Hi y’all! I am so thrilled to be sharing on Eleanor’s blog today. Isn’t she the best?! My name is Ashley Stork and I am the owner & lead planner of Magnolia Vine Events. We plan Southern, heartfelt events so you have a heart-filled wedding day. There are three of us — myself, Abby & Catherine — who are our associate planners. We have fun, like to laugh, never met a Taylor Swift song we didn’t jam out to and adore our jobs. Walking through the engagement season of life with our clients and their families is a privilege.

Wedding planning can be overwhelming, as not only do you have many decisions to make but also juggling life changes like graduations, new jobs, possibly moving and family dynamics. Most people aren’t used to planning an event for 150+ people and can find it difficult to know if they are making the right decisions for what they want. If you’ve reached a point where you are finally asking, “Do I need a wedding planner?” then the following 5 reasons might help you decide!

1. Why you need a wedding planner: The B word—Budget.

Okay… it’s not the most exciting thing to talk about in wedding planning, but it’s a very important part of the wedding planning puzzle. At Magnolia Vine Events, we work with all of our clients on crafting a budget that fits their priorities, guest count, style and design wants. Having planned over 150+ weddings, we have learned typical market costs, what to expect of last minute expenses and where to invest your money for the most impact. These might be things you may not be comfortable with in the planning process and need some help along the way.

2. Why you need a wedding planner: Matching you with vendor partners.

Another big part of planning is pulling together your vendor team that is cohesive, works well together and can bring your vision to life! If you have never planned a wedding before, you might not even know where to start in sourcing vendors. Yes, a Google search on various websites can probably get you started, but a good wedding planner is going to be able to match you with vendors that fit your budget and style, pair you with vendors with great reputations and refer you to vendors with an excellent product.

3. Why you need a wedding planner: Non-emotionally-involved third party.

Even the calmest of clients have their wedding planning moments. You could be navigating difficult family dynamics or lots of life changes, trying to please everyone and also achieve the wedding you want to have. It can just be a lot sometimes! Sometimes you need a non-emotionally-involved third party to help you see the forest through the weeds. A wedding planner can help you make rational decisions and help weigh both sides of the coin without the emotionally attached part. At Magnolia Vine Events, we are emotionally attached to you, don’t get me wrong, and only want what’s the best for you and your event!

4. Why you need a wedding planner: Industry speak might be a foreign language.

Like all industries, weddings and events have their own jargon. Vendors may ask you questions you could not know the answer to! A wedding planner should also know the important questions to ask to get that information preemptively from the vendor. A wedding at your parent’s home may sound lovely and simple, but depending on the number of people you are inviting you could need additional bathrooms… parking… permits from your city… catering preparation area… power and AV needs! These would all be things your planner would be consulting with the vendors on. A planner can also help navigate contracts and how to best accommodate requests from vendors.

5. Why you need a wedding planner: You need a captain of the ship on wedding day.

Even the best orchestras in the world have a conductor. Likewise, that is the job of the planner. You, your Mom and other special people in your life will be getting hair and makeup done, you could be in an entirely different location than the set up of your event and physically not available to answer questions for vendors. Your planner serves as the point person for your creative team and to ensure that things are running on time, deliveries are being made and cues are happening with the important players, among other things behind the scenes. A wedding day can average 10-12 vendors who will all eventually need something from the planner, but if you do not have one, that would be you who has to answer the questions & solve the problems. This is probably the biggest reason why you need a wedding planner!

I hope these 5 reasons of why you should hire a wedding planner helped you see that there is so much more to planning than just the day of or month of. We believe in working with our clients from the beginning of their planning process with us so we can ensure they have a great planning experience & even better wedding day.

I’d love for you to come follow us at @magnoliavineevents on Instagram and check out our website www.magnoliavineevents.com.