Interviewing your wedding planner / event planner

Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking, which is why many couples choose to go the wedding planner route. This is a very wise decision for many couples, especially if you don’t have the time, interest or inclination to plan a wedding on your own. In addition, although you wouldn’t think so, hiring an event planner to plan your big day can actually save you money because they will negotiate with vendors on your behalf to make sure you pay a more than fair price (and that you don’t get ripped off).

When you are scouting out planners, there are some key questions to ask to make sure that you choose the planner right for you and your wedding.

1. How much experience do they have? Probably the most important question to ask. Every professional has to start somewhere, but do you really want your wedding to be planned by someone with no professional experience? Probably not. So, you need to ask fairly specific questions about how many events the planner has planned, how big they were, how big the budgets were, what were the themes of the weddings, etc.

2. Do they have a portfolio book? Nothing speaks to the quality of an event more than pictures. From a planner’s book, you can get a sense for how detailed they are, their flair for design and how polished and finished their events appear.

3. Can they give you references? Of course, any decent planner will provide you with glowing references, and you should definitely call these references. However, you should go beyond this and look for past clients of the planner via Yelp! and other wedding websites where there are reviews of the planner and then try to contact those former clients.

4. Are they credentialed? Many wedding and event planners have taken courses or even completed training for event planning, and these programs can provide planners with a substantial amount of knowledge and preparation as well as official certification. In addition, many planners belong to professional organizations like the Association of Bridal Consultants. You should definitely weigh these factors heavily when evaluating your planners.

5. Do they have tools and resources that are part of their process? Some event planners have event planning software and some wedding planners have wedding planning software to help them stay well organized and streamline their operations, and these tools can really be an asset to both the planner and to you. They also show a commitment to their business and a desire to provide the best service possible to clients.

6. What is their personality like? Although this isn’t a precise question you can pose, it is an important question to ask yourself because you are going to have to work very closely with this person, so you should enjoy working with them.

7. What other value-add things can they offer you? Some wedding planners have special relationships with vendors so they can offer discounts that you can’t get anywhere else. Some event planners use professional event planning software or wedding planning software that includes special tools and features that clients can use. Be sure to ask if there are any special things that the planner can offer beyond their base services.

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