Re-Blogged from www.thefrazzledbride.com
It always makes me cringe when brides
say they plan to ask their friends to take their wedding day pictures,
or have their aunt make all of the food for the wedding. Yes, it’s a
financially-strained time for brides and grooms — with the average
wedding cost over $20,000
— and everyone’s in search of a way to save money. But asking guests to
take on the big, important parts of your day: that’s just a disaster
waiting to happen.
Photography and Videography: Expert
photo and video professionals are worth every penny for the high quality
of photos and footage they capture with their top-tier camera
equipment. They know how to be in the right place at the right time,
almost magically, to never miss a shot. They know how to work the
lighting, to capture you looking your best.
They look past that great shot of your
first dance to make sure no one’s doing anything ridiculous in the
background (a recent wedding photo revealed a guest sitting with her
legs spread, right in the background of the momentous first dance
photo.) Well-meaning friends with great cameras can take great photos at
weddings, but they don’t have the years of experience and eagle eye to
deliver top-tier results. They also can’t fast-pace the post-ceremony
shots to get you to your cocktail party.
Another disaster related to asking
friends to take photos and video: they don’t realize they’d have to work
the whole time. Many a bride and groom have found their big moments
completely missed, since the friend decided to hang out at the bar, or
take a turn on the dance floor. One friend blamed her baby at the
wedding for messing with her camera settings!
Food: Asking a friend to step in as
caterer is one of the biggest Don’ts in all of wedding planning. Friends
can surely bring platters of desserts and other specialty recipes to an
engagement party or bridal shower as their contribution and gift at the
party, but when it comes to the reception itself, a pro is who you need
to trust. They know how to whip up dishes and courses in top-speed,
serving them at the right temperature. They know the food safety
secrets, especially on a hot outdoor wedding day, to prevent food
poisoning. They mobilize their teams of servers. They have suppliers in
the food market to net you great deals. They bring backup equipment.
You don’t want your friends and family
missing your wedding because they’re in the kitchen slaving over a
stove, waving away smoke from burned garlic knots because a sushi
emergency distracted them, stressed and frazzled because guests are
eating food faster than they can cook it.
Setup: Again, friends and family can
certainly do the setup and decorating for other parties in your wedding
season, but it’s best to hire a day-of wedding coordinator to oversee
all tent setup, item delivery, time-consuming decorating including
last-minute ironing of tablecloths, picking up missing items — while
you, your mom and the bridesmaids are at the salon getting your hair and
makeup done, sipping champagne, without a care in the world. Having a
pro handle the hectic, harried pre-arranging is priceless, worth a block
of your budget.
Alterations:
This one kills me. Asking a friend to do the alterations on a wedding
gown is like asking a friend to do your dental work to save money. An
experienced pro can fit your gown so well, it makes you look 15 pounds
thinner and adds comfort to your movements.
By contrast, a friend who knows how to
hem could save you $200, but those seams will be buckled, the zipper
threatening to blow, hems falling and your top slouchy because your
straps aren’t taken up correctly. Don’t walk around with parts of your
gown stapled in place. A pro can work magic on your dress.
Simply put, your friends and family
want to help you create your dream wedding day, and when their
contributions can be counted as their wedding gifts to you, it gives
them a financial break as well. But choose wiser, more realistic ways
for them to help out. Instead of giving them those ultra-important
roles, trying to save $5,000 at a time, let them take on some
time-consuming or budget-finding tasks like these:
• Making your favors
• Suggesting well-priced professionals they’ve worked with before
• Connecting you with people you know in the industry who might give a ‘friends and family’ discount
• Lending you party supply items like
pedestal plates, chafing dishes, espresso-makers, platters and other
home-party essentials
• Sending you links to Coupon Codes from their favorite coupon sites to save you hundreds on purchases
• Taking photos and video at other events, like your engagement party or morning-after breakfast
Quality wedding professionals are out
there, offering golden opportunities to get their quality work and
services, plus smart advice on how to get fantastic wedding elements on
your budget. With so many ways to shave down expenses in other areas of
your wedding plans, you can make room in your budget to hire
professionals. They hold your wedding’s success, and your lifetime
memories, in their hands. So give those big tasks to reputable,
legitimate pros, and let your friends and family breathe a sigh of
relief that what you’ve asked them to do is low-pressure, within their
skill set, and allowing them to be guests, not workers, on the wedding
day.
The Moral of The Story: Hire a wedding planner/coordinator, you won’t regret it! Check out my website for different package options and fall specials! www.momentibellievents.com
