Wedding Planner Interview Part Three
Interviewer: And do you find that that’s the key reason why there are more wedding consultants now than say 20 years ago?
Catherine Porterfield: I definitely do. I definitely do. I think there’s just a huge–and it’s–and with these big events, it’s–they’re even more detailed and personal than they used to be you know with all these you know monogrammed you know little gifts that each you know–gifts that each guest receives at a wedding that are left on the–the tables for dinner, just–and the personalized little notes and then with you know no longer it’s the guestbook but now there’s you know plates that people sign and making sure the plate moves around and you know it’s the–the couple can have this plate on–to display at their home on their mantle. It’s just all these little things of personalized touches that people don’t want to do the tradition–the traditional guestbook or–or things like that–that the wedding planner has to be on top of all that and making sure that all those little details that make it a personal wedding are implemented and followed through with by all the other vendors.
Interviewer: That’s great. So detailed orientation is–is one thing, so what are some of the other characteristics that one would look for in a wedding consultant?
Catherine Porterfield: My first and foremost is I think trust and that they need to be able to trust you implicitly and you earn that trust by following up when you say you’re going to do something, always being you know proactive and in helping them, you’re the expert, so you’re there to guide them if they have questions and to foresee problems that your client won’t be able to see.
And maybe they want the wedding ceremony to run a certain way; you have to say okay, well let me–and you have to take a step back and think. Okay; now they want the–the groomsmen to walk in this way and then the–the bridesmaids to walk in this way and you have to figure out logistically okay I know the church or I know the venue where they’re getting married, how is that possible, and you have to be responsible for thinking of all those little things that–and how it’s going to be played out and orchestrated. So you really–that’s where the detail–being detailed oriented come in–comes in and that’s what helps with the trust because if you show that you’re thinking that far ahead and you’re looking at not only the big picture but the little picture and exact details on how things are going to happen then your clients will trust you.
Obviously you’re showing them that you know what you’re doing–that you’ve done it before–that you have experience and that you’re really thinking every little detail out and that you want this to run as smoothly as possible. And then if you gain the trust of your bride and groom and their families it will make the whole event so much smoother and just make everything be a much better working relationship with your clients.
So I think trust and you know really just delivering and catering to your client is extremely important. I think it’s also important to–as a wedding coordinator to really work on your relationship with other vendors. It’s very–it’s great to be able to go into a consultation, especially one you know–the first or second with a new client and they’re going to ask you, you know do you have someone that you would recommend and you know whether it be a caterer or a florist and to be able to say yes; and here’s who I’ve worked with in the past, and if you can get this network of people working on the same weddings then you have trust with them which is huge.
It was so–sometimes it’s very difficult to work with someone whom you’ve never worked with before because it’s always risky. You don’t know; you don’t have an established relationship. The more relationships that you can do and go out there and network and meet new vendors is really important and that also helps you as I mentioned before to stay on top of your game.
Look at trends from all the different areas–from flowers to music to you know caterers–all those different things, it really, really helps. So as much networking as you can do is–is extremely important and really getting to know other vendors and their industries.
Interviewer: Great; now we understand that you know selecting the optimal wedding consultant, it’s–it’s a process. You know you have to conduct some interviews and figure out you know who might work best for you, so what would the first interview with a potential consultant entail exactly?
Catherine Porterfield: I would always ask from the client’s perspective, always ask for some examples and you would want photos, you would want samples, because then it also helps you determine–some wedding–every wedding planner kind of has a different style and what you really want to do is find someone who best–is a good match because you’re trying to find–and you’re going to have a relationship that’s going to be very stressful for you know probably anywhere from over a year to six months–sometimes even three months, so you really want to find someone where that you–or form a partnership with a wedding coordinator who matches your style that you think if you want someone who is direct and straight to the point then you find that out during your interview.
So definitely watch the style, and also another way I find with style is looking at the different styled weddings that they’ve planned. So look at samples; they should–every wedding coordinator or planner should have some kind of portfolio and with that should be you know–include pictures of weddings that they’ve had, sample invitations, sample menus, sample flowers, song lists–everything that they’ve done and that they’ve had input on and how they were involved and what their role was in that wedding. And then they should also have references that I think should–every bridge and groom should always call and talk to someone else and see, because you’re definitely get one side from the wedding planner, but you’re going to hear something else from the bride and groom and then try to you know–take your image and your perception of that wedding planner to marry it with the references.
And every wedding planner should have references to give out. And–and I think that’s definitely one of the biggest things to look at. Also look at the wedding planner and see before you go meet with one, figure out what your needs are. Some brides and grooms want to plan things on their own and they really just need someone who’s going to give a little bit of input and a little guidance, but they don’t want someone who is really, really involved. So make sure that you find someone that matches that and is going to be able to meet that and is it going to be threatened by the fact that–that you know the bride and groom really want to take charge of this themselves, which every now and then they want to have the opportunity to contact somebody and to get some extra advice, and you know–so you really need to make sure that you know when you go meet with the wedding coordinator that they are able to give you what you need.
Now if you want someone who says oh I do–you know like I mentioned before–this whole weekend experience and you need to make it a three–four-day event–really caters to every need and is willing to do everything and go with every appointment–with you to every appointment and be it from flowers to cake tasting(s) to caterers to everything then you know make sure that you’re finding someone who’s able to offer that as well. So it’s really just making sure that you feel comfortable and that they are able to show their work to you and to show the range of their work, what they’re capable of and what they’re not; and then from there continue and just get to know the planner a little bit more.
Interviewer: Okay; now I have to go legal here with the–you know formalities and everything. Is there a specific contract involved that you have to sign and set up?
Catherine Porterfield: It’s always different. It depends on their–there should–yes; there is typically a contract involved. It’s going to vary and change obviously from whoever you’re using and especially if you’re using an independent wedding contractor or a consultant or planner.
They will have probably their own contract which has been looked at by you know a lawyer and is–is legal and–but they’re going to have their owns whereas if you go to a larger firm or a wedding planning firm then it’s going to be probably a little bit more comprehensive and the breakdown will probably be a little bit more specific is what I’ve found in the past. And when you go to an independent planner, a lot of times what they’ll also do is they’ll kind of have clauses in their contracts what–which will say you know the week of the wedding you know you will be paying–the client will pay for extra cell phone charges because they’ll be using their personal cell phone which is also their business cell phone but since they’ll be using it so much more closer to the wedding, they’ll add an additional cost for that. That might charge a little bit more an hourly cost for that. So those–those are the differences whereas if you go to a larger firm it’s pretty much one flat fee and everything is included in that.