The Rise of the Wedding Planner

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a fairly big wedding happening at the end of April, one that’s given us all an extra bank holiday and will create a new princess.

When Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot on April 29th they will have had the pleasure of having the Lord Chamberlain’s office organising the whole event…And with just six months between the (announced) engagement to the altar, there has been a lot of organising to do.

Planning a wedding, especially whilst juggling jobs, homes and a social life, can be a big job, and increasingly more and more couples are turning to others to help them organise their wedding day. We spoke to professional wedding planner Dominique Douglas of Stylish Events about the increasing popularity of wedding planners.

Dominique Douglas founded Stylish Events in 2002 and has noticed the increased use of the wedding planning service: “When I started nine years ago there were three wedding planners in the UK, there are now around 300. There has to be a reason for that.”

The idea of having a wedding planner has come over from the USA, where the majority of engaged couples will hire the wedding planner almost immediately after becoming engaged. However, here in the UK, hiring a wedding planner tends to be a more exclusive event. Dominique says “Many of my clients come from London and in most cases they are paying for the wedding themselves. They want everything to be organised meticulously and have high expectations. They are not afraid to “outsource” the work. Of course they still have complete control, it’s just that someone else does the running around.”

Wedding planners can be involved at every stage, from creating the theme, finding the perfect venue, sourcing the florist, photographer and stationery, managing the budget, to acting as the “project manager” on the day. One of the big advantages of using a wedding planner is that they know exactly where to go to get everything done and also have strong relationships with a good network of suppliers. It means you can rest easy knowing that they will produce exactly what you want. And although the cost of the average wedding is getting higher, most people still want value for money, particularly in this economic climate! A wedding planner can provide exactly that and help you stick to your budget without compromising – as Dominique says, “I believe that you should have the best wedding you can afford, no matter what your budget.

Planning your wedding should be an enjoyable process and a good wedding planner helps you enjoy the journey. When it comes to the big day, the most important thing is that you are able to relax and treasure the moment. If you would like to learn more about planning a wedding, or the work of a wedding planner, then do have a look at Dominique Douglas’s website at http://stylishevents.com/ or you can contact her on 07780 702 060.