HIRE A PLANNER/COORDINATOR!!!

I RECENTLY CAME ACROSS THIS HANDY LITTLE GUIDE on COSTHELPER.COM AND I HAD TO SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL. This is the average you should be spending on a GOOD planner!!! I hope this helps!

While many bridal consultants used to charge a percentage of the wedding budget -- usually 10 to 20 percent -- most now prefer to use an hourly, or more commonly, a package rate. Most planners have at least three types of packages: day of service, consulting and full-service planning.

Typical costs:

  • For about $1,800, a day-of planner will help create a wedding timeline, confirm with vendors and handle the wedding day.

  • For about $3,700, a planner will handle the wedding day and offer planning advice and guidance, but will make the couple do the pre-wedding footwork, such as making phone calls.

  • For about $7,000, a full-service planner will plan the wedding and handle most details and the wedding day. That rate sometimes goes much higher -- possibly $10,000 or more for an in-demand planner with ten years or more experience, according to i-do Weddings[1] .

  • The cost varies greatly by region. The average total cost for a wedding consultant is $4,636 in the northeast and $3,635 in the south. The national average is $4,262, according to The Association of Bridal Consultants[2] .

Related articles: Wedding Caterer, Wedding Invitations, Event Planner, Wedding Dress, Wedding Photographer

What should be included:

  • For a day-of package, a planner usually will confirm with vendors, help the couple create a wedding-day timeline and handle wedding-day details from start to finish.

  • For a consulting package, a planner might recommend venues and vendors, offer advice on colors and style, provide etiquette advice and help the couple stay on track with their planning -- but will not handle legwork and small details. On the wedding day, though, the planner will interact with vendors and make sure the day goes smoothly.

  • A typical full-service planners help set the style and colors, help find ceremony and reception venues, recommend vendors, accompany the couple to food and cake tastings and screen vendor contracts. Some will even send invitations and track RSVPs. On the wedding day, the planner usually puts in a full day troubleshooting, handling last-minute details and keeping the event on schedule.

  • Tip: Since packages and services vary from planner to planner, it is important to clarify in writing exactly which services are included.

Additional costs:

  • While it is not expected, some couples tip a wedding planner about15 percent for excellent service -- but a gift of a restaurant or spa gift certificate is more common than a cash tip.

Celestial Inspired Styled Shoot - Ruffled Blog

“I love you to the moon and back,” “I love you more than there are stars in the sky” — there’s something about the expansiveness of the skies and the unlimited nature of love that makes these expressions work so well. With that in mind, the talented team of Bri Costello Photography,Jitters & Cocktails, The Arrangement Co., and Vintage Indulgence set to work on this stylish shoot inspired by all things celestial, incorporating beautiful shades of blue and gold for a look that makes us dream of starry nights, which took place at The Gallery in Houston.

From the photographer, Bri Costello: I live in Houston, the largest city in Texas, and 3rd largest in the continental US (expected to surpass Chicago by 2020); although, Houston kind of gets a bad rep sometimes. I mean, for the first 4 years I lived here as an adult, I had pledged to move to Austin first chance I got. To be fair, we are quite spread out, neighboring suburbs often spanning up to 45 miles in distance. And there isn’t a major distinguishing factor of Houston. We aren’t weird like Austin, posh like Dallas, nor historical like San Antonio or artisanal like Marfa. And although it took me a hot second to discover, our city is actually kind of funky and awesome.

Houston is the southern epicenter for great museums, opera, ballet, fine art, theatre arts, we have a deep heritage in blues music, great international cuisine, and… we have NASA. Houston, we do not have a problem. For a city whose sport’s team names are: Astros, Rockets, Comets, and Aeros (NHL, folks. We have hockey in Houston), space exploration has become a large aspect of Houston’s identity. Being a lover of the night sky and space and space travel myself, I was a bit inspired by our city’s connection and curiosity for what exists beyond. As I have grown to truly love this city and now proudly claim Houston as my home, I began to develop the idea of creating a project that would highlight this niche of Houston’s makeup in such a way that would be creative, relevant, and authentic, without being too thematically hokie. I felt compelled to give a nod to Houston’s heart for the sun, moon, and stars. So from there, I then teamed up with an amazing crew, largely based here in Houston, and began the Pinterest boards, conversations, style boards, colors schemes, and all the coordination that go in to a styled shoot.

On the day of the shoot, Aubrey with The Arrangement Co. showed up with buckets of the most gorgeous flowers I have seen in a long time. She jumped right in and found such creative ways to incorporate florals in to the decor. Lauren with Vintage Indulgence is a worker and a doer. She has an incredible inventory, and pulled up, truck packed to the brim, and took-off creating some of these beautiful spaces to shoot. As a team, we had a strong vision for a shoot that I can only describe as a mash-up of Galileo’s workspace, except his wife decided to clean-up a bit and throw a fancy dinner party. With that in mind, we tried to avoid too much vintage, anything too modern or too thematic, and/or designs that read more of a garden party. Mixing metals and materials and textures was key in creating a cohesive look that didn’t feel too forced. The backdrop for the ceremony is a late-night creation I thought of in my head. We went back and forth between 100 different ideas for something for the altar, but when I came down to it, we wanted the altar to be centralizing piece that brought the rest of the shoot together. So I found a spare sheet of plywood in my father’s garage and went to town with scrap paints from a local paint store’s “mess-up.” We all love what we created and had a blast working together. Our models were so on-point, and all of the details really just came together so beautifully, and we had fun playing and creating. And isn’t that what this is all about anyhow?