Have you ever wondered what the difference between and wedding planner and a wedding stylist is? With the help of Nashville event planner Premier W.E.D. we are sharing exactly that in today’s feature! Should you hire both? When would you consider hiring one over the other? Who does what? Keep reading to get these questions (and more) answered!
How would you describe the tasks a wedding planner handles for a wedding?
Dawn: Wedding Planners are experienced professionals who plan, organize and coordinate the logistics of a client’s wedding celebrations. This can be one day or several and can incorporate various events that need to run flawlessly and in tandem. They are in charge of bringing together all of the elements that make up a wedding day, from sourcing and liaising with venues, managing the wedding suppliers, overseeing guest lists and RSVPs, to creating and managing the wedding budget. On the actual wedding day, the planner will coordinate the suppliers, ensure the event runs on schedule and resolve any issues if and when they arise. They also (like our company) often design all details of the wedding stylistically.
How would you describe the tasks a wedding designer has for your wedding?
Dawn: A Wedding Designer, or Stylist will take your wedding ideas and use that to inspire a wedding concept or theme (basically the look and feel). Stylists will create color palettes and consider all the visual elements such as florals, linens, furniture and prop hire, stationery, lighting, backdrops etc. When it comes to the actual event, the Wedding Stylist will be in charge of set-up, overseeing visual suppliers and styling the ceremony and reception spaces so they look perfect.
What is a big difference between a wedding planner and a wedding stylist?
Dawn: A planner is an all encompassing job, where as the stylist only focuses on the design entities and vendors involved with that. A planner will know intimate details about your wedding in order to ensure that you are stress free. A stylist will solely focus on aesthetics and not any of the other wedding details and timelines.
Do couples need to hire a separate planner and a separate stylist? Or do many planners offer both of these services?
Dawn: Most planners include design in their fees and handle all aspects like we do! However, if a couple feels they have all the planning under control, but need aesthetic help and sourcing visual elements for their day, they might hire a Stylist instead of a Planner. What is odd about this scenario is… somehow, the industry has started to separate the design from the logistics. It’s how we have come to a place of a stylist being a job. I believe this happened due to many creatives (we are lovers of love after all!) assuming they could be a planner and failing at some of the most important aspects of the very detailed job. There are many details in design, however it’s a different beast than the items involved in the planning world. For example, budgeting, transportation manifests, hotel blocks, contract reviews, invitation monitoring, menu planning, etc. When a planner is worth every penny is when they are skilled designers and logistic lovers! One stop shop.
What questions should couples ask a planner to be clear about what service they are hiring him or her for?
Dawn: How many meetings will they have and how will those be handled? How do you assist us with selecting the right vendor with in our style and budget? Will you handle our invitation mailing? How many people will be working our wedding the day of? What steps do you take to ensure all details and communication are in place or the vendors the day of? How many weddings have you planned? Have you worked at the venue before? What is your favorite type of wedding to plan and why? Do you have references? In what ways do you help to ensure our budget stays on track? How often do you communicate on average with your clients weekly (outside of set meetings)? What would vendors say is your strength? What would vendors say is your weakness? Have you ever had to return a bride’s deposit due to any sort of failure to perform on your end?
Premier W.E.D. has been in the business for a long time here in Nashville. What are some mistakes you see couples make when hiring a planner or a stylist?
Dawn: The most common mistake is always about money. Couples/or their parents choose planners solely based on pricing often times and although it is important… in the end, you get what you pay for. And unfortunately for that bride, she can’t go back. You won’t know the full difference until the entire wedding is over and you wish you could go back! There isn’t a price to put on experience in the industry that a client could ever afford! There is obviously a cap in the industry in Nashville, but if you are expecting a flawless wedding, then your planner is your best friend.
You have to realize that your planner is handling every last detail of your wedding and yet you pay more for other services than you do your planner who has worked with you to make the whole thing happen! When you baulk at pricing, think about that. Think about the hours and hours for months and months it costs that planner. It’s a skewed industry, but it is still true that you get what you pay for. You should meet with more than one person, you should ask vendors about certain planners and ask their opinion about the match you might make with a planner. You should love the personality of your planner as well as KNOW they can produce what you want. Never choose solely on money or personality alone. There is a balance.
How would you break down Premier W.E.D.’s services and offerings to couples looking to book a planner?
Dawn: Our company offers full luxury wedding planning. We do on rare occasions have people to hire our team for Day of Coordinator options. We have a full team of well trained, seasoned Directors that can step in to handle day of only. Our fee for that is higher than most simply because 20 years of business allows us to know how many hours it will take to fully take on that wedding at that point and make sure it’s as flawless as possible. Hard to do sometimes when you haven’t been the one planning it. We want to ensure that our name is associated with a wedding or event that is perfect. That requires a lot of time and research on our end. Our typical clientele however, are full planning brides. Some of our couples know exactly what they like, but don’t know how to make that happen or translate it into their dream event. Some of our clients have zero clue what they truly want and we dig deep to figure it out with them.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about a wedding planner vs. a wedding stylist?
Dawn: I know talented wedding stylists out there. And don’t get me wrong… there are some brides who possibly only need a stylist, but I can’t imagine choosing that over a full planner. Especially if your planner is worth their weight in gold and is truly a designer at heart (as they should be!). It seems a bit redundant and monies wasted to hire both. Weddings are so involved these days and have so many moving parts, I can’t imagine a full time student or employee having the time to do all of the planning alone to only hire a stylist for that aspect of things. Every client and their needs are different so my opinion might not apply to all!
There you have it, ya’ll! Huge thanks to Dawn of Premier W.E.D. for sharing this knowledge with us! If you’re looking to hire a wedding planner, be sure to check out Premier W.E.D. here and on Instagram!
