We’re in the second installment of my Dear Bride Series and I’m super excited about this one!! I’m not a wedding planner, I’m a wedding photographer. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a super Type A, planner type of mind!!

I adore when my couples hire a wedding planner! Deep down, it gives me such relaxation. It means the wedding day is going to be flawless. It means you have someone working on your behalf to make your visions come to life, stay organized, stress free, AND, they also help so so much with all of the vendors on the day of!

I could never do what wedding planners do and they earn all of my respect!! They work HARD and deserve all the praise! But here’s the thing… if you don’t have one, who’s working hard for you?

I worked hard during every second of my wedding planning and even on the wedding day as I fielded questions from vendors and guests, dealt with a DJ that messed up names, music, etc. when really, if I would’ve just hired a planner, I would’ve been able to enjoy my day more!

Planners don’t just help you to plan your big day, they help to coordinate on the day of as well! They set up, break down, attend to guests, other vendors, jump in the middle of any crisis that may happen and ALL without you knowing anything about any of it!

Instead of working hard on your wedding day and stressing during the planning, you get to just relax and enjoy the best day of your life!

Shay Rybin of Shay Lynne Weddings is a planner friend of mine and we chatted a bit on why its important to hire a planner and what she specializes in to ease the stress off of a bride! Shay mentioned the most unique part of her job is the fact that she can pair brides and grooms with the perfect vendors that meet their budget, style and their personality (which by the way, a vendor that can meet ALL three of these things truly is perfection)! She likes to make sure each vendor you choose will align with you personally which in turn, makes the day go by flawlessly when everyone gets along and has similar personalities!

Shay also mentioned a very important topic: wedding planners and venue coordinators are not the same thing! Here’s why:

“Think of a wedding planner as a bride’s cheerleader. And then think of the venue coordinator as the venues cheerleader. The wedding planner always has the bride’s best interest at heart. The venue coordinator will always be able to tell you every corner, every wall and every window of the venue. It is a venue coordinator’s job to know the venue like the back of their hand. And it is the wedding planners job to know the bride and her details and what her dream wedding is supposed to be. A venue coordinator and a wedding planner go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. However, there is a difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding planner. A venue coordinator will always first and foremost tend to her venue. A wedding planner will always first and foremost tend to her bride. If the venue caught fire, the first thing that the venue coordinator would do was run to the venue and put the fire out. If the venue caught fire the first thing the wedding planner would do is to call around and find a replacement venue for this bride to get married at. Is the venue coordinator wrong for tending to the venue first before she tends to the bride? The answer is, absolutely not. It is her job to make sure that she tends to her venue. Would it be wrong for the wedding planner to first tend to the venue before she tends to her bride? The answer to that is absolutely yes! It is the wedding planners job to tend to her bride and assist her into making her wedding exactly what she wants it to be.”

Maybe before reading this, you didn’t understand the difference and now you do! It’s SO important to know the difference between the two and what exactly you’re getting on your wedding day!

I also spoke with Lindsey Hocker of Simply Perfect Events on why she thinks hiring a wedding planner is important! Here’s what Lindsey had to say:

“Because we have insider knowledge that Pinterest cannot provide for you. We know the best and most affordable ways to turn your vision into a reality, and the right local vendors to make it happen. It will end up saving you time, money, and stress if you hire a good one! And besides, who wants to be worrying about confirming vendors and timelines when you should be hanging with your girls feeling beautiful, knowing that someone who knows what they’re doing is handling everything else!”

I’d say these Hampton Roads Wedding Planners know what they’re doing :) And if you find yourself in need, either of them are absolutely fabulous at what they do!

I hope this helps some of you brides out there debating on whether or not to hire a wedding planner! After all, you deserve to have the wedding of your dreams and you deserve someone amazing to help you achieve it! :)