Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a bridal consultant?

A bridal consultant is also known as a wedding planner, wedding consultant or event planner.  His or her job is to help you, the bride and groom, plan your special day.  Your bridal consultant is a professional whose job is to make your wedding day as perfect as possible, and allow you to relax and enjoy your engagement and wedding day.

Mediator

Are you stuck between “ex”-families and “step” families or just tired of dealing with your mother?  Your bridal consultant can act as an independent third party, and often smooth things over between disputing family members and help mediate disagreements.  Sometimes your consultant may be nothing more than a shoulder to lean on when you need some extra support as your big day approaches.

Advisor

Your bridal consultant is an expert on weddings and can advise you on traditions, trends and etiquette about everything from the proper format for addressing your envelopes to today’s most popular first dance songs.  Your bridal consultant will advise you on your wedding planning needs.

Coordinator

Your bridal consultant will have extensive contacts in the wedding industry and will be able to match your personality and style with the perfect wedding professionals to help turn your wedding dreams into a reality.  Your bridal consultant can take your wedding themes and ideas and provide you with the right professionals to fulfill your vision.

Supervisor

Why should you worry about all the little details on the most important day of your life?  Your bridal consultant will work with your other wedding professionals to ensure that your wedding vision becomes a reality.  Your consultant will also handle all the details on your wedding day, ensuring that everything runs smoothly: from your walk down the aisle to your last dance of the night.

Financial Planner

Your bridal consultant can also act as a financial advisor for you and your family.  She can help you establish a budget and stick with it, by suggesting the right professionals to fit in your budget and helping you come up with creative ways to save money on your wedding.

 Counselor

Your consultant can also act as a counselor of sorts when things get stressful.  You can lean on her when you need a shoulder to cry on, or vent to her about any detail that may be bothering you.  She can also be your friend when you need one, and act on your behalf with all your vendors, to ensure that you can relax and enjoy your wedding day, as well as the planning process.

Your bridal consultant will do as much or as little as you want.  You are hiring her to help you with all the details and event design you feel you need help with.  For example, these are many of the common tasks your bridal consultant can help you with:

• Finding the perfect reception site
• Finding a photographer and videographer in your style
• Help you figure out what your style is
• Help you “design” your event and give you creative ideas
• Find an officiant and ceremony location if you need them
• Find a reputable band or DJ, or other entertainment
• Help you create a budget, and stick to it
• Find wedding day transportation
• Find ceremony musicians
• Find floral decorators for personal flowers, ceremony and reception décor
• Find rentals for your at home or outdoor wedding
• Managing your vendors
• Negotiate contracts with your vendors
• Create and execute a detailed timeline and production schedule for your wedding day, and the entire planning process from start to finish
• Make sure you don’t miss any important details
• Help you deal with difficult family, in-laws-to-be, and bridal party members
• Advise you on etiquette
• Help you select invitations, wording and mailing
• RSVP Management

Basically, that list of 150+ details you found online or in that wedding planner you bough at the book store, is exactly what your bridal consultant can help you with.  And she has done it many times before, so she knows what to do, when to do it and what it should cost you!

A true professional will not take over your wedding plans, but work with you to help you realize your vision.  Your consultant will do as little or as much of the planning as you want them to handle.  It’s all up to you, and you can feel free to tell your planner up front what you want to handle on your own, and what you need help with.  It is your wedding.  Your consultant is there to guide you and your family – and make the day perfect for you.

You can certainly do all the planning yourself.  For some, that is part of the fun of the event.  But it can also be more time consuming than you expect.  According to a Bride’s Magazine survey of recent brides, 48% wished they could have taken a leave of absence from work, the average spent 8 hours a week planning her wedding over a thirteen month period, which equals over 400 hours of planning.  And 53% of those brides found that planning their wedding did interfere with work or studies. 

You can have the wedding of dreams, and keep your job.  Take advantage of a bridal consultants experience and expertise with your creative ideas and vision to plan your perfect day.

If you have tackled all the planning on your own, don’t let all your hard work go to waste.  Hire a consultant for the day of your wedding, to ensure that all your details and ideas are executed to perfection.  Most consultants offer a special “day-of” package to help you with just this type of situation.

Bridal consultants can do so much for the bride-to-be and her family that almost everyone can benefit from their services. You should definitely consider hiring a bridal consultant if neither you nor your families have time to plan your wedding or you simply prefer professional help. A bridal consultant will be especially helpful for you if you feel you fall into one of the following categories:

Feeling clueless. If you just got engaged, and don’t have a clue as to where to start your planning, a bridal consultant will be well worth the money for the time she will save you alone.  Because of their professional experience and affiliations, a bridal consultant will know of lots of reception sites, caterers, bands—everything you will need for your dream wedding.

