To Pay or Not to Pay?

Increasingly couples are asking the question: Should they pay to have a wedding planner?

It's a valid concern...and one that has many implications. Wedding planners can certainly save couples time and energy. For busy couples who don't have the time or attention needed to work out details, the wedding planner can be a godsend. But planners also cost money, or a percentage of the total wedding costs, and so couples who have a fixed wedding budget can often find that a planner is too expensive.

However, there are alternatives.

Consider these options:

Have a family member or good friend serve as the planner and give this person the stickiest details (the ones you don't want to worry with). A trusted friend can do the work and make the wedding easier.

Or, find a wedding planner who will actually save you money by keeping you on budget. Give the wedding planner your total budget and say, "This is what we have to work with. It's our total budget. So you make the wedding happen on this amount and make the tough decisions for us."