Calling All Pros!

[The Wedding Diva]

I think it is really important to establish and maintain a great working relationship between vendors and the wedding planner. I'd like to know from the non-planners, exactly what do you expect from the planner your client hires?

[delmar]

Thanks for posting this. I've always wondered this as a planner and coordinator myself. I'll have to check back in once its gotten some response.

[WebLady]

Well as a former wedding photographer, I had a VERY hard time getting the coordinators/planners to work with me instead of against me.

Most every planner I have worked with has been all about what she was doing and would love to tell me when I was running late or something but would never offer to help.

One time at a wedding we were trying to get the guests out of the church after the wedding so we could finish the group/romantic pictures ... the coordinator kept saying 'we gotta go, we gotta go' I was like 'ok, I just need these people out and I can be done in less than 10 mins' and she just walked away all huffy!

Once I had a planner even start the 1st dance before I got to the reception site when I specifically asked her to wait on me! And, I was following the grooms' parents so they missed it too!

Another time when a bride hired me for 6 hours and we worked out a time-line to follow so I would be able to get all the 'must have' shots. Then I sent this to the planner. She sent me over her time time, and had the cake cutting and the garter toss and the getaway set for after I was set to leave. She never called me and I don't think she even looked at the time line I did with the bride. When I told the bride she said that the coordinator said it would work best her way. So the bride had to add more time with me, which they didn't want to do. Then on the day of the wedding, we went over in time and I was trying to get the coordinator to help move things along as it was getting close to the (extended) time I was suppose to leave and all she said was 'Oh we will get to it soon' So I went and told the FOB and then the coordinator got mad at me!

I always tried to contact the planners and tell them what I was working on with the bride and try to make our plans together, but I always got the ones with the "I'm in charge" kind of attitude. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I don't do the photography anymore.

I do some coordinating on the side now and I when I do I will work with the same few photographers and we always work well together. But now, I will ask the bride to assign a 'Sargent' person I can call on when I need to get the group to listen, so I don't look like the 'bad guy'

Ok, sorry for rambling on about that ;)