Page 15 - Harnett Life Winter 2020

ning as favors for friends and family over the last few years, date is locked in on the calendar. Reagan said that even if she
she decided to make a business out of it; she enjoyed the work, is hired only for the ‘day of’, she is available to the bride for
the creative outlet it provided, and loved helping people, but any questions she may have. She also encourages the bride to
when the work was taking time away from her that could be ask any and all questions she can think of, because she wants
spent with her kids and husband, it wouldn’t be sustainable un- to be able to assist in any way she can, whether it be something
less it provided some income. as simple as recommending florists and photographers, DJs, or
décor ideas.
Reagan said that having a wedding planner is something that
most people, at first thought, may consider to be an unimport- The planning begins with five questions for the bride: what is
ant investment. The biggest advantage of hiring a wedding your date?; what time of day?; is there a venue?; is there an
planner is this: “I’m an advocate” for the couple, she said; if estimated guest count?;and what are your colors? This is the
there is a mistake made by a vendor, she will be there to stand basic information that serves as a foundation for the rest of the
up for the client, making sure that whatever problem there is, process. The bride then is given some “homework” which is a
the vendor takes responsibility by correcting the error or by list of dates that serve as deadlines for when specific decisions
providing a partial (or full, if necessary) refund. Reagan said should be made to ensure everything is finalized in plenty of
she likes for people to save money where they can, and as time prior to the big day. Reagan said it also allows the bride
someone familiar with the planning process, she can guide the to visualize the timeline that’s being created, which will, of
client through how to “cut corners” where possible. Not in the course, vary depending on the client and event. Having a long
sense that these cut corners are lowering the quality or integ- planning period is beneficial for some people, and for others a
rity of the event, but by advising the client on the benefits of short engagement is preferred, but there are pros and cons to
omitting details that are usually not noticed by the guests either each, Reagan said.
way, she can help the clients save that bit of money and set it
aside for something else. A long planning period allows a feeling of freedom to try out
multiple options for food or decorations, but the downside is
All prices for services are not set in stone, because they will be that the client will likely spend more money, changing their
relative to the overall cost of the event, but the cost of hiring mind, scrapping the old idea and previously purchased materi-
her as the “Day Of Coordinator” is a set six hundred dollars, als that go along with it, then buying something new, thinking
and once the three hundred dollar deposit is made, the client’s they will have plenty of time to pay off that debt – it’s not dif-
ficult to fall down that rabbit hole with credit card in hand. A
shorter planning period, however, provides a motivation with
that soon approaching deadline. When making a decision in
this case, the clients have to do so with a sense of finality; after
all, there isn’t any time to second-guess the choice or over-
analyze it. The downside here is that the clients would likely
have to settle in some aspects and wouldn’t have the chance
to explore different options. Also, some vendors may charge
a higher price knowing the client is on a time crunch, and
because whatever they’re selling is necessary, the client may
have no other choice but to pay that higher price. Reagan said
her estimate for the shortest time frame she’s had to work with
was approximately one month, but said a good neutral length
of time for her planning would be 6 – 9 months.

After getting the foundational bits of information from the
bride, the itinerary for the planning process will be created,
but will be constantly tweaked and adjusted along the way
throughout the process, whether she is hired as the planner for
the full process or just for the day of. On the day of, part of the
itinerary will include a list of names of everyone in the wed-
ding party and guests who need special seating and a list of
the music to be played, which song corresponds to a specific
element within the ceremony and then the reception. A copy of
all this information is then given to the photographer and DJ.
Being prepared and having as much information as possible
is of the utmost importance so the focus is on the bride, and

Harnett Life ~ Spring 2020 Pictured Left: Decorating at a venue Page 15