Wedding Planning Questionnaire for Engaged Couples

Wedding at The Farm - A Gathering Place by Jen Yuson Photography

When starting the wedding planning process, it's important to know that you as a couple are on the same page. This will allow you to make decisions independently, when necessary, knowing that it fits the look and feel of the wedding for both of you. It will also help you avoid arguments with each other during the planning process.

This short questionnaire can be filled out together as a couple, or print out two copies and fill out separately. You should discuss the reasons for your choices because it will help you when making decisions together.

If there is another person who will be an important decision-maker in the wedding, such as a parent, you may wish to get them to fill this out too. But I would recommend that you as the couple fill out the questionnaire first.

Wedding Planning Questionnaire

1.     Rate the following in order of importance (put a 1 next to the thing that is most important to you, through a 10 next to the thing that is least important to you):

___Food
___Liquor
___Apparel
___Aesthetics/Appearance (flowers, decorations, centerpieces, ambiance)
___Music
___Convenience
___Spirituality
___Photography
___Family and Friends

2.     When I look back on our wedding, I want to most remember: (choose 1)

___How exciting and fun everything was
___How romantic it was
___How beautiful it was
___How proper and tasteful everything was
___How smoothly and easily everything went
___How happy my parents and family were
___How relaxed I was

3.    Circle two to three words that you think will describe your wedding: 

Fun -- Romantic -- Classic -- Unique -- Loving -- Classy -- Tasteful -- Glamorous -- Elegant -- Funky -- Casual -- Relaxed -- Formal -- Themed -- Well-appointed -- Luxurious -- Decadent -- Old-fashioned -- Kitschy -- Preppy -- Sporty -- Morning -- Afternoon -- Evening -- Coordinated -- Cute -- Solemn -- Religious -- Secular -- Traditional -- Other ____________

4.    Even though you may not yet have put together a budget, or know who is contributing to your wedding, select how much you think your wedding should cost: (choose 1)

___Less than $5000
___$5000-$10000
___$10,000-$25,000
___$25,000-$45,000
___$45,000-$70,000
___$70,000-$100,000
___more than $100,000

5.    I want to get married: (choose 1)

___in the spring
___in the summer
___in the fall
___in the winter
___on our anniversary
___on an easy to remember date like 1/3/2013
___on a holiday (Valentine's Day, New Years, Etc.)
___on my parents' wedding anniversary
___on another special date _______________

6.    Colors that might make good wedding colors: (choose 3 or 4)

Red -- Green -- Yellow -- Blue -- Purple -- Lilac -- Amethyst -- Eggplant -- Lavender -- Wine -- Bordeaux -- Burgundy -- Sky blue -- Teal -- Royal Blue -- Navy -- Midnight Blue -- Raspberry -- Light Pink -- Hot Pink -- Fuschia -- Coral -- Magenta -- Peach -- Tangerine -- Apricot -- Pumpkin -- Orange -- Curry -- Mustard -- Brown -- Chocolate Brown -- Camel -- Tan -- Beige -- Apple Green -- Grass Green -- Kelly Green -- Mint Green -- Lime Green -- Moss -- Sapphire -- Deep Aqua -- Gold -- Silver -- White -- Black -- Bronze -- Copper -- Cream -- Champagne -- Vanilla -- Marigold -- Electric Blue -- Neon Yellow -- Blue Grey -- Grey -- Other _____________

(weddings.about.com)

Once you have both completed the questionnaire, use your answers to start planning your wedding. You might use the budget number as a target to discuss with anyone who might be helping pay for the wedding. If you both agree that flowers are more important to you than music, for example, you might choose to allocate a greater percentage of your budget to flowers, and save money on music. 

Here’s to a great experience with planning the wedding of your dreams.

Set Wedding Budget Before Choosing Your Date

Once you have gotten over the excitement of becoming engaged, creating a wedding budget is what should be first on your list of things to do.  Too often couples start planning the wedding and hiring vendors before setting the budget. Budgeting after you have started spending money can most often lead to regret. You realize you have spent so much on your venue that now you can only afford half of the flowers you would like for the reception area.

Although it is tradition for the bride’s parents to pay for the wedding, this is not necessarily true for today’s couples.

There are several options:

• ·         Parents may pay for all the wedding expenses.
• ·         Parents may specify an amount they will put towards the wedding. The couple will pay the difference.
• ·         Parents may decide to pay for certain aspects of the wedding such as the wedding dress, catering, etc. 
•       The couple will pay for everything else.
• ·         The couple can set a specific budget and ask everyone to pay evenly. This is a great option in a divided family. For example, the mother of the bride, the father of the bride and the couple split the costs. If the groom’s parents offer to pay a portion of the wedding, include them in the equation.
• ·         The couple can decide on their budget together and pay for all the expenses of the wedding.