A bit timid. If you are like most brides, you’ve never had to negotiate a contract for a party of 200 before, and the entire process can seem rather intimidating.  Bridal consultants are experienced as to what should and should not be included in all your professional contracts, which can prevent any bride from overlooking some important fine print. Your consultant will be on your side, and see that your vision is carried out.

A big dreamer. If you have the resources and are dreaming of the ultimate fairytale wedding, a bridal consultant can help you achieve that.  If you are on a budget, your bridal consultants can also act as your voice of reason and help you stay on track in terms of your budget.

A detail hater. If you are not into details and organization is not your strongest trait, a bridal consultant will give you the freedom to let your creativity run free, while she tracks the details.  A consultant will help you with such tedious details as designing a seating chart, confirming information with vendors, and proofreading your invitations. They can map out a detailed schedule of events for your wedding day, and act as a wedding-day director to make sure everyone involved, even your fiancés fraternity brother groomsmen, will adhere to the schedule.

Heading out of town. If you are like most brides, you may not live in your home town anymore, or met your fiancé at college and want to return for your wedding.  Planning a wedding from out of town is twice as challenging as planning one in the town you live.  If you're planning a destination wedding, a consultant is indispensable.  It's stressful enough planning a wedding in your hometown; who couldn't use some assistance when planning one across borders?

You have NO free time.  If your spare time is already at a premium, a bridal consultant can save you tons of time by doing all the leg-work for you, negotiating with all your vendors, and keeping track of all the details involved in planning your dream wedding.  With a bridal consultants help, you can actually relax and enjoy your engagement and wedding day, without the stress of finding time for all those details.

My family lives in a different part of the country and we are getting married in another place.  What do we do?

This is becoming a much more common situation.  Maybe you met your fiancé in college, and want to go back there for your wedding, or you are marrying in his home town.  Whatever your situation is, you need extra help to pull everything together. 

Now days, the traditional role of the mother of the bride and maid of honor are skewed.  As the average age of the bride and groom continue to increase, so do the responsibilities of the bride and groom, and their bridal party.  Your maid of honor might not be a “maid” at all, but a matron, with her own full-time job, husband and family to take care of.  Or, as much as you love your future in-laws, you don’t have the same style and tastes as your mother-in-law-to-be, so you want to be sure that you do get your wedding, your way.

Save you time

In addition to helping you plan the wedding of your dreams, the biggest benefit you will receive is the time savings!  Your consultant will do all the leg-work involved in planning your special day, so that you have more time to relax and enjoy your engagement.  With today’s hectic lifestyles, most brides and grooms barely have enough time to handle all their current responsibilities, let alone have time for all the detailed planning required to have the wedding of your dreams. 

Reduce your stress

Planning a party for 10 can be a challenge, let alone for several hundred.  To say that a wedding is a stressful time is an understatement.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing to be stressed over your plans.  You want your wedding to be perfect, and it will be.  But your entire wedding day, and engagement, can be even more perfect with the help of a bridal consultant.  Hiring a bridal consultant to handle the detailed planning will allow you to focus on the other important aspects of your life at this time, like your relationship with your fiancé and your families.

Save you money

Hiring a bridal consultant can help you save money in several different ways.  By saving you time, your consultant is saving you money.  Also, many consultants have developed relationships with the professionals you will need to hire for your wedding, and will be able to pass on discounts to you that you would not otherwise be able to receive. 

A bridal consultant can possibly save you from making costly mistakes during planning, and be sure that your wedding vendors are reputable.  A consultant can also save you money by negotiating with your site and other vendors on your behalf.

Make your dreams come true

A bridal consultant will help you make your dream a reality, and take your ideas and turn them into the event of your dreams.  You may have some great ideas about what you want your wedding day to be like, but you are just not sure how to make those ideas come together.  This is where the creativity and experience of a bridal consultant can come in handy.

It’s up to you

Your bridal consultant will do as little or as much as you want.  It is important that you find a bridal consultant willing to listen to your needs.  Even if you are ready, willing and able to take on the challenge of planning your wedding and all you want is someone to guide you through the process and oversee your wedding day, a bridal consultant can help you.  If you have no clue where to start and you need help with everything, a bridal consultant can help.

