As Chicago based Wedding Planners, you might call us biased when we say we are VERY pro Wedding Planner. As much as we would love to work on everyone’s wedding, we understand that it’s important to find a wedding planner that matches with your energy. We know we aren’t for everyone, and we know not everyone is for us.

We recommend chatting with potential wedding planners before booking to find the best match, so here are some important questions we recommend asking your “potential” wedding planner before booking.

Do you have___ date available?

Before you even engage with a planner, you want to make sure they are available for your date. This should be the first question you ask (or ideally they will let you know when you first inquire to meet). If you don’t have a dream date, then try to find a preferred range or season. If the planner is open, you can try and find a date together!

Have you worked at my venue before? Have you worked with my vendors before?

If you already booked a venue, then we recommend first looking at their preferred list of planners, as it will guarantee you a planner that knows the venue well. If the venue doesn’t have one, or you really like a wedding planner that isn’t on the list, then ask what the planner’s experience is with your booked venue. Similarly, if you have booked other vendors prior to your planner, you can ask the planner if they have worked with your vendors (but we recommend booking a planner early on so the planner is actually the one to vet your vendors).

How much do you charge? Do you have a package rate?

Check their website first, but if their costs are unseen, ask! Some planners have packages, minimums, or customizable options so they might need to chat with you first for a solidified answer. Some packages might be more hands on, some might just start a few months out, and some might might be an a-la-carte “HELP ME” option. Keep in mind: Don’t ask for any discounts. If the planner is out of your budget, then understand they aren’t a match.

What is your experience? Have you done weddings similar to mine?

Don’t be ashamed to inquire how long the planner has been in the business, but just know if you ask “how many weddings have you done?” it might be hard to answer if we’ve done a lot, or “how long have you been in the business?” might not give you an accurate answer if they haven’t performed a lot of weddings in those years. It will be more helpful to gage their experience by asking to compare their past weddings to your vision. You can always check their social media, or portfolios to see if they have coordinated a similar wedding.

How many times will you meet with me before the wedding?

Every planner is different with their ways of communicating. The amount of communication might also be based on the type of package deal you book. For example, if you book full time with us, we schedule bi-weekly virtual meetings until we reach 3 months out, where it turns into weekly meetings. We also are available via email and phone during business hours. We want to make sure you feel like you are being heard, supported, and so you feel comfortable knowing we ARE working on your wedding. Make sure you find the planner that fits your way of communicating, and your budget.

Do you provide an assistant? Is there an extra fee for this?

Ideally your wedding planner has a few other team members to assist on the day! Though you have a lead planner, you will have 2-3 other coordinators assisting on the day (because your lead planner can only do so much). Hopefully, the event planning rates include the assistants, but feel free to ask if it affects any of the fees.

Will you coordinate delivery, arrival and set up time with vendors directly?

A good question, but ideally this is the minimum of what your planner does! Professional wedding planners are the ones that coordinate everything with your vendors, so really all you have to do is “approve”.

Do you work with a team? Will I be working with anyone else during my planning?

Most wedding planning companies have multiple planners, so it’s fair to know if you’ll be working with one as your lead, or multiple. Here’s an example if you booked our Full Planning package: We have someone as your lead planner/coordinator. They will be with you from day one through your wedding day. Laura will be included in meetings that require design elements. You might email and meet with our graphic designer, Allison, with any wedding stationary needs. So though you will mostly work with your lead planner, you might have a few Fierce team members pop onto meetings to bring their expertise.

Can you provide me with a few references?/Do you have online reviews on your service that I can see?

As part of your research, we recommend looking at reviews of your potential planners. This will hopefully get you a strong idea of how they work. You can check Google, their website, Facebook, or sites like WeddingWire/The Knot. There should hopefully be some reviews for you to compare. From there, you can ask for references from past clients if you are still on the fence, or truly stuck between two.

If an issue arises with another vendor, will you handle it?

This is another “job” that we consider a bare minimum for event planners! Ideally, you hired us so you can ignore all responsibilities on your wedding with the exception of “getting married.” So if another vendor made a mistake, isn’t acting professional, or has a question that they should be aware of—we will be there!

Will you provide vendor recommendations?

Like most venues, planners probably have a favored list of vendors, and will be more than happy to share them with you. For example, we share our preferred vendor list with all clients. We can vouch that all the vendors we love working with have excellent service, and have signed our ally pledge. Some planners might not have a preference on who you work with, but we always recommend at least looking into our preferred list first so you can have an amazing experience.

Before Booking:

Ask the planner to send over a contract and/or proposal so you can clearly see everything they offer. The following are questions you can ask in person, but these might be questions to ask after looking at the contract:

If my event runs late, how much are the overtime fees?
How long will you work on our wedding day?
Do you accept credit cards?
What is the deposit required to hold my date and when is the final payment due?
What is your cancellation policy?
Are there any additional fees that I need to know about?
Will you bring an emergency kit?
What will you not be helping with?
Will you set up our personal items at the ceremony and reception? (guest books, photos, toasting flutes, cake cutting pieces, favors, escort/place cards, signs, etc.)

We recommend also paying attention to how they handled everything; the meeting, emailing you back, and making deadlines. Did they send the contract when promised? If the planner followed everything they promised, then it’s a good sign they will maintain that professionalism through the end. If something seemed a bit off or slow, unless they gave a valid reason, understand that those lower expectations could last through your wedding.

DO YOU HAVE A BOLD VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING?

Fierce Productions is a Chicago based event planning company specializing in curating unique, bold, non-traditional weddings and events. Our talented team of professionals can handle all of your event needs including planning and coordination, design and styling, vendor and talent management, fundraising, marketing support and beyond - get in touch to learn more!

Questions to Ask A Wedding Planner Before Booking