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Does Your Wedding Budget Have Room For A Wedding Planner?
- Elizabeth Jones
- Jan 21
- 4 min read
How to know if you can afford a wedding planner or coordinator based on your wedding budget and priorities for the biggest day of your life. Read this guide to decide if you should add "hire a wedding planner" to your planning checklist.
The Wedding Budget Doesn't Have To Be Scary
The wedding budget... the biggest stress for most brides & grooms when planning a wedding. What can you afford? How much should you spend on the venue? The food? Is it too much? Is it not enough? What's a typical price range for each vendor? The budget doesn't have to be a stressful part of wedding planning. If you lay out all options, decide what you can spend, decide what you prioritize for your experience, and follow through with sticking to it when hiring vendors. Do you want luxury services... or are you prepared to not have everything go as you envisioned with inexperienced, lower cost vendors? Read this guide to know if you can afford a wedding planner, then download my free wedding budget guide to create your full detailed budget for every vendor.
Uh Oh, I spent Too Much On My Venue
I'm Elizabeth, owner EJ Events Wedding Planning & Coordination based in North Alabama. I've seen so many couples dream of having a planner guide them through their wedding planning journey so that they can actually enjoy their engagement, choose the right vendors, and see their dream day come to life... but, they spend too much on their venue/media team/guest experience and get so overwhelmed by the budget that they forfeit a planner to be able to afford the rest of their wedding. What happens now? They go over budget, they don't enjoy their engagement because they spent all their time worrying about the budget, they choose vendors they can't afford, or they choose the cheapest vendors they can find and have an experience they weren't hoping for.
How Can I Avoid This Stress?
It starts at the very beginning, with the ring. Right after engagement, take some time to envision your wedding day. What do you see? Where are you? Who's there with you? What's your dream day? Spend the first few weeks celebrating this new season of life and envisioning your dream wedding.
Now, decide what you can afford to put into this dream day. Look up average wedding costs in your area, and decide what is doable and won't leave you with regrets. Now it's time to choose your priorities. Big guest count? Venue? Location? More than 1 day? Media? Planner? Entertainment? Guest experience? Attire? List these in order of highest to lowest priority. Then, use the free budget guide to decide how much you want to put towards each section/vendor. Now that you are confident with your wedding budget, it's time to decide if you can afford a wedding planner.
Can I Afford A Wedding Planner?
A typical wedding budget allows for 9-10% of the overall budget to go towards the planner/coordinator. Below is a chart of what this percentage equals to for average wedding investments.
Overall Wedding Budget | Lower End Planner Budget | Higher End Planner Budget |
$20,000 | $1,800 | $2,000 |
$25,000 | $2,250 | $2,500 |
$30,000 | $2,700 | $3,000 |
$35,000 | $3,150 | $3,500 |
$40,000 | $3,600 | $4,000 |
$45,000 | $4,050 | $4,500 |
$50,000 | $4,500 | $5,000 |
$55,000 | $4,950 | $5,500 |
$60,000+ | $5,400 | $6,000+ |
Should I Spend The Higher Or Lower End?
How do you decide if you should spend the higher end of your budget on your planner/coordinator, or the lower end? It all depends on your priority and overall budget. Do you prioritize a luxury service focused on taking away your stress and giving you your time back to enjoy engagement? Or do you feel the bare minimum will be enough to meet your expectations? Do you prioritize the luxury experience, but 10% of your overall budget isn't enough to afford it? If this is the case for your journey, find the best month of coordinator (within budget) that you trust to manage your vendors and will go above and beyond to ensure a seamless wedding day.
How To Choose Your Planner
Depending on your area, there may be several great planners to choose from. Of course, pricing will be a determining factor. When searching for planners, look for their location, read their reviews, notice their style, see the venues/vendors they've tagged on social media, and try to find things that show their personality. What do their services focus on? What's their niche?
Find the planner that you think you can easily connect with. Do you have the same values? Is the focus for their brand accurate to what you are hoping to achieve? (Ex. over the top wedding design, organization and stress-free planning, having fun while planning, etc.) All planner's have different ways of doing things and a different process for their services. Read websites, ask questions, think about what process makes the most sense for your journey.
So, Can You Afford To Hire A Wedding Planner?
I'm writing this guide for the couples that value the experience you get when having a wedding planner on your journey, but are worried about the investment. I hope I've been able to help you decide if you can afford a planner or coordinator, and why you should include one in your budget from the very beginning. Find the best planner/coordinator for you, and enjoy every minute of your engagement. It's about celebrating, not stress! I can't wait to see your vision come to life.
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