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How to Find the Best Wedding Planner in San Francisco , CA

Many girls dream of their wedding day. But a thousand things must be coordinated in order for that dream to come true. Enter wedding planners, also known as bridal consultants or wedding coordinators. In San Francisco and elsewhere, a top wedding planner can help with wedding invitations, caterers, wedding attire, music for the wedding ceremony and reception and much more, taking the pressure off the bride. Read on to learn more about San Francisco wedding planners and how to choose the best one for you. more »

How to Find the Best Wedding Planner in San Francisco , CA 

Anyone can call themselves a wedding planner. In San Francisco and elsewhere in the country it doesn't require anything but a business license and a business card. There is no special licensure required, no government regulations attached. It is possible, however, to become a Certified Bridal Consultant through various correspondence courses or private schools. In the United States there are well over 10,000 people calling themselves wedding planners. This includes both the high-end professionals and the part-timers doing it as a side business. A good many of these can be found in San Francisco . Some bridal shops, catering companies and department stores have employees that use the title "wedding consultant," or "wedding planner," but many of these only offer services tied to that business. A full-service wedding planner offers so much more.

If you boiled down a wedding coordinator's main job, it would have to be to relieve stress from the bride. With so many things to consider, so many elements that must come together perfectly at just the right time, it's more than the bride can-or should be expected to-handle. In San Francisco there are many high-quality, experienced bridal assistants who are trained to take the mess that is planning a wedding and turn it into a seamless, flowing beautiful event, including handling all the disparate personalities involved, from the bride to the bride's mother, to all the well-meaning friends with an opinion. A great wedding planner is an expert in "fire suppression" and crisis management. When there is a problem, the best wedding coordinators can make the right decision and solve the problem quickly and efficiently so wedding attendees don't even know there was a problem.

High-Quality, Experienced San Francisco Wedding Coordinators Can Help Ensure Your Wedding Goes Smoothly
Whether you call them wedding planners, wedding coordinators, wedding consultants or bridal assistants, a good one is an expert at dealing with such things as choosing the wedding invitations and save-the-date cards, as well as tracking the responses to the sent invitations, choosing the site of the ceremony and reception, helping negotiate with and procure the various vendors such as photographers, florists, caterers and musicians, including scheduling meetings and follow-up. They ensure the wedding ceremony conforms with etiquette, ethnic and religious traditions. A good wedding coordinator has a sense of fashion, color and style and can help choose wedding dresses, themes, textures and other décor-related things.

Prices for all of these things vary depending on where your wedding is held. In San Francisco , as in most areas, even small weddings can get expensive. A first-rate wedding planner will help you create and conform to a budget. They will create timelines for everyone involved in the wedding, from the wedding party to the vendors, and follow up to make sure things are happening as they should and everyone is where they should be at the appointed time. The wedding planner is everyone's contact person and a good one is available pretty much twenty-four hours a day as the big day approaches. Wedding planners help procure hotel rooms or other accommodations for out-of-town guests as well and deal with place cards and seating arrangements at the reception. If the wedding planner you choose is experienced and works well with others, he or she should have a good list of professional contacts in ancillary services needed for you wedding such as florists, musicians, caterers, etc.

Wedding planners can even help with pre-wedding events such as bridal showers, luncheons, bachelor parties and bachelorette parties or any other special pre-wedding dinners or events. When you look at all a wedding planner needs to coordinate, think about and follow up on, it's a wonder their heads don't explode. This is why many San Francisco wedding coordinators have a staff to help with everything. For a large, complicated wedding, it's too much for even the most experienced bridal assistant to handle alone. It can take hundreds of hours to plan a large wedding; a good wedding planner can make all the difference.

There Are Lots of Wedding Planners From Which to Choose in San Francisco
Besides experience, a good match of personality and style are important when choosing a wedding planner. Find one that meshes well with your personality. Some are better than others at working well with a wide range of personality types and have experience to back it up. We've listed the best wedding planners in San Francisco as What A Splendid Wedding, Events of Distinction, Dream A Little Dream Events, Bella Notte Events, Aoki USA Inc, Touch of Grace, Wedding Resource, An Occasion To Remember, Glass Slipper, Herrera-Escobar Wedding Services

Look for Wedding Planners That Do More Than the Bare Minimum
When looking for a high-quality wedding planner or bridal consultant in San Francisco , look for industry certifications and/or kudos from consumer watchdog organizations, such as high ratings in the Better Business Bureau or Diamond Certified designations. The Prime Buyer's Report has compiled a listing of reputable publications, associations, and resources for wedding planners. To view these links, see the article, "Key Consumer Resources for Wedding Planners in San Francisco .

 

 

Choosing The Best Wedding Planner for Your Big Day in San Francisco  

If you are lucky enough to be able to hire a wedding planner to help make your wedding day perfect, there are lots of things the potential planner is going to need to know in order to gauge if he or she can do the job in the time allotted, and also if what you want falls into his or her area of expertise. There are so many choices, so many considerations. It's best to write down as much as possible about what you envision for your wedding day-leaving no detail out-before you meet with potential wedding planners. This gives each wedding planner a chance to comment and bid their price on the same things, so the bids you will receive will be comparable. Be ready also to ask lots of questions of your own. Listen not just to the answers to your questions, but to the interest and creativity the wedding planner responds with. If they don't seem to be completely interested and excited about your wedding, choose someone else. You want your wedding planner to be fully involved and to really care that everything goes perfectly. If you've gotten a good initial impression, ask some questions about the wedding planner's abilities, experience, and credentialing. Use the list of questions below as a guideline to develop your own.

How long have you been in the wedding planning industry?

