Organising a wedding – even one that may be a small and intimate celebration can be stressful, time-consuming, and unnecessarily expensive. I recently had a very interesting discussion with Louise Barcock, owner and founder of Big Green Space, a company that specialises in wedding and event planning.  Founded in 2013 after a successful career in organising and running corporate events, I was really keen to understand from Louise why couples should consider using a wedding planner, after all, it’s just an extra expense…right?   

From Louise’s perspective, wedding planning isn’t just about working closely with you to make sure you have the right suppliers lined up for your big day.  Every good wedding planner should be able to help you find the right supplier – whether this is a florist, venue, caterer, marquee or photographer. In addition to this, a good planner can make sure you’re getting charged correctly and help you understand the contractual side of the services you’re paying for.  

Then there’s the big day, your wedding day, the most important day of your life. Once again, a good planner should be on hand to make sure it runs like clockwork, and to manage away any issues that may crop up without you even knowing about them. 

I looked at a lot of wedding planning websites ahead of writing this post and they all promise to do this. I’m sure most of them do, and I’m also sure that most do it very well. For me, if I was getting married again, that would be enough to make the additional cost issue disappear, after all you can’t put a price on having a stress-free, fun packed wedding day can you?

Louise gave me the impression that if you work with Big Green Space, then all of this is just a given, it’s “business as usual” and she will work hand-in-hand with you when it comes to finding the right suppliers (she has a very impressive list), and making sure that every aspect of your day is stress-free.  I think the concept of wedding planning, and her role as your wedding planner is much bigger than this. As she said to me: 

“When a couple get married, I like to work with them to create something unique and personal.  Your wedding day should be all about you after all!  Your style and personality should be reflected in your day.”.

This translates into finding whatever needs to be found to turn a great wedding day into an unbelievable wedding day – and giving the bride and groom (as well as the guests that are lucky enough to experience it), a day that will live with them for the rest of their lives. 

Making this happen could include pretty much anything – from sourcing a rare collection of guitars to display at the wedding of a couple of musicians, through to arranging for a big flash mob of professional dancers to suddenly appear as the evening reception unfolds. I got the impression that almost anything is possible for Big Green Space to find, organise and manage for you on your special day.  

But it isn’t all about making magical things happen.  Louise struck me as being an impeccably precise project planner, with an eye for detail that is only matched by her understanding of how events of all sizes should work and a love of weddings. This translates into the reassurance that you’re hired someone who will have a solution if anything goes awry, and that no one in your wedding party will have the stress of trying to fix any last minute problems. 

I can absolutely see the value that a good wedding planner can bring to a wedding.  I would say to any couple that has just started thinking about their wedding, and how the big day will unfold, to think seriously about using one.  

An important but… take the time to do your research and make sure you find the right planner for you and your magical day.  In particular, I think it’s essential that you have a good rapport with the planner you choose – after all, they are likely to be the wedding supplier that you are going to have the most contact with.