Wedding Planners 101

"We can do this ourselves!"

"I don't think so... "

"Of course we can!"

"No. We. Cannot."

Hiring a wedding planner is a big decision for many couples. Whether because it is a meaningful expense or because one (or both) of the grooms wants to tap his inner Martha Stewart, partnering with a planner is an important decision to make.

And, we are going to bottom line this one:

Enter a wedding "three-lationship" and hire a wedding planner.

But, if you need some guidance to come to this conclusion on your own, ask yourselves these simple questions:

• Do you have the time necessary to plan the wedding? Really?
• Do you know everything involved in producing a big event? Everything?
• Do you have the wedding budget, resources, and team available to pull-off the type of wedding you both want?  All of them?
• And, on the big day, do you want to be the go-to person to address all of the eventualities that will come up throughout your big day including things like: what angle the escort cards should be placed or whether or not the napkins were meant to be ecru Belgian linen or the cream poly-blend that were delivered or are the mic levels right on the second violin? Really? Everything? All of them?

When all is said and done, a wedding can be an expensive affair, but wasted time and mistakes can be even more expensive.

You don't want to take time away from enjoying your engagement (not to mention work) for a crash course in wedding planning. And, you don't want to blow your budget paying for gaffes you could have avoided with a wedding planner at your side.

There are a few times in life when you really should leave it to the professionals and this certainly is one of them.