All Free DIY Weddings

   Now comes the question of how much money you will really need.

    

      Depending on where you live, you can figure $100 per guest is a good start.  This comes to $50 per guest for catering and $50 for all the rest.

       Start by using a wedding budget worksheet.

• ·        Put in the actual numbers that you know, such as, venue, band/dj, wedding attire.
• ·         Prioritize what is most important to you, choosing 2 or 3 must haves for your wedding day.
• ·         Look through the budget and cross off the things you will not need.

     

      Once you have set your budget, stick to it!  It is easier said than done, but will alleviate the dreaded post wedding spending regret.

Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

For most couples, their wedding day will probably be the most expensive day of their life. Soyou may want to consider some guidance when spending that much money. 

You consult with an expert for advice when buying a house or going on a special vacation.  So why not consult with an expert when you are planning such an important day?



If you haven't already read an earlier blog by Christine Boulton, "Do You Need a Wedding Planner? Would You Remodel Your Home Without a General Contractor?" Christine made some great points for hiring a wedding planner when you are talking about one of the most important days in your life and spending that much money.  Hiring a wedding planner might seem like an extravagant extra, but it could be the best investment you make.

I think couples are reluctant to spend money on a wedding planner especially if they are working with a tight budget.  

Other vendors that are hired for a wedding have tangible items to offer...things you can either see, hear, taste or feel.  A florist...the flowers, a dj...the music, a caterer...the food, photographer...the pictures.  

Tangible items are not what wedding planners are offering.  




Wedding planners are the ones who pull the vendors, bride and groom, wedding party, guests, officiant and others all together to make the day run seamlessly.  Wedding planners are also the ones to assist you with staying in your wedding budget which in the long run could save you money.

Wedding planners are the ones in the background taking care of all the details...big and small, making sure the couple's wishes are being met, handling any unexpected situations, keeping everything on schedule and making sure everything flows without any hitches.

Wedding Planners are there to keep the stress away from the bride, groom and their families so they will be able to enjoy their special day. 


I always compare wedding planners to a duck...always calm and unruffled on the surface but paddling like the devil underneath!

To me, a wedding planner should be the first vendor you hire.  

Wedding planners have experience with many different types of weddings and will be with you every step on the way to lend their expert advice.  

A good wedding planner is not going to push their ideas on the couple.  They are going to carry out and support the ideas that the couple has for their wedding day. 

At It's Your Party, we first meet with the couple to understand the ideas they have for their wedding day.  We find out exactly what they have envisioned for their wedding day. Then we make suggestions on ways to bring their vision to life. 





We put our couple's wishes first. We are happy to share ideas of things that have worked great in the past.   But on the other hand, if we feel something is not going to work, we will also share that information as well. In the end, the final decision will be left up to the couple.

It's Your Party has worked with brides for up to a year prior to their wedding day.  We have also planned a wedding in a matter of weeks....5 to be exact!  For that wedding, we pulled together vendors, rentals, decor, etc. for the rehearsal dinner, wedding ceremony and wedding reception.  It turned out to be one of our favorite weddings.  This was all done with a couple who lived in another state. 

It's Your Party has worked with some wonderful vendors and venue owners over the years. This is the group that we affectionately call...Folks We Love! These vendors are always extremely professional, highly qualified and willing to go the extra mile. So a wedding planner is able to assist you with finding the best people for your wedding day. They will also know the right questions to ask and help you decide who is the best fit for your wedding day.

A wedding planner is also there to help relieve the stress off of your shoulders. There can always be an unexpected situation that comes up either prior to the wedding or on the wedding day itself that could turn into a disaster. A wedding planner is able to deal with those stressful situations for you turning the planning process and especially your wedding day into an fun and enjoyable time for you and everyone involved.

There have been several situations that we have handled as wedding planners that could have turned into...if not a disaster a very unpleasant situation.  One of those times, a couple had booked a DJ who had an unexpected emergency come up and had to cancel a month prior to the wedding.  We were on the phone immediately calling another DJ so that when we spoke with the bride the next day there would be someone else in place. I will also add the DJ who had to cancel had also contacted another DJ...so that shows you we work with some great people.

At another wedding that we coordinated, the bride's mother had hired someone to drive the guests between the hotels and ceremony site.  There was a mix up at the rental car company, which was not under our contract. We hustled around called some people we know and we drove guests from the hotels to and from the ceremony site.  This was all kept away from the bride, groom and their families so not to interfere with their special day.

At one of the wedding receptions we were coordinating, the friend who was providing the table linens did not bring enough for all the tables the day of the wedding. Our business has many many items that we use at weddings including table linens. So we drove out to our storage building and picked up the number of linens that we needed. The bride or her family never knew this was happening...I'm not sure if they ever even realized what had happended. 

