After the rush of getting engaged, the realization quickly hits most couples that they have a major life event—and party—to organize. At this point, they may be considering hiring a wedding planner, and asking themselves: What does a wedding planner actually do? While minds might turn to J. Lo’s classic rom-com or Martin Short’s character in Father of the Bride, a wedding planner does way more than what you have seen on screen. In addition to ensuring your ceremony and reception run smoothly, they can serve as a creative design team, a project manager for all vendors, and a financial manager for your budget.
“I sometimes say a planner will save a couple from themselves,” says Tara Fay, a luxury destination wedding planner and owner of Tara Fay Events. “On more than one occasion, I have stopped couples making silly and costly mistakes on a whim. Most people are only getting married once. While they may have been part of a sibling’s wedding or a friend’s wedding, they are not experts.” After all, why would you expend such a huge amount of money and stress without getting expert advice? “We help people take their Pinterest boards or imaginary designs and turn them into a reality within budget,” Fay explains.
For couples considering only using an on-site coordinator offered by a venue, it’s important to understand the distinction between that role and that of a full-service wedding planner. “A venue planner works for the venue and can assist with some on-the-day jobs, but they are paid by the venue,” explains Fay. “Their allegiance is to the venue, not the couple. Your planner has your best interests at heart and is there to advocate for you and to ensure that if things are going to go wrong, they notice this well in advance and have 10 solutions available to you in case there is a situation.”
Want to know more about what the job of a wedding planner entails? Read ahead to learn what it takes to become a planner and all the nuanced ways they work for you to make sure your wedding is beautiful and runs smoothly.
How to Train to Be a Wedding Planner
For many wedding planners, creating lists is in their DNA. However, extra training and education allow them the understanding and experience to adeptly handle all the moving parts of a major wedding weekend. “I've always been organized and for as long as I can remember been planning things from a very early age,” shares Chanda Daniels of Chanda Daniels Planning & Design. “When I learned that being a wedding planner was an actual profession in the ’90s from reading a newspaper article about my mentor Laurie Arons, I set out to take an online course from the Association of Bridal Consultants. After I received my certification and my business license in February 1999, I was on my way.” (Daniels later undertook a BA in hospitality and tourism management to learn more about the industry in a formal capacity.)
While there are many training programs and accreditations available for wedding and event professionals, technically, there is no formal license required to be a wedding planner. In fact, many of the most elevated and revered in the business just learned by doing. “I started planning in 1997 there were no wedding planning courses, so I learned on the job with an event company in L.A. As a trained project manager, I applied those skills to wedding planning,” says Fay. She adds that her team continually upskills to learn trends and adapt to the times. Many planners routinely attend conferences and trainings that help them enhance their abilities and expand their network of vendors to collaborate with.
“The best way to learn how to become a wedding planner is through hands-on real practice,” shares Lorie Lau, owner, lead planner, and designer of HL Lovely Creations. “There’s nothing better than to be able to experience for yourself how a wedding day and production works. Having the opportunity to shadow people who are experts in the matter and see firsthand all of the moving pieces needed to make a wedding day happen, all of the logistics that go behind the scenes, the long hours standing, the fast pace, the teamwork, the last-minute needs that arise, and so many other nuances that this beautiful job has, are one—if not the best—way to learn how to become a wedding planner and also to determine if you really like this career.”
What a Wedding Planner Does Ahead of a Wedding
Once a wedding planner is hired, they become a key collaborator in helping the couple achieve their vision. “To us, every wedding is completely different, and we go back to the beginning each time,” explains Fay. “We need to understand the couple, their budget, and their story. Only then do we start their planning, which starts with a budget outline, storyboard of the day or multiple day events, and suggestions on how to incorporate their personalities into the day.” Planners often use their connections to link you with the best vendors, create deals with venues, and liaise with the best talent to perform at your celebration.
While many choose to hire a planner around a year before the wedding (but not always), the contact between the planner and the couple can be surprisingly regular. Daniels says she has at least 40 meetings with a client over the course of a year. “I have general bi-monthly meetings with my couples and we do big milestone meetings that discuss budget, present venue options, design presentation, weekend flow presentation, transportation flow presentation, timeline presentation for each day,” she explains. “I do everything with my couples from attire shopping to tastings. In the beginning, we meet more if we are venue scouting as well. That’s part of the relationship building that I value as well. The only thing my clients do on their own is create their guest list.”
Less surprising, perhaps, is that the day-to-day of being a wedding planner is not always calm. “When I don’t have weddings, my typical day will be computer work, replying to emails, researching tasks, designing tasks, making and returning phone calls, site visits, and creative partner meetings,” says Lau. Many planners are working on multiple events at once, so they also need to balance their projects and delegate among their teams. They also often have to allot time to travel to site visits for destination weddings and coordinate with remote vendors.
A lot of additional behind-the-scenes work must also be done ahead of a wedding. Daniels says this includes “planning the schedules of our own team, calculating mileage, parking options, time of each team member, breaks, ordering radios, arranging snacks, packing water, and all the things needed for our teams to safely do their jobs.” She adds, “One thing that I know clients don't think about is how much we make sure our clients meet their obligations with room blocks so they aren’t responsible for the attrition. This task is sometimes finally squared away a few days after the wedding.”
What a Wedding Planner Does During a Wedding Weekend
The week of a wedding is crunch time—and planners begin prepping as early as Monday to ensure they are prepared for the big push ahead. “For a wedding day, we always have a team breakfast and review our timeline for the day to ensure everyone knows the timeline and locations back to front,” says Fay. “Then, if there are any last-minute pressing details, we discuss and resolve.” Planners often have teams that they delegate to manage moving parts like vendors, entertainment, and production. “We skill up depending on the scale of the project, but as lead planner, my job is to be with the couple all day so they never have to worry about anything other than enjoying themselves,” Fay adds.
While there is a timeline for all the moving parts of the day from guest arrivals to late-night bites at the after-party, planners need to be ready for anything. “There is always a fire (or more) that needs to be put off but I think besides that, we will make sure that there are no vendor hiccups, linens are steamed, napkins are pressed, chair cushions are perfectly cleaned, cables are hidden out of sight, food runs on time, music sounds perfect, and lights are working,” says Lau. “We have contingency plans for every aspect of the day, and we are here to provide our clients and their guests with the best experience ever.”
The night does not end early for your planner either. While the set-up is a huge part of the day, so is the strike: when structures are broken down and items are returned to rental companies. “The strike and load out have the same energy level of the set-up! I always want to know ahead of time if something is broken or missing,” says Daniels. “My strike team takes the time to try and locate missing items, they do a full count (with gloves on, of course) at the tail end of each event.”
Once everything is wrapped up, planners can debrief with their clients with a final meeting and move on to the next project. Lau notes, “It’s a high-stress level job, is time demanding, and not everyone is fit for it, yet the feeling is remarkable to make someone else’s dream possible.”
