What is a Wedding Planning

Katherine talks about her job as a Wedding Planner

I am Catherine Low from Cathy and Wayne design, we arrange spoke luxury weddings and we've been doing it for six years now. Were wedding planners so we help clients from the very beginning for finding their venue if they have already found the venue right through to running the day. And that involves helping them with color schemes, designs, styles, bringing together the invitations, the flowers, the catering, a way to the wedding the entertainment everything that goes into the day to make it absolutely perfect and then helping them to make it runs perfectly on the day. Think probably why wouldn’t you have a wedding planner way rather and why would have you a wedding planner it’s such a big day in your life and a lot of people have no exposure to organizing this kind of event to fall. And there is so elements to go into it not at least for it, just making sure that everyone is reliable and that everything happens. So that you can actually have fun and there is no stress involved, so wedding planner can help you reliable supplier original ideas they're involved in this everyday. so they know what's out there options they can make it perfectly traditional and advice you on the etiquette. They can make it fab and funky and do something really unusual because they know what the options are and how it’s all going to run together. They will still help with the budget, they’ll help you manage the budget when you got a big budget or a small budget and then most from your budget is the most important thing, so making sure you're doing what's most important to you. You love music, you should have a seven piece band or a fantastic DJ but if the music is not so important to you there is something a little bit more down key, making iPod or a regular DJ and you know spend money on fabulous flowers making sure its really perfect for you. So a wedding planner really can help you work through all the different solutions and make it really personal and fantastic. A budgets is really, really important it’s a great starting point and none has a fixed budget and some people have very fixed budget but whether you’re gone next door with the small budget or Jordan with the massive budget you need to, you need to keep an eye on it. You need to make sure that you're spending it where it’s important to you and that’s coming fantastic effect. We worked with all different types of budgets from smaller budgets right through. We are luxury, we obvious spoke with no take some wedding for years, so we do have minimum fees but I always said all right you know “Look at where that money is really a value to you and look at where its best spent”. You need to sit down and mark out the budget from the beginning there is no point looking a really expensive venue and then funny and that you can't afford to feed everyone there. There is no point booking “Oh, you know a fantastic photographer” and then be out of the venue when you have the wedding yet. You need to really kind of plot things out, have a look at what the budget, and expenses your fixed cost, your venue, your food and drink they should be about a third of your budget and then they should be the rest left to play with for all the extra items. To your dresses, your florist, your photographer and you really need to work that out. If you're on a tight budget a wedding planner can be of help because they can look at different areas where you can save money, they can look at best deals and they know what things are worth. So they know the value of things they can really help advice you on what's worth spending money and what is good value. But you do need to consider and if you are on a really tight budget you need to think about if that fee could possibly be used on something like your catering your flowers. But there are lots of solutions that can really worry about everything running their, a lot of bridal coming that offer on the day service. So you can get the wedding planner just for the wedding day to run everything for you and save money that way. But do think about the options and what's sort of right for you but don’t just ride off wedding planner being too expensive for celebrities because they're really aren’t. My main advice for somebody who is hiring a wedding planner would be to always meet the people. Have a look at a lot of websites, give them a call and talk to them but then break it down to sort of two or three that you really like and meet them. Have a look at their work and make sure they show you portfolios of your entire wedding so you can see what they’ve done the style, the type of places they work at, it’s also a great way for you to show them things you do and don’t like. And every wedding is different, so then you're not going to be worry about that, but it’s a personal relationship you have to like them. And you have to be able to get on with them, chat to them, talk to them, this supposed to understand you and understand what you want for your day so it’s a really personal experience.