 The best way to find a reliable bridal consultant is through the people you know.  Word-of-mouth referrals are a good source, so ask your friends and family. And any time you attend a party or wedding that you've enjoyed, ask for the planner's business card.   Don’t forget to ask other people you trust, like your hair stylist or other service provider.  You never know who they know.

Ask those professionals whom you have already hired, like your reception site, photographer, videographer or florist, as they are sure to know a bridal consultant.

If you can't find a personal referral, try the Association of Bridal Consultants at 860/355-0464 for local referrals. Also be sure to check local wedding publications for listings like The Knot and Philadelphia Magazine’s Elegant Weddings.

It depends on the consultant and on the work involved with planning your event.  A bridal consultant may charge you in one of several methods, including a flat fee, hourly rates, or a percentage of your total wedding budget.  Or they might use a combination of methods, depending on the complexity of your wedding planning needs. 

The actual amount you pay for bridal consulting services will depend on where you live, the extent of the consultant's services and the size of your wedding.  A consultant will also charge based on their experience level and other factors.  

Expect to pay them 10 to 15 percent of your total wedding budget.  You should decide in the beginning of your planning whether you will include your planner as part of your total budget, or in addition to your budget.

A consultant can be considered part of your wedding budget.  In fact, a consultant can often use her experience and knowledge to suggest money saving ideas for you, help you stay on budget and many wedding professionals offer planners and consultant discounts that your consultant can pass on to you.  A true professional will work within your budget to give you the wedding of your dreams.

You should have some kind of written agreement with your consultant, and in this agreement your payment schedule should be outlined.  Expect to need a non-refundable deposit or retainer, and expect to make either monthly payments, or pay the remaining balance in parts.  If you have hired a consultant for hourly consultations, you should receive an invoice detailing what your consultant did during the month.

You should absolutely have some form of written agreement with your consultant.  You can have either a Letter of Agreement or a contract.  At a minimum, this agreement should contain your names, the consultants name, the date of your event, the agreed upon fee, payment schedule and what exactly the consultant will be doing for you.

Obviously, the sooner you can hirer your consultant the better.  The sooner a consultant is hired, the sooner she can start saving you money. Look for a consultant right after you set your wedding date. If a consultant works with you from the start, she can help you with your preliminary plans, such as setting up your budget and the time-consuming task of finding the perfect site for your wedding reception.

Also keep in mind that consultants also get booked over a year in advance, and you will want to be sure that you have options for your wedding day.  

The longer you have to plan your wedding, the more special details you can include in your plans.  Over a year is an ideal engagement, but a lot can be done in less time.  Even if you have less than 6 months to plan your wedding, it’s not too late to hirer a bridal consultant.  It’s actually even more important that you seek out professional help at this time, because you have half as much time to get the same amount of work done, and you will definitely need help.

Hiring a bridal consultant is a big decision, and you should be sure to take the steps necessary to find the perfect consultant for you.  The first steps in hiring a bridal consultant are the same as they are in hiring any other wedding professional—you must first find someone who is available on your wedding date, and who falls within your price range. After these criteria are met, the next important step is hiring someone you feel comfortable with.

Feeling at ease with your consultant is the most important criteria to consider.  You will be entrusting your consultant to assist you in planning the most important day of your life, and that person should be someone you trust.  You should also consider what you are looking for in a consultant.  Do you want her to be your brutally honest friend, a parent figure, or someone to watch over you?  Your perfect consultant is one who will seem to know what you want before you tell her.   She is the person that you would trust to help you make the decision on what wedding dress to wear and what music to play.

You should also be sure that your consultant is a true professional.  Ask your consultant to show you proof of certification and training.  You should also ask your consultant what professional organizations he or she is a member of, and ask to see a valid membership certificate for each of those organizations.  To find out if a bridal consultant that you are considering is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, a national professional organization, call the ABC at 860/355-0464.

Training and education are important things to consider when hiring a professional bridal consultant.  Although brides have been planning their own weddings for years, there are many aspects of the event planning industry that are rapidly changing.  Consultants who further their education are more aware of the latest trends, contracts and other important items that you may not be aware of.  These are the reasons you are hiring a consultant in the first place.

When interviewing your bridal consultants, each should have plenty of questions for you too, in an effort to determine your wishes, needs, level of maintenance, budget, scope of imagination, and more. During the interview, you are both trying to assess each other and how well you'll work together. The consultant will probably initiate discussions -- take this time to consider manner, personality, confidence, warmth, whatever factors you have determined are most important to you.

Whomever you decide to hire, do not hire a consultant who doesn't want to listen to your desires, is bossy, tries to convince you of what's best for you, critiques your ideas, has no references, and won't sign a written agreement.