A cloud of bliss of can envelop you right after your engagement and you may most probably instantly start browsing through wedding magazines and websites, which is when full realization may dawn on you—planning a wedding is no walk in a park. Okay, we’re backing off, you deserve your props, planning a wedding can be child’s play—you want this to look like that, you want that to look like this—Done!

But who is going to go on to execute what you’ve planned out, definitely simpler on paper than in practice. This is when you and your fiancé will want to think about hiring a professional wedding planner. Fortunately, picking a wedding planner is no herculean feat; you just need a few yardsticks to judge between who the right one for you is and who isn’t:

The Whole Deal Or Half-Way In?

When you are looking out for a wedding planner, you may want to consider if the planner is a full-service planner or a day-of coordinator. A full-service planner is someone who helps you set up everything from scratch and down to the very last detail, while a day-of coordinator is someone who comes into the picture only a month before your wedding. Depending on how much time and expertise you have on your hands, you can choose to hire the services of a full-service planner or a day-of coordinator. However, gong by our own experiences, be rest assured that if you bring in a full-service planner, there’s not a single thing you’ll have to worry about. As if marriage is not an incentive by itself, imagine striding into a stress-free marriage. Sheer Delight!

Budgets! Budgets! Budgets!

Contrary to popular belief, wedding planners don’t come with a king’s ransom attached to them. Look to find a wedding planner who comes with the right amount or experience and expertise and cost compromises. When this becomes the case, hiring wedding planners can be fitted right into your budgets making this a very good thing for one big fat reason—You Don’t Need To Worry About A Single Wedding Related Activity. The buck is passed on to the wedding planner. Relax, sit back and get married.

Compatibility Mode On?

With two yardsticks ticked off, what you need to be looking at next is if you and your wedding planner are compatible enough. This is something that you can determine post a quick sit-down with your planner. Ask yourself such questions: Did you feel heard? Did it look like your wedding planner understood your vision and seemed excited about it? Was there a strong connection between you and your wedding planner? Did your personalities blend well? Did members of your family hit it off with your planner? If you’ve answered yes to most of these questions, you’ve got a winner of a planner on your hands.

Tackling Last Minute Challenges With Prince-Like Charm 

This one’s a tricky patch of ground and not all planners can make promises in an arena such as this. What you need to be finding out for yourself is if your wedding planner is capable enough to tackle popping up last minute challenges. Lights not turning on?Caterer not in? Key elements of décor messed up due to unforeseen circumstances? A band to be replaced? Your wedding planner should be able to put of all of these deviations from the normal right back on track. In short, everything other than a missing bride or bridegroom is something your wedding planner should be able to tackle.

That Eye For Detail 

Post the okay-ing of portfolio showcased and personalities gelled, you need to judge to see if your wedding planner has an eye for detail, someone who is obsessed with the nitty-gritties and yet someone who is prudent enough to respect sentimental and religious values associated with weddings. Look for planners who care to enough to be microscopic with everything to do with your wedding. Have your wedding invitations come out right? Is the right fabric and lights used for décor? Are floral arrangements perfected to a T? Are shades of colors used everywhere just the way you wanted them to be? Are dining arrangements according to preset standards? A wedding planner who pays attention to such details is who you want, a hawk-like planner, really.

Twice As Organized As You 

Introspect here. You are hiring a wedding planner because you believe that he or she is twice as organized as you are. You don’t want to hire a wedding planner whose timelines you need to be planning out. To determine if your wedding planner is organized, check to see if a calendar is put in place. A calendar fitted in to make everything as organized as possible will help avoid last minute issues. Working around a calendar will also help add just the right amount of rigidity to the wedding process, leaving no room for delays.

Third Parties? Waves Hand.Handled

When a wedding is about to happen, directly or indirectly, you will come in touch with quite a number of third parties: flower guys, light guys, food guys, printing guys, crockery guys,etc. These ‘guys’ are your third parties and a good wedding planner should ensure that you do not come in touch with them. All your opinions can be given to your wedding planner while he or she goes about handling vendors across the length and breadth of wedding-related needs.

Credits to Vijay Issac