what would be the most important issues to you when employing a planner?

[sweet summer]

Hi everyone!

i was wondering what you consider to be the most important factors to you if you were going to employ a wedding planner?

I'm training to be a wedding planner and would really appreciate anyone's views on this

[breezy]

personality. I would want someone organized and detialed, but that realized my vision and dream for the day. Not just implimented their own vision.

[sweet summer]

Thank you very much for your input, i'm finding that most people want to have the details taken care of but still be in control of making all the decisions for themselves

[DragonYoga]

That is very true. A good way to be a successful wedding planner is to look at the weddings you're planning from THEIR point of view - and think of it this way: Would *you* want someone else taking over the plans and making it their dream wedding, not yours?

If you can keep these at the forefront of your work and your mind, I think you'll find yourself with too many weddings to plan!

[MarthaA562]

Creativity.... Being able to make someone else's dream come true regardless of whether it is your own. I had some planner try to tell me how I should decorate my place (Everyone else has it decorated that way!!!) and I just walked away. You have to be able to make everyone's dream come true... even the eccentric. I am a rule breaker (rebel by nature) and when she told me that, I wanted to just go off... but I kept my cool. So definetley creativity and also the ability to make a $5000 wedding look like a $100000 wedding!!!

[AngelRoseFyre]

Openess: Be prepared to plan weddings that are WAY different from what you picture a wedding as; you may need to learn different wedding traditions from different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, countries, and religions.

Also be prepared to deal with a few off the wall themes.

[sweet summer]

thank you for the additional input today!
I'm getting the general feeling that people want what they want and not what anyone thinks they should have.
I think my future clients are in luck here, my ideal wedding would go like this..

me and my wonderful man would go somewhere very warm and beautiful (ideally hawaii) to get married. it would be private and intimate, and i would only tell my family once i'd done it. then, I would throw a surprise reception upon our return.

therefore, i believe that i will be impartial to the choices of my clients wedding ideas, because none of them would be what i would personally choose.

also, part of the course I'm studying does include a history of traditions from all over the world and i really like that. I also have an iranian muslim friend who is more than happy to share her traditions with me, i think it's important to have wide knowledge and be versatile to client needs.

[sweet summer]

p.s.
i love these forums!! they're so great to read

[maroki13]

Welcome to pash!

I agree with what the other ladies have said.....I HATE being told what to do and how things "should" be, but I would love to work with someone who not only could visualize my dream wedding but got behind it 100% and even brainstormed with me.

I also would want someone extremely organized and who took initiative. I wouldn't want to constantly be contacting my planner to see if they had contacted this vendor or that....I would rather hear reports from them in a timely fashion. Someone who is organized, will have all my information in one place and will remember details about my wedding and plans....that makes it feel very personalized. I wouldn't want a planner who had to ask "What kind of a theme are we going for again?" every time we talked.

Finally, I would want someone with resources who had done research. Many people hire wedding planners because they don't have enough time themselves to plan their wedding, so it would be ideal to tell you my specifications for a reception site (price, location, # of guests, etc.) and for you to give me a 'short list' of sites that fit all the criteria. That way I still have a say, have options, but don't waste time researching options that were never viable anyway.

[sweet summer]

^ thank you too.
that's the kind of planner i really want to be. joining forums and researching is so much fun, i'm already finding out so much and surprise myself what i can tell people about certain venues already!

[m_t_rose]

I also think it is important to get things done quickly. I hate when I am trying to get something done and you have to wait days to hear back.

[lawanda_jovon_2/08]

I would think the most important 2 part would be communication and availability.

I recently had to fire a planner because I felt as if she didn't have time for me. Ok my wedding is a year and a half away but I'm paying for it
attempted to give her enough time to get her affairs in order but still couldn't hold up to it. AND I'M PAYING HER!!!

Also make sure they know its your wedding, some will try to force their ideas on you.

[syringa]

As a wedding planner, in addition to the things mentioned, you need to be able to solve problems quickly and creatively on the spur of the moment. You need to be able to work with all types of personalities and be a mediator, particularly when moms or moms and step-moms are going at each other. Your obligation is to your client and part of that is shielding her as much as possible from controlling, arguing, and sometimes inebriated family members who try to sabatoge the day.

You also need to be able to take care of details in a low key way on the wedding day so that you are not the center of attention.

You need to be able to gain the confidence of the bride and of her mother that you can do what you say you can and you can do it well. Then they can relax and enjoy the day without stressing out.

I could go on and on about personality traits that make a good planner, there are so many.

[wedbyjean]

Among the other things posted, you have to be flexible, patient, an excellent listener (to what is said, and what isn’t said), a tradition & etiquette resource and financial advisor.