As someone who recently got married, I can confidently say that the BEST decision I made for my wedding (besides my husband of course) was hiring my wedding planner. I tell my clients all of the time, if I could have you hire ONE person other than myself as your wedding photographer, it would be a wedding planner.

Wedding planners are painfully underrated. So many people think they can handle it all themselves, or have friends or family help plan and coordinate the day of… and then they wonder why the entire process is so stressful. The sad truth of it is that even after the fact – I think people still don’t realize that hiring a planner would have changed everything!!!

From a brides perspective I can tell you that my planner (Megan at Sweet Peach Planning) took so much weight off my shoulders throughout the entire process. She organized my budget, found EXCEPTIONAL vendors that were within my budget, scheduled the meetings, and kept me on track for what I was allowed to spend on each and every aspect of my wedding keeping us from blowing our budget out of the water. Not only that, but she handled all of the conversations and contracts with my vendors and was there to make sure that things were going right every step of the way. The day of my wedding she had everyone organized with what time they were to arrive and where they needed to be for set up. She was there to handle set up, organized every single detail so I didn’t have to check a single thing. She knew my vision, and she brought it to life. All I had to think about on the day of my wedding was having a good time. There was absolutely no stress on me! Yes – things went wrong (that were out of my planners control) but Megan handled each situation without saying a word to me. Because we are now life-long friends… when I got home from my honeymoon she told me about some of the things that happened (like that our bartenders didn’t show up!!) and I was blown away that she handled it all and never let me worry about a thing. She was also there all night to tear down the rentals, and back early the next morning to make sure everything was taken care of and nothing got left behind. If I could put into words the gift that is, I would. But it’s impossible. Wedding planners, and I cannot stress this enough, are WORTH. EVERY. SINGLE. PENNY.

As a vendor – having a planner organize your timeline, and keep everyone and everything on track means I get to just be your wedding photographer and not also have to attempt to coordinate with all of your vendors to make sure everything happens on time and we stay on track. Having that load off my shoulders, allows me to be more creative as I get to focus on just your photography. Without a planner, your wedding photographer and DJ are often the people who have to organize your day and that takes us away, on some level, from being able to dedicate 100% of our energy on the reason you hired us!

So if you can, let your wedding photographer be your wedding photographer!! And let your family be guests who get to enjoy the day. Don’t put them to work. Hire a planner!! I have many fabulous recommendations. Just ask!

This is a wedding that I photographed that Megan and her team at Sweet Peach Planning planned and coordinated at Vibiana in Los Angeles, and it was perfection.

For more information on wedding photography in Orange County, San Diego, Los Angeles, or literally – anywhere!! Please visit our website at http://www.BriannaCaster.com