As one of the residential Wedding Planner in Henley on Thames for BBC Radio Berkshire, following the comments by Revd Giles Fraser on ‘Thought of the Day’ on BBC Radio Four on Wednesday 5th August I was called upon by Andrew Peach to comment on Friday 6th August on the Breakfast Show.
As I explained one of the most important roles of a Wedding Planner is ‘budget control’ and at SJD Events Limited we ensure or as well as we can that you as a couple stick within the parameters. Budgets are tough to stick within and on average most couples will go over between £2,000 and £5,000 as they forget some of the elements involved in the wedding costs. When we meet couples for an initial consultation and discuss the budgets they are weighing up on whether to hire a wedding planner as for them cost is key and finding the right person who won’t take over.
So, with reviewing contracts and the negotiation skills a wedding planner acquires with suppliers the savings I believe a Wedding Planner brings to the table will pay for itself, well maybe not literally but it’s easy to justify.
When you get married you are entering into a commitment to each other and have years ahead of you with setting up a family home, having children hopefully so, you don’t want to go into a marriage with a huge overdraft due to overspending on your wedding.
We all have our ‘dreams’ and ‘visions’ but all I would say is keep it realistic.
One of the callers on the show on Friday mentioned calling a venue and getting two different quotes for the same requirements and the fact it escalated by 25% when ‘wedding’ was mentioned. This is tough and my tip to couples reading this when you make initial enquiries don’t mention the word wedding just say for an occasion.
Another question I was asked was, had I seen an increase in expenditure or reduction in spend over the past 18 months to two years?
Since the recession I would say that I have seen a lot more couples going it alone and then calling on professionals in the last six or so weeks for coordination and on the day management as they get stressed with juggling the ‘big’ day and actually wanting to enjoy it. For SJD Events Limited this in some ways is more exciting we pull it all together and ensure everyone is singing off the same song sheet as a wedding is all about ‘teamwork’ and that it is why if you hire a wedding planner we don’t take over or at least at SJD Events Limited we don’t, we alleviate the stress and become the backbone so you can relax in the knowledge you are in safe hands.
Event Management Consultant and Fundraiser 