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Crafting Your Dream Day: Essential Questions to Ask Your Wedding Planner!

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Wedding planners are an additional cost to your wedding budget, but when you choose the right person, your wedding will be a breeze. Most of your success depends on how capable the candidate is and also on how well you gel with your wedding planner.

A wedding planner may be professional and experienced, but you will not be satisfied if they do not get your ideas. After all, it is your wedding, and not theirs. So first off, remember this. Don’t hire anyone who

  • is bossy or busy
  • dismisses your ideas or is skeptical about implementing them
  • doesn’t agree to signing a contract and
  • just doesn’t understand you

Before hiring a wedding planner, you should conduct an interview with her. This may be face-to-face or over-the-phone. Here is what you should ask at this interview, and the answers will determine whether you have the right candidate for the job.

Are you available on my wedding day?

There is no point in pursuing the discussion if the planner has another wedding lined up on your wedding day. If your wedding date is not yet confirmed and you really like the person you are talking to, consider fixing your wedding on a day when she is available.

What services do you offer?

Does she work only with a recommended list of vendors, or is she open to interviewing and assisting you with other vendors? Can she design your wedding, plan the ideas and be in charge of everything from sending out invitations to decorating the venue, or will she only assist you while you find and book vendors? Will she handle any booking issues herself? How often will you communicate, and how many meetings can you expect?

If the scope of her services are limited, consider whether you can tackle what is left yourself. If so, this shouldn’t be a problem. Also ask about the team. How many staff members will be on-site on day and how many other weddings they will be working on simultaneously.

How many weddings have you planned already?

The last thing you want to do is to entrust the task to an inexperienced planner. Ask her how long she’s been in business, and obtain references. A good wedding planner will direct you to a number of satisfied clients.

Share your vision for the wedding with her and ask what she can contribute to make it better.

What if there is an emergency?

Ask her how the team tackles emergencies like bad weather or other wedding disasters. If you anticipate a likely problem, ask her how she would prepare. Another big challenge is adhering to budget, how can she ensure this? You should also ask for backup plans, should something unforeseen occur and she cannot personally handle your wedding.

And finally, the fees

Don’t feel shy to ask what her charges are, including all overheads and extras. This will confirm whether the charges are within your means. If your planner will handle vendor payments, ask how this will be done. Will you be paying your planner a lumpsum, or will you have to write out checks to each vendor as and when required?

Once you have all this information, you should have a fair idea of whether this wedding planner is right for your wedding. If not, keep looking.

For more wedding advice and tips, as well as your wedding shopping needs, visit us at Best for Bride.

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Prepare for your wedding dress appointment: 5 Things to take along

via Best for Bride

Wedding dress shopping is exciting and finding the right wedding dress is something every bride eagerly looks forward to. However, before you begin wedding shopping, you need to do some research.

This will help you shortlist the desired silhouettes, dress patterns, fabric choices and most importantly, allow you to fix your budget. Once you have a good picture of what you want and what you don’t, you are set to go shopping. Call up the bridal boutique and fix your appointment, rope in your best friends to accompany you, and get set to attend your appointment.

Now, do you just walk in on the day of your appointment? Not quite. It isn’t a good idea to simply go for your appointment without a few essential items. Let us look at what these are.

Photos for inspiration

You may have seen a fabulous gown in a magazine or on the internet, that you are dying to try. Print out a picture, and better still take down the dress number and other information pertaining to the gown. This will allow your bridal consultant to locate that dress for you. When possible, inform the boutique of the dresses that you would like to check out, when you fix your appointment. This way, it is likely they will have it in their inventory in time for your appointment.

If your vision of “the dress” includes bits and pieces from various other gowns, take prints of all these gowns along, and share your ideas with your consultant. She will be able to help you find one that matches your expectations.

Suitable inner wear

A strapless bra is absolutely necessary for your bridal appointment, since it is the only one that works with strapless gowns, spaghetti straps, deep cut necklines or halter style dresses. Without this, you may not be able to visualize the actual look of the gown. If you will be wearing inner shape-wear on your big day, make sure you take this along as well.

A camera

Looking at yourself in the mirror is not good enough. Snap a few pictures on a camera or your phone and look at it to understand how you actually look from different angles, before you finalize your dress.

Shoes

Although you may not have your wedding shoes yet, it is a good idea to wear shoes with the same heel height that you will be wearing to your wedding. This will allow you to see how the dress falls, and determine the length to which the hemline should be altered.

Heirlooms, accessories and hairstyle

Will you be wearing a family heirloom such as a veil or a headpiece? Or perhaps, you have already decided on the jewelry that you will be wearing on your wedding day. If so, bring these along, so you can decide whether it goes well with the dress you chose, or you have to continue looking. Also wear a hairstyle similar to what you will don on your wedding day, so you can see if a dress matches your look.

With these essential things in hand, you are all set for your wedding dress shopping. So, get ready to have the best time shopping. Check out our wedding dress collection for inspiration, and fix your appointment with Best for Bride to have the best wedding shopping experience ever.