This is a topic that I wanted to dwell deeper in for a long time. That’s because many couples don’t have an idea of how to estimate the value of such a service as the planning of your Indian wedding in Italy is. Surely when contacting different wedding planning agencies in Italy, you too have noticed that the value of the quotes you’re receiving are different. You see that one’s fee is 1,000€ and the other’s is 10,000€ or so. You definitely find it strange… By the end of the day, they have to do the same job, so why there’s such a difference in price?
As I always stress out, an Indian wedding is nothing like “regular” weddings you see in Italy. It has specific needs and aspects to consider, with many days of events. Unfortunately, most Italian wedding planners don’t have a clue about this type of weddings. They only think they have to set up the ceremony and reception and that’s it. Because it’s how it works for those non-Indian weddings they usually do. So they send you their standard quote for such a small commitment from their side.
Not all wedding planners in Italy are truly what they say they are
It’s important to know that here in Italy there are people who plan weddings as a hobby or a second job. That’s because most of the weddings are held over the weekends, when they are free from their main jobs. And especially, they are only prepared to beautifully set up your events. However, they don’t manage your guests, don’t organize your timing, don’t do budget spreadsheets and all these important things that make up the real organization of such a complex event as an Indian wedding is. They are usually hired when a couple already has a venue, suppliers and most of the work organized, but doesn’t have an idea of how to find and realize a wedding theme, to make it different from their friends’ ones. With such planners you would potentially pay lower fees but then find out that they aren’t able to plan an event like yours.
So my suggestions is to check from the beginning what the planner you contact does for their couples. This way you can see if you are happy with the services provided or not.
Then there are other planners who work on a budget percentage fee. Higher is the budget, higher is the planning fee, and the opposite. Of course, all of them have a minimum fee required. So if you have a small budget, it doesn’t likely mean that the planning fee would be small too. And especially, two different couples planning the same kind of wedding, with the same number of guests and events but with different budgets would pay two different fees. Do you think it’s correct? If the amount of work is the same, why should a planner cost more if you decide to go with more expensive venue or more expensive providers? This way the planner would likely push you to spend more to gain more on the planning fee, even if the amount of work doesn’t change.
If you meet such planners, verify from the very beginning not only the percentage they apply, but also the minimum and the maximum limit of their fee, and if there are mandatory commitments involved such as going only with venues and vendors they work with or not, so that you can evaluate from the beginning the rough amount you would pay to your planner.
So how do wedding planners in Italy usually work?
Other planners work on package basis, and oftentimes it looks like the best possible deal. With a package everything is clear: you have a precise list of what they provide within the package, the number of phone calls included during the planning and the working hours included on site during the events. You know from the beginning the type of menus you can choose from, the kind and amount of drinks your guests would be allowed to drink, what décor you would have, the number of hours the photographers would shoot, how many hours your events can last… All that created with the idea of making the life of the wedding planner easier, even if apparently it’s for your benefit. Such agencies sell you standard proposals and packages, because they don’t have too much time to dedicate to your wedding. Because they plan a lot of different weddings each year! And if you want to personalize something, then the supplements are often really high, because they mean additional work for the planner. I have already written a post about such agencies, you can find it here.
It all depends on what you are looking for
With these planners I suggest you asking yourself what your priorities and your expectations for the wedding are. At the end, the amount you would spend on the wedding planner will be directly related to what the planner will do for you. If you are okay with a standard package with no personalization, with a replica of other events that agency usually does, unless it’s cheap, then a package fee is definitely the best solution for you. If instead you do want an authentic Indian wedding built with your specific requests in mind, where all the important aspects are tailor made for you to reflect your personal envision, then you need someone who is willing and able to dedicate enough time to plan and organize a one-of-a-kind event for you.
But what does it mean organizing one-of-a-kind event?
Why the value of the personalization is higher than a standard package? Because of the amount of work, time and dedication involved in each personalized event such agency organizes. Just make a simple consideration: there are many venues in Italy which cost more than the planning fee. And a couple uses a venue only for one day. The wedding planner works for a couple a minimum of 1year, oftentimes even more.
From our side, we start by scouting the perfect venue for each of our couples, and we truly sift through the whole Italy to make sure that the proposed venues correspond exactly to the envision of our couples. We create personalized menus, we select those suppliers who can bring the idea of the wedding that a couple has in mind to life, we elaborate the décor ideas to highlight the style of the venue. And especially we produce an enormous amount of working spreadsheets, of reports, of timelines, we manage the guests, we organize the payments. WE MAKE OUR COUPLES FEEL CALM AND RELAXED because they know that with us everything is under control.
So, with all that in mind, what is the value you would give to the planning of your Indian wedding in Italy?
We can discuss about that more in details, checking your specific needs and expectation for the wedding. And if you want to bring your personal envision to live by making sure your wedding is authentic and respects Indian traditions, then START HERE:
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