15 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Wedding Planner

Hiring your perfect Wedding Planner is a very important decision, so we have written out the 15 most important questions to ask a wedding planner to assist with this process! Your wedding is one of the most personal + meaningful events you will ever plan, so it makes sense that you would like to hire a professional to make sure you, your fiancé, + your loved ones are actually enjoying the experience, that you have the day you have always dreamt about, and that you get to fully take in each & every moment on your wedding day! Why would you want anything less?!

Whether you hire The Simply Elegant Group, or another fabulous Wedding Planner, we want to make sure you feel fully prepared by giving you the list below of the most important questions to ask a wedding planner during the hiring process! Always remember: enjoy the process, take in every moment, and go with your gut on every decision – it’s your day, it should reflect you & what you want!

Here are the 15 questions to ask a Wedding Planner during the interview process:

1. Are you available for my date?

This will be the first question you will want to ask before anything else! Your time is precious, and you will want to know if they are available for your date before any further questions need to be asked. You don’t want to “fall in love” with a planner to only find out that they are not available for your wedding date.

2. What planning packages do you offer? What do they include?

It is not always clear on what packages each planning company offers on their website, or what is included in each package. It is important for you to describe what exactly you expect from a wedding planner, and then ask if they provide a package that would cover your needs. If they do not have something that exactly fits your planning expectations, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they could build a custom planning package for you.

For example, here at The Simply Elegant Group, we have (6) different planning packages, ranging from what most call a Day-of Coordinator, all the way through a Full Service/Full Wedding Weekend Planner. We also are able to build custom packages for couples, and have many A La Carte options that you can add on depending on your needs + budget!

3. Can you work within my budget?

Before researching Wedding Planner potentials, you will want to know what your top budget number will be for your wedding day. Two questions you will want to ask during your initial planner meeting will be: Will your services fit well into my budget? Are you able to assist me with planning a wedding with my vision, for my total budget amount?

4. What planning paperwork/organizational tools will you provide us when planning the wedding?

Before signing, you will want to ask what organizational tools/programs do they use to organize all of the details for your wedding day. Do they provide you with a timeline? A checklist? A Vendor Information sheet? A seating chart template? (we do.. and so much more!). You will also want to ask when you will have access to the planning tools as well!

5. What do you require in order to book your services?

Do they require a signed contract? How much do they require for a deposit? What is the payment schedule/When is the final payment due?

6. Do you have a preferred vendor list? What does this mean for you & choosing your needed vendors?

One of the best reasons to hire a wedding planner is because they usually have a list of incredible vendors that they can highly recommend to you. If you have done any research on wedding vendors on your own, you will see that there are thousands of choices for each vendor category, which can be very overwhelming. Your planner would only recommend vendors that they genuinely love working with, because not only do planners want their clients happy, but they want to work with people that they can trust & know that will do a great job (which in turn, makes our jobs so much easier)!

One of the best questions to ask a Wedding Planner regarding vendors: Do they have relationships with vendors that would offer you an incentive just because you are their client? We do! CLICK HERE to see our incredible list of very talented vendors for each of our branch locations!

7. What vendors will you assist me with booking based on the package I am interested in? What does the vendor booking process look like? (if applicable)

Most planning companies will offer at least 1-2 packages that include them assisting their clients with booking some or all of their needed vendors. Based on the package you are interested in & what you still need to book at that point, you will want to ask them what the planner’s process will be to assist & book your remaining vendors!

8. Since I am needing assistance for booking my wedding venue(s), what does the process look like for this? (if applicable)

Are you hiring your wedding planner from the very beginning & want their assistance to find your dream wedding venue(s)? You will most certainly want to talk about this during your initial conversation so you can fully understand your planner’s process, and how exactly they will help you with booking this very important part of your wedding day!

9. Who exactly will be my assigned Wedding Planner? – What is their background/experience?

If you are speaking with a company that has multiple Wedding Planner choices (like ours), you may want to ask who exactly they are thinking of assigning to your wedding/who is available for your date? If it will make you feel better, you could also ask to set up a time to chat with that specific planner before signing the contract to make sure it is a great fit!

When interviewing a company/planner, you may want to ask about the planner’s background/experience, and if they have done a wedding at your venue before (even though the great wedding planners could do a wedding at any venue sight unseen – so not a make or break question, but still nice to ask).

10. What happens if for any reason you/my assigned planner are unable to be there the day of the wedding?

The best wedding planners will do anything & everything to be at your wedding once committed, however, things we cannot control do come up: sickness, funeral, very personal event that cannot be missed (sister’s wedding for example). So to bring you comfort, you should ask your potential planner their back up plan just in case anything like this does come up and they are unable to be there the day of your wedding.

11. How many hours will my planner be there the day of my wedding, and what can we expect him/her to do that day?

What to expect on your wedding day is a very valid question to ask a wedding planner. How many hours will they be there based on the package you select? What do those hours usually cover? Will they be there for my rehearsal the day before? What tasks do planners usually handle the day-of the wedding? You will want to know all of these items up front so you know what will be covered on the wedding day & what to prepare for!

12. How many people should I expect to be there from your team the day of my wedding?

Now that you have figured out how many hours your planner will be there for, you will want to know who exactly fro their team will be there the day of your wedding. Will it be your planner + 1 assistant? Multiple assistants? Anyone else to ensure that everything will be handled & will run smoothly?

13. For the DIY Couples: If I am planning on providing some of my own centerpieces (for example), is my planner able to set these up prior to/strike at the end of the night?

If you are planning on providing any DIY items that may seem a little complicated to set-up/strike (examples: centerpieces/ceremony arch/hanging elements/etc), this will be important to discuss with your potential planning company up front so they can verify this ahead of time to see if it is included in your package, if you need to add this on as a la carte item, or if you will need to figure out another way these items can be set-up/collected.

14. Are you able to share with me examples of weddings you have done in the past?

If you are interested in seeing the weddings they have planned before, ask them to send photos of a few past weddings you could view (they should be able to refer you to their instagram page, and/or they have an easy link they can send, like we do HERE)! Even better, ask them to send you any photos that they may have from past weddings at your specific wedding venue! This can be fun to see, & help you start envisioning your own wedding day!

15. What challenges have you faced with weddings in the past, and how did you deal with them?

This question will keep your potential planner on their toes. As we all know, things will happen, but what matters the most is how the planner deals with them. Hearing this should bring you comfort knowing that you will have a planner that can handle it all, and you will not have to worry about a thing the day of your wedding! If you have an uneasy feeling after hearing their answer, like we said in the beginning – trust your gut! xo

Are you considering hiring a wedding planner for your big day? First of all, congratulations on your engagement + this very exciting time in your life! Secondly, we would absolutely LOVE to connect with you to answer all of these & any additional questions that you may have to see if we are the perfect fit! CLICK HERE to schedule your free consultation today! xoxo