What training and certification do you have?

Do you have a business license and business insurance?

How do you charge for your services?

How many weddings have you coordinated in San Francisco ?

Do you take vendor referral fees?

May I have a list of past customers that I can contact?

What is your availability?

Will you provide a written estimate that covers everything, including vendors?

Do you have working relationships or contacts with florists, caterers, musicians, etc.?

How much time do you think we'll need to plan the wedding I've described?

What procedure can you put in place to provide a replacement if you should be unable to perform on the wedding day?

Through this question-and-answer period, consider first impressions, technical abilities, experience levels, and compatible styles. Somewhere in this combination of facets you will find your wedding planner. When you've selected the most suitable San Francisco wedding planner for you, make sure they are properly certified to perform your work. Before you sign a contract, verify the company's licensing, insurance and endorsements, such as Diamond Certification and Better Business Bureau membership. Before you sign, insist that there be a written contract that details pricing, timing, and warranty information.

 

 

 

Key Consumer Resources for Wedding Planners in San Francisco  

Associations & Licensing

BBB Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org)
DCA California Department of Consumer Affairs (www.dca.ca.gov)
Diamond Certified (www.diamondcertified.org)


Media & Web Publications
Association for Wedding Professionals (http:///afwpi.com)
Bridal Association of America (www.allwedding.com)
Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (http://www.acpwc.com)
SF Bay Brides (http://www.sfbaybrides.com)
Brides.com (http://brides.com)
Bridal Guide Magazine (http://bridalguide.com)
(http://www.weddingchannel.com)


The Prime Buyer's Report provides information for the top 10 wedding planners in San Francisco within the following zip codes. 94101, 94102, 94103, 94104, 94105, 94107, 94108, 94109, 94110, 94111, 94112, 94114, 94115, 94116, 94117, 94118, 94119, 94120, 94121, 94122, 94123, 94124, 94125, 94126, 94127, 94129, 94130, 94131, 94132, 94133, 94134, 94140, 94141, 94142, 94146, 94147, 94157, 94158, 94159, 94164, 94165, 94166, 94167, 94168, 94169, 94170, 94172 and 94188.

The Prime Buyer's Report provides information for the top 10 wedding planners in San Francisco within the following cities. Bernal Heights, Cow Hollow, Diamond Heights, Duboce Triangle, Eureka Valley, Fisherman's Wharf, Haight-Ashbury, Hayes Valley, Inner Sunset, Japantown, Laurel Heights, Marina District, Mission District, Nob Hill, Noe Valley, North Beach, Outer Sunset, Pacific Heights, Presidio, Rincon Hill, Russian Hill, San Francisco, Sea Cliff, Sunset District, Telegraph Hill, Treasure Island, Twin Peaks and Western Addition

 

 

Tips for Dealing With Wedding PlannersSan Francisco 

Take Time Choosing Your Wedding Planner.
Take your time hiring a wedding coordinator. It's a very important decision that can easily affect the outcome of your wedding day. Each wedding planner will come to the table with different skill sets, experiences, contacts, tastes, preferences and personality. If can plan early enough to interview several-even if you like the first one you meet, your odds of a successful wedding day will improve.

Write it Down.
We mentioned this in another article, but it's important. Think about what you have in mind for your wedding day. Jot down all your notes about the location, the season, the mood, the size, the food, the colors, the flowers, the music and the guests, and any other details that seem important. Sit down and write this out as detailed as possible; write down everything that comes to mind, no matter how trivial. By writing it down you'll be able to hand each potential wedding planner a clear, consistent summary of what you're looking for and expecting. It will also be easier for them to properly price the job based on your consistent description.

Get Several Separate Estimates.
When hiring a San Francisco wedding planner, it's not about just finding the lowest bidder. Getting several estimates helps because it will not only help you get an idea of the market value for the work you're requesting, it will give you a chance to sound out the personalities and policies and customer service of each wedding planner before getting involved with them.

Documentation, Documentation, Documentation.
Nothing is official until it is written and signed. So insist that your wedding planner provides you with a detailed document that describes the work, pricing, any guarantee information, and the timeframe for completion. Get it in writing. You'll both feel better.

Do Your Homework Before You Sign An Agreement With a San Francisco Wedding Planner.
To narrow down your choices, do some detective work. Research the wedding planner's licensing, insurance and reputation. To help with this, see our article: Key Consumer Resources for wedding planners in San Francisco . Verify all of this information before signing the contract.

Choose Certified Wedding Planners.
As with most industries, there is an upper echelon of highly regarded wedding planners and bridal consultants that insist on delivering the best customer service possible. In San Francisco , Diamond Certification is a measure of extraordinary customer attention. Seek out local wedding planners that have earned this or other awards or designations and you are much more likely to have a better outcome.

Be Available: Don't Disappear On Your Wedding Planner.
Don't simply sign a contract and walk away. We guarantee that your wedding planner will have questions for you as they work. Regularly check in with your wedding planner to monitor progress, answer their questions and ask any questions you may have. Good communication means good results and no surprises.

Know Your Rights.
If you have the misfortune of arriving at a disagreement or legal impasse with your wedding planner, you are protected by certain rights. Start with the California Department of Consumer Affairs Web site (www.dca.ca.gov).

If Your Wedding Planner Doesn't Measure Up, Fire Them.
If your wedding planner turns out to be inadequate in any way, look to the terms of your contract: what obligation do they have to make good? Do you have rights spelled out in the event of legal impasse? What are they? Essentially, a wedding planner's failure to perform under a contract constitutes grounds for dismissal. It's your money. It's your wedding day. Don't settle for second best.