's favourite or don't like, colours of linen available at the venue. There are times when we draw up a rough scale of the venue so that the client and family are able to understand the layout and how to ensure the guests will be seated comfortably. On the day of event, minor changes to the decor will definitely happen. This is because on paper and actual deliverables of the day are two different things. Insufficient plug-points for lighting, colour of flowers differs from what was ordered to name a few. 

To advise client where and what goes where for seating 

Top left photo by PDP, top Right and bottom photos by Shutterspeak

The biggest problem is the guest list... if the client would like to have assigned seats there will definitely be changes upon changes until the very last day before the event. Infact, this Planner has not once in her eight years of being a wedding planner, had a guest list that was completed and firm before the day of event. Even on the event day, there will be changes and the Planner needs to notify the registration ushers and maybe even the banquet team if the changes involves special dietary needs. 

So in PDP's service package, our wedding planning package comes with wedding day coordination which then leaves the client and family free to enjoy the celebration and be with their friends. Program will be created to suit the wedding entertainment, speeches, videos and sometimes organise a game or two for the guests.

In short, we are the middleperson between the bride and the vendors, ensuring their wedding day is hassle & stress-free, on-the-spot problem-solver, arbitrator (sometimes...) and ultimately making sure that it is one of the happiest day for the bride & groom ... and family too!