Should You Hire A Wedding Planner?

Last month, our real Dubai bride Maja Lunsjo told us about how hard it is to fit wedding planning into an already busy lifestyle – something which we are sure resonates with plenty of brides-to-be out there! After trying desperately to squeeze planning into those rare ‘spare moments’, Maja and her fiancé began to look into the options offered by various different wedding planners in Dubai.

Discover Maja’s findings below, and learn if she took the plunge and opted to lighten the load by hiring someone to help plan her big day. Enjoy!

This has to be one of the biggest decisions for Dubai wedding couples. Yes, there are a lot of benefits. The wedding planner will help organise all the other vendors on the day, help plan your décor, and even the seating plan. However, wedding planners can be expensive. 

Here is a short summary of what I found out during my “should I get a planner?” research. We spoke to a number of local planners and discovered that there are usually three packages that you can choose from.

On the day planning

The planner will usually get involved in your planning around one week before your big day. They will support with organising your vendors on the day (for example audio equipment suppliers and cake deliveries), set up the venue to make it look nice (using the décor you sourced), and help coordinate everyone in order to stick to the timeline.

This is a low-cost option (we were quoted 2,000-4,000 AED). It is perfect for creative couples who want to be heavily involved in the planning and source their own vendors, without the stress of having to coordinate it all on their actual wedding day. However, it does mean that all the pressure is on you to find vendors, negotiate deals, and make sure nothing gets forgotten in the planning phase. In addition, most planners don’t let you book this package until six months in advance.

Styling

In addition to on the day support, the wedding planner will help you develop your ‘theme’, suggest vendors for any third party items like chairs or florists, and work with you to produce the daily timeline, seating plan, ceremony décor, etc. This is a great option for couples who want to be involved in the planning and have ideas of what they want, but don’t have the time to execute it or maybe need support in developing their ideas into a beautiful thematic setting. These packages, based on our research, can range from anywhere between 10,000 AED to 15,000 AED depending on the supplier.

Full wedding planning

The planner will ask for your budget and then literally do everything, from helping coordinate accommodation for your guests to booking a DJ and finding a venue. This option is perfect for those of you who just want to enjoy your day with as little stress as possible. Obviously, these are the more expensive packages. The cheapest quote we received was at 16,000 AED.

Please note that these packages are not standardised, they varied slightly between the different planners that we spoke to.

What we’ve done

Back in June, we decided we would do it all ourselves. This was to both save money and because we were really enjoying the planning process and had a good idea of what we wanted. We had a theme, great sources for affordable décor (hello Ali Express!) and we had a detailed timeline of what needed to be done by when. We were on top of it!

However, the months have literally flown by and there is so much left to do! Having families and friends far away makes it harder to ask them to support as well, resulting in increased pressure on us.

After waking up from two consecutive nightmares of showing up to the wedding without my dress, a DJ or food for the guests, we decided it was time to bring in some support. Our photographer Maria Sundin recommended The Purple Chair, and after a morning meeting with Rasha, one of the founders, we knew we had found the ideal wedding planner for us. Their styling package not only included the theme development but also allowed us full access to their large collection of stunning tableware and venue décor. We booked the styling package and are really pleased with the work they have done so far.

Now I can focus on the next task, wedding party outfits! Stay tuned.

xX Maja Xx

Don’t forget to log on next month to see Maja’s latest bridal diary post!