He just popped the question and now it’s time to answer more questions. Thoughts are racing, palms are sweaty, knees are weak, arms are heavy…JK, JK! I won’t rap the whole thing for you – haha! But it felt right inserting a part of the lyrics, they rolled off the keyboard so naturally.
Anyway, one of the first big decisions you and your fiancé must make is if you are hiring the help or not. At the beginning of our wedding planning process, I was all in for hiring a wedding planner. This all changed when we visited Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S. (Cabo) to scope out venues, vendors, etc.
Everything I am about to share is based on OUR personal experience. What does this mean? Well, that you could ask another person about their destination wedding planning, specifically in Cabo, and hear a completely different experience. Let’s get started!
We visited the wedding destination in October, ten months before the wedding. The trip was planned weeks in advance; vendors were contacted and appointments were scheduled. It was a four day trip and we wanted to make the most of our time there. The only thing I forgot was to pack appropriate outfits but that is a completely different (and semi-hilarious) story.
We sat and met with at least 2 – 3 vendors for each category: flowers, cake, music, catering, etc. It was in our best interest to visit with a variety of vendors because we were still debating on hiring a wedding planner. On our first day we met with the first vendor, Cabo Linens Things & More. If you check out their website, you’ll notice they offer many services, including wedding planning. The thought of delegating much of the work to another team was a dream come true, especially with hectic schedules. However, when we first met with the owner, she did not leave us with a positive impression. Do not get me wrong, her designs were impeccable. It had more to do with her personality style. I could foresee all of us (Jose, her and I) clashing in the future. I think it also had a lot to do with the fact that she kept pointing out how expensive it was to have a wedding in Cabo. At the end of our meeting, we felt like changing our destination, or simply not having a destination wedding at all. It was a rough first day.
The next day, Jose took matter into his own hands. After additional research, he found a catering service company, Chef in House, who also offered wedding planning services. We contacted them right away and met with the owner the same day. He was kind enough to meet us at our hotel to review his services and packages. Lo and behold, he turned out to be the guy! We hired Tony, the owner, for his catering, bartending, and wedding coordinating services.
If you don’t know much about wedding planning, you are probably wondering what is the difference between a wedding planner and a coordinator. Without getting into too much detail, a wedding planner will run the show from beginning to end and a coordinator will run the show the day of. Hiring a coordinator for the big day was the best decision ever!
If you are stuck in a rut and not sure if you should a hire a wedding planner/coordinator, ask yourself the below questions:
- Do our schedules allow us to contact potential vendors and stay in touch with all of them throughout the process?
- I was blessed with a person who is a Project Manager for a living. He was able to step in and take the wheel whenever I couldn’t. We kept the vendors, details, and everything wedding-related organized from beginning to end. If you have similar organizational tendencies, and like to be in control, you may not need a wedding planner either!
- Am I willing to compare vendor pricing and services to ensure our wants and needs are met?
- I know I overlooked my options when it came to selecting a wedding dress seamstress. I wish I would’ve explored more options instead of choosing the first recommendation. Also, the owner from Cabo Linens Things & More was pretty darn accurate about the cost of getting married in Cabo – it can get pricey. But since we were in control of selecting our vendors, we were able to weave out unnecessary spending.
- Am I able to trust someone to be in charge of one of the most important days of our lives?
- I don’t think I can reiterate this enough – hire someone you trust! It’s no secret that things don’t always go as planned so it’s important to hire someone who knows how to solve problems.
If you’re still overwhelmed, no worries. If your wedding is still more than at least nine months out, I think there’s still enough time to explore your options and select the one that best suits you. At the end of the day, your time, budget and expectations, will drive you to the right decision.
Happy wedding planning!
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