Do I need a wedding planner?

Today's wedding typically takes 250 planning hours to make the bride's vision come to reality. That includes finding, hiring and keeping up with an average team of 18 vendors. These are typically:

• Ceremony venue
• Reception venue
• Officiate
• Caterer
• Florist
• Baker
• Entertainment
• Wedding Stationer
• Calligrapher
• Rental Company
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Transportation
• Hair & Makeup Artist
• Bridal Salon
• Alterations company
• Tuxedo shop
• Rehearsal Dinner Venue

Planning a wedding can become a full time job. There are so many options out there, for venues, djs, bands, photographers, flowers, invitations; the list goes on and on. Plus, you have to plan it all while maintaining the rest of your life and working within a budget. A wedding planner does this on a daily basis, while you are doing this for the first time. You can absolutely benefit from using a planner through their industry knowledge, experience and negotiation skills. The only real question is what level of help would you prefer?

Do you offer day-of services?

You are probably looking for our Month-Of Coordination Package. To truly do our job well, we cannot just show up the day of your wedding and run things. We need to know your preferences and wedding day vision, so if something comes up that day, we can make a decision with your best interests in mind. We need to know who your vendors are and make sure everyone is on the same page before we even get to your big day. With this package, you enable us to truly tie up all the loose ends before your wedding so we don't have any emergencies to deal with on the big day.

What's the difference between a wedding planner, wedding consultant and wedding coordinator?

Each certification program has it's own title, which is why there are so many different titles out there. Here is what these terms mean to us. A wedding planner is someone who plans the wedding and can coordinate the wedding as well. A wedding consultant is essentially the same as a wedding planner. A wedding coordinator can coordinate the wedding event, but does not offer planning services. Other names you might hear are bridal consultant or event planner, but they all come back to the same thing, someone to help you plan your wedding or event and possibly coordinate. When looking at the companies that have these titles, just make sure you are comparing service to service, not just the title.

My venue/DJ says they can help me and I don't need a wedding planner. Can I just depend on them?

First, what service are they offering you? If they are offering coordination on your big day, and they have the training to do so, that's one thing. Unfortunately, many say they are offering this or more and it does not end up being the case. When someone offers you planning services, you need to get specific with them to find out exactly what they can and cannot help you with. Also, find out their qualifications and how they perform their services. If they are representing themselves as a wedding planner, they need to be qualified, just like we are. It's our opinion that you should do one thing and do it well, we prefer to use vendors who do not offer planning services in addition to their main "gig" to handle both. If you'd like our help in determining the answer to this question, feel free to ask us during your initial consultation. That's what we're here for!

How do we know you're the right wedding planner for us?

It is crucial that the wedding planner you choose is someone you like and trust. You'll be spending a lot of time with them and if you're not comfortable with them, it could lead to a very bumpy road. Our biggest concern is that you get the wedding of your dreams and to do this, you need to have the right people working for you. This is why we do not charge for your initial consultation. It is the time we both use to get to know each other and make sure we both click before moving forward. This is a two-way interview and we both get to ask lots of questions. If we feel that we're not the perfect match, we will be happy to recommend someone we think you would work well with.

What if we don't want a traditional wedding or reception?

We LOVE the non-traditional or alternative wedding. If you want to do something different, just call us and let's talk about it. It's your wedding, do it your way! We do not serve as the etiquette or wedding police. We're simply here to guide you in making your wedding day as personal as possible.

Will you be there on the day of our wedding?

When you contract with Each & Every Detail, you will be assigned a lead wedding planner. This is normally the person you originally interview with and they will be with you throughout your planning process and on your wedding day. We want to make sure you are comfortable with your planner and would never switch your planner unless an emergency required it.

So how much does all this cost?

The current average Dallas wedding costs around $30,000. For outlying areas around Dallas, this can drop a little bit, but is usually around $20,000-$30,000. Of course this is an average and you can check out actual statistics at websites such as www.theweddingreport.com.

The reason we mention this is because wedding magazines are very fond of saying a wedding planner will cost you about 10-15% of your wedding budget, but if your wedding budget falls below the average, a wedding planner is going to cost you more than 10-15%. This is just a figure to keep in mind when checking rates for different planners.

We charge a flat fee versus a percentage. Our feeling is that each and every wedding is different, which means each package we create is different for each bride. Pricing depends on some key factors:

• Package and services you have chosen
• Time remaining until your event
• How many vendors you need help selecting and/or interviewing
• How many vendors total we will be working with for your big day

Bottom line is, until we can get to know a little about what you need help with, We cannot quote a definite price here on the website. So, here's our best advice:

Take advantage of our free initial consultation and let's get into details. We'll talk about everything you have accomplished so far, what your concerns are and how best we can help you. At the end of it (it can last from 1-2 hours), we will both know what package best suits you and we can give you a proposal. Plus, you'll get a free little something for your trouble. What gal doesn't like free stuff?

Do you offer any free advice?

Yes! we send out a monthly newsletter that provides free advice, tips, helpful articles and vendor info. Simply fill in the form to sign up. Also check out our blog as we frequently post helpful info on planning your wedding.

Email Address		Phone
First Name		Wedding Date
Last Name

What's the worst thing you've had happen?

We've literally been through flood and fire, so we have some crazy stories. The biggest issue we had to resolve was literally flooding. At one of our larger weddings, the ceremony and reception was located on a ranch that was divided by a creek. During the wedding ceremony, it began to pour down rain and the creek began to rise. To prevent everyone from being trapped in the building we were at, it was crucial to move everything (and we mean everything) from where we were to a building located on higher ground at the front of the property. We moved about 200 people, cake, decorations, chairs, tables, DJ, food and of course the bar, all in about 45 minutes. We can only say that we pulled through because we had excellent vendors and our staff was just amazing. Everyone stayed late and partied hard, so all ended well.

Are all the photos on your website from weddings you've worked on?

Absolutely! We've been fortunate to work with many photographers and they have been kind enough to share their work with us. You'll find their names and a link to their website within each gallery.