Hiring a planner can seem like an expensive step when putting together your big event, but I promise it doesn’t have to be that way. You hire professional help in so many other areas of your life, from bankers to lawyers to electricians to carpenters and everything in between. Why should your big, one-shot event be any different? And not just that, but hiring an event planner can actually save your cash all while making sure everything goes as smoothly as possible. How, you ask? Well, keep reading for 5 ways an event planner can save you money.
Planners charge for their services in different ways. They might charge hourly, or come up with a lump sum proposal, or base it off of your expenses. But a general rule of thumb is that you can expect to spend 10-20% of your overall budget on an event planner for full coordination services. That being said, your planner can also save you money through the process of planning. Here’s how.
Efficiency
They say that time is money, and I for one fully believe that is true. During the course of planning your event, you might spend hours trying to figure out and DIY something small that your planner could deal with quickly, leaving you free to concentrate on whatever it is you do. Some parts of planning an event can be a ton of fun, but others are a major headache. Hiring an expert will mean that you don’t have to waste your time on the parts that are more difficult to coordinate.
Price Comparisons
From experience, your planner will know the going rate for any event-related service you might want provided, or will at least have the contacts to easily find out. Want a photo booth? A caterer? A production company? Rentals? A live painter? Your planner will likely be able to tell you which of these will fall within your ideal budget and how much you can expect to spend. When you receive a quote from any potential vendors, your planner will know if it is in the normal range. He or she will help to make sure you’re not paying too much for any of the services you need.
the right vendors
Speaking of services, your planner can help you avoid the costly mistake of hiring the wrong company to work your event. He or she will have a list of trusted vendors that are reliable and can provide the highest level of service. New companies are popping up all the time, so don’t you want to make sure you’re hiring someone that will actually show up? Finding a last-minute replacement can certainly be expensive.
Cost-cutting measures
Your planner will be able to help you decide where it’s safe to cut costs and where you should actually shell out. For example, you might be able to cut back on the decor pretty easily and DIY some pretty details, but you need to make sure your audiovisual equipment does what you need it to.
VENDOR DISCOUNTS
Because your planner has a previous relationship with many of the vendors that you will want to hire for your event, he or she can often negotiate a 10-20% discount on their regular prices. This won’t be the case in every situation, but vendors usually like to provide a little extra savings or service to their planner friends, since these people can bring them business over and over again.
In Conclusion
All these ways a planner can save you money come back to the fact that an event planner is an expert at events. In the same way that you would hire a plumber to deal with your house’s pipes, a lawyer to oversee your legal matters, or an accountant to take care of your finances, you should consider hiring an event planner to help with your events. Not only can doing so make your day into a wild success that you don’t have to worry about it for a minute, but hiring an event planner can save you money throughout the course of your project.
Have you ever thought of event planning in this way? Would you hire a planner to help with your next big event? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Cheers,
KG
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