The ABIA estimated a wedding takes 250 - 500 hours for a bride/groom to plan for themselves. If your wedding is a year away, that's ~one hour per day, every. single. day.

It will rob the joy off your engagement, and quickly make the process feel like one long and big chore, instead of a celebration.

The amount of time that you'd need also depends on your industry knowledge (likely none) and your affinity with project planning, project management, negotiations, conflict resolution, making design decisions, as well as learning new skills and concepts.

Want to avoid having to do all of that? Engage a professional wedding planner to take the load off your back.

Under-estimating the Workload

How would you know what is a good rate for a particular service, for example photography, if you've never hired an event photographer before? How would you then allocate your wedding budget between your venue, your styling, various vendors, and everything else that matters to you?

Without a planner’s oversight, costs creep up fast. Couples often regret not having someone who could negotiate, flag hidden fees, and prioritise their spending so they didn’t end up way over budget.

Budget
blowout

What does every respected brand have in common? Consistency and cohesion.

Design that is haphazard wouldn't only fall flat, but it will feel off. You could always tell when a wedding is styled under professional guidance, and when it's DIY by an unskilled person.

And 'personalisation' in design is not just about selecting your favourite colours and sticking to it; otherwise McDonald's and Ferrari would have the same visual impact through their red and yellow!

In styling your wedding you need to carry the same design concepts across your space (spatial/interior design), use of floristry (floral design), your signage and other stationery (graphic design), choice of accents and accessories (product design), and custom builds -that's a lot of different skills that you need to learn!

Lack of Design Cohesion

Planners bring trusted networks, and a system to vet and approve new vendors.

Without them, couples often regret ending up with vendors who didn’t fully understand their vision, charged inflated prices, or underdelivered.

And bear in mind that the right vendor for your friend might be a terrible fit for you; it all depends on your personality (how well would you be able to connect), your preferences, and your requirements.

As with everything else to do with your wedding -there is no second chance.

Missed Opportunities With Vendors

This is a day you have spent years anticipating, preparing, and dreaming about.

How nice would it be to live this day as simply the VIP. Pampered by your loved ones from the moment you wake up. Feeling a rush of emotion as you lay eyes on your spouse for the first time. Celebrating to your heart's content, while committing everything to memory.


Without a dedicated person to run the show, you will be in charge of timekeeping, managing, and fielding all the questions. When there is a deviation from the plan ('when', not 'if') guess who would have to troubleshoot? 

All of these emotions will take away from the joy that you were supposed to feel, and remember, from your wedding day.

Stress on the Wedding Day

“My mum spent the whole day looking after the caterers and didn’t enjoy the wedding.”

Wouldn't that simply be terrible?

As important as the day is to you, it is also a very special moment to all of your nearest and dearest.

And your bridal party is there to celebrate with you; not to be hired help. Many brides regret not lifting that load from loved ones, which can cause tension and resentment.

Family and Friend Burden

You will replay your wedding day in your head for the rest of your life.

In real life, things are never perfect, but some 'what if's' are more emotionally overwhelming than others.

What is there were conflict on your wedding day?
What if the photos/videos did not turn out well?
What if an entire component wasn't delivered due to a logistical mishap?
What if a precious item got lost?
What if what you envisioned in your head doesn't match to what you see?

What could have been