Each & Every Detail | McKinney Dallas Wedding Planner | Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a wedding planner?

Today's wedding typically takes 250 planning hours to make the bride's vision come to reality. That includes finding, hiring and keeping up with an average team of 18 vendors. These are typically:

- Ceremony venue
- Reception venue
- Officiate
- Caterer
- Florist
- Baker
- Entertainment
- Wedding Stationer
- Calligrapher

- Rental Company
- Photographer
- Videographer
- Transportation
- Hair & Makeup Artist
- Bridal Salon
- Alterations Company
- Tuxedo shop
- Rehearsal Dinner Venue

Planning a wedding can become a full time job. There are so many options out there, for venues, djs, bands, photographers, flowers, invitations; the list goes on and on. Plus, you have to plan it all while maintaining the rest of your life and working within a budget. A wedding planner does this on a daily basis, while you are doing this for the first time. You can absolutely benefit from using a planner through their industry knowledge, experience and negotiation skills. The only real question is what level of help would you prefer?

Do you offer day-of services?

You are probably looking for our Final Details Package. To truly do our job well, we cannot just show up the day of your wedding and run things. We believe in prevention of problems, not just a quick clean up of an emergency. We need to know your preferences and wedding day vision, so if something comes up that day, we can make a decision with your best interests in mind. We need to know who your vendors are and make sure everyone is on the same page before we even get to your big day. With this package, you enable us to truly tie up all the loose ends before your wedding so we don't have any emergencies to deal with on the big day. The key difference between us and other planners is that we not only handle the end of the process, but no matter when you hire us, we meet immediately to give you vendor recommendations and a strategy for your planning process. This serves to get you on the right path so you can enjoy the planning process, and we'll be there if you have any questions.

What's the difference between a wedding planner, wedding consultant and wedding coordinator?

Each certification program has its own title, which is why there are so many different titles out there. Here is what these terms mean to us. A wedding planner is someone who plans the wedding and can coordinate the wedding as well. A wedding consultant is essentially the same as a wedding planner. A wedding coordinator can coordinate the wedding event, but does not offer planning services. Other names you might hear are bridal consultant or event planner, but they all come back to the same thing, someone to help you plan your wedding or event and possibly coordinate. Some companies also use wedding planner to describe their services that actually have more to do with design. When looking at the companies that have these titles, just make sure you are comparing service to service, not just the title. Just a note, when looking at the education of a planner, some reputable certification courses are provided by American Association of Certified Wedding Planners and the Association of Bridal Consultants.

My venue coordinator (DJ, florist, etc.) says they can help me and I don't need a wedding planner. Can I just depend on them?

The true question for them is what service they are offering you. Just because they have the title and the certification, does not mean they are offering you the same service level a planner would offer you. If they are offering coordination on your big day, and they have the training to do so, that's one thing. Unfortunately, many say they are offering this or more and it does not end up being the case. When someone offers you planning services, you need to get specific with them to find out exactly what they can and cannot help you with. Also, find out their qualifications and how they perform their services. If they are representing themselves as a wedding planner, they need to be qualified, just like we are. It's our opinion that you should do one thing and do it well. If you'd like our help in determining the answer to this question, feel free to ask us during your initial consultation. That's what we're here for!

How much do you charge?

We charge a flat fee based on the service level you choose, the lead planner you choose and the amount of time needed for your wedding. This fee is determined in our first consultation with you. For starting prices, visit our services page and look for the link in each level for pricing information.

How do we know you're the right wedding planner for us?

It is crucial that the wedding planner you choose is someone you like and trust. You'll be spending a lot of time with them and if you're not comfortable with them, it could lead to a very bumpy road. Our biggest concern is that you get the wedding of your dreams and to do this, you need to have the right people working for you. This is why we do not charge for your initial consultation. It is the time we both use to get to know each other and make sure we both click before moving forward. This is a two-way interview and we both get to ask lots of questions. If we feel that we're not the perfect match, we will be happy to recommend someone we think you would work well with. Contact us to schedule this consultation.

What if we don't want a traditional wedding or reception?

We LOVE the non-traditional weddings. If you want to do something different, just call us and let's talk about it. It's your wedding; you should have it your way! We do not serve as the etiquette or wedding police. We'll of course help with any etiquette questions, but we're mainly here to guide you in making your wedding day as personal as possible.

We are happy to offer our services for commitment ceremonies, civil unions, domestic partnerships, civil marriages and other alternative weddings. All engaged couples are welcome to contact us for information on our services.

Will you be there on the day of our wedding?

When you contract with Each & Every Detail, you choose your lead wedding planner. They will be with you throughout your planning process and on your wedding day. We want to make sure you are comfortable with your planner and would never switch your planner unless an emergency required it. The wedding planner assistant on your wedding day may be another full service planner in our group or another trained wedding planner we bring in for your wedding. They will always be a professional, not just untrained staff or an intern.

How much do weddings cost?

According to the website www.theweddingreport.com, the average spent per wedding in the DFW area for2010 was $24,607. With an average of 150 guests attending, it can be estimated $164 was spent per guest. Using this information, you could estimate that if you have 200 guests, you might spend $32,800. The number one factor affecting the amount you spend is the number of guests attending. While we in no way encourage you to set your budget based on these statistics (we prefer to look at things like what you want to spend and what your priorities are), this will at least give you an idea of what other couples and their families are spending.

Do you offer any free advice?

Yes! We love to provide tips and advice to all engaged couples. We know we can't work for everyone, but we want everyone to enjoy the planning process. We publish these tips on our blog, through email newsletters and we also offer free info sessions, usually once a quarter. The topics we teach are how to find your key vendors, key details of a wedding budget and rockin' reception details. Please visit our blog to subscribe to it and click here to sign up for our newsletter.

What's the worst thing you've had happen?

We've literally been through flood and fire, so we have some crazy stories. The biggest issue we had to resolve was literally flooding. At one of our larger weddings, the ceremony and reception was located on a ranch that was divided by a creek. During the wedding ceremony, it began to pour down rain and the creek began to rise. To prevent everyone from being trapped in the building we were at, it was crucial to move everything (and we mean everything) from where we were to a building located on higher ground at the front of the property. We moved about 200 people, cake, decorations, chairs, tables, DJ, food and of course the bar, all in about 45 minutes. We can only say that we pulled through because we had excellent vendors and our staff was just amazing. Everyone stayed late and partied hard, so all ended well.

Are all the photos on your website from weddings you've worked on?

Absolutely! We've been fortunate to work with many photographers and they have been kind enough to share their work with us. You'll find their names and a link to their website within each gallery.

frequently asked questions