Just think how stressful any one of these examples could have been on the couple or her family the day of the wedding if they hadn't hired a wedding planner. But because they had, the stress was kept away from the couple and they could enjoy their wedding day.  This is just another way that hiring a wedding planner is definite plus.  

It's Your Party always wants the stress to be at a minimal for the couple and their family.

There are always things that come up prior to and day of the wedding that a wedding planner is able to handle so the bride and groom do not have any added stress. 

As you are planning your wedding, you will have many questions concerning your wedding and it is wonderful to have a wedding professional who is able to answer all of  those questions for you. 

For one of the most important days of your life, do you really want to leave it to chance instead of hiring a wedding professional who has helped to plan many many weddings.

The money you spend on hiring a wedding planner for such an important day in your life, will be worth every penny in the end. 

If you hired a wedding planner for your wedding, please share your experience.  We love hearing from our readers.
Thank you, It's Your Party!

Do You Need a Wedding Planner? Would You Remodel Your Home Without a General Contractor? - See more at: http://itsyourpartysc.blogspot.com/2013/08/do-you-need-wedding-planner-would-you.html#sthash.Wb2WG78G.dpuf

Do You Need a Wedding Planner? Would You Remodel Your Home Without a General Contractor? - See more at: http://itsyourpartysc.blogspot.com/2013/08/do-you-need-wedding-planner-would-you.html#sthash.Wb2WG78G.dpuf

Do You Need a Wedding Planner? Would You Remodel Your Home Without a General Contractor?

The following posting is from a fellow blogger, Christine Boulton, who has been in the wedding industry for 25 years. She concentrates on helping small wedding businesses succeed. I found this blog posting to be a wonderful way to explain why a wedding planner is so important. The explanation is so simple, so clear and so important! ~ It's Your Party!

I don’t get it. Why would you take on a project that can cost you anywhere from $10,000 to, well, as high as you want to go without having a professional by your side?

Here is the thing, would you take on a major home remodeling project without hiring a general contractor? Of course not. I know, you are asking how are those even remotely the same. Let me ask you,

“How are they different?”

• Both have budgets in at least the 5 figure range. That is a LOT of money.
• In both instances you want a high degree of personalization. In short, you want YOUR dream to be executed.
• Both will require a long list of sub-contractors that you have most likely never dealt with before.
• Both require tight scheduling to make sure everything comes together on time and on budget.
• Both are going to have glitches and unexpected issues pop up that someone is going to have to deal with.
• The results of both are going to be with you for a long, long time.

Am I beginning to make some sense here?

All those things listed above are what a wedding planner does.

• They know which vendors are reliable and match your style.
• They help you translate your dreams to the people who are going to make them come true.
• They know all about how your venue works in terms of timing and convenience for load in.
• It is their job to keep that timeline on track so
• , for example, the flowers show up after the tables are set up, dinner is served hot and the MC know when to do the first dance.
• It is their job to keep all those sub-contractors working together on the right plan.
• They are there to look you right in the eye and say “Yes you can have that, but you are going to have to give up XYZ”
• They are there to handle those last-minute glitches and issues in a way that you don’t even know they happened.
There is a wealth of information online today on how to plan a wedding, but until you actually do it, you have no idea of everything involved.
Seriously, when you look at it in this light, why would you even think of not hiring a wedding planner for one of the days you are going to remember for the rest of your life.
Sure, I could watch HGTV, DIY Network, House Crashers and This Old House until my eyes bleed but one episode of Holmes on Homes or DIY Disaster will cure my ass of thinking I can remodel my kitchen on my own!
By: Christine Boulton
Wedding Dish
Think Like A Bride

Hiring a Wedding Planner

Many couples never even consider hiring a wedding planner.  They may think that this is one area where they may be able to save money.  The couple does not realize that having outside help can save them time, aggravation and possibly money in the long run. 

If you are engaged and trying to decide if you need to hire a wedding planner, following is a checklist that you may find helpful:

1. You are behind on your checklist or schedule.
2. You work full time which will prevent you from meeting with vendors.
3. You do not have any outside help that is available for you to call on.
4. You need to know reliable vendors in your area.
5. You are have a destination wedding.
6. There are some personality conflicts or differences in opinions between the couple, parents and/or others.
7. You are excited to be engaged but thinking of all the planning involved fills you with dread.
8. You are having a very short engagement.
9. You can envision your wedding but have no idea of how to make it a reality.
10. You cannot envision your wedding.
11. You are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and worried about the planning process and being able to make everything come together.
12. Even after reading and hearing excellent advice from others, you still wish you had someone to give you personal advice and leadership.




If you have checked off one or more of the above you should at least investigate hiring a wedding planner.  Remember keep in mind because of the connections and experience of wedding planners they will help to make the planning process easier and avoid some common mistakes.Therefore, hiring a wedding planner may be the most cost effective move in the end.




Please leave any questions or comments about hiring a wedding planner.