It is no longer necessary to hire a consultant for the whole shebang. In addition to planning the entire event, one can be hired to deal only with certain aspects of the planning process.

An example of "freelance" consulting would be to simply advise the bride in the areas she is having difficulty with; such as the guest list, time lines that need to be met or which vendors to use. No time to deal with invitations? Not sure who to invite or who can be left out? Ask a wedding consultant for a one or two hour consultation. Hiring a consultant on an as needed basis can greatly reduce the cost of obtaining expert advice and guidance. An hourly fee is usually paid for these individual services as opposed to a percentage fee that is normally charged when the entire event is contracted out.

I have been planning all types of events for years but even I must admit that planning a wedding is the most difficult and exciting of them all. It's a once in a lifetime deal. If you throw a bad bash for a birthday you can do it over the following year. Not the case when planning your wedding. Hopefully, it will be the only wedding you ever plan. If you can obtain the services of a professional then planning your day will be a lot of fun, stress free and more times than not, exactly how you dreamed it would be.

Every bride has her own reason for hiring a consultant and most likely yours will fall into the following top five:

So you've decided to get married on the beach or in the park. Where can this type of wedding be held and what special needs must be met should be your first questions. Maybe you want a huge, catered affair at a country club or casino. It is the consultant's job to check them all out which means time you won't be wasting on preliminary searching. There are literally hundreds of locations where a wedding can be performed. The experienced consultant will find the best one or even a couple for you to choose from to meet your individual situation. This is the case in dealing with all of the various vendors and providers.

Since consultants deal with various types of businesses over and over many have access to discounts not available to the average bride. The reputable planner will these benefits on to you and most times these discounts will more than pay for the consulting service itself. You may also receive better service since a vendor who displeases a wedding planner will not get repeated business from that particular planner.

From the best florist to the best DJ, ask a wedding planner and you will probably find out whose who. Do you have a budget to stick to? Give your consultant the numbers and he or she can tell you where to get the best for your buck. Insisting on a specific type of cake or foreign flower? Your consultant will make sure you get the best from the best. Just because a caterer can show you a menu fit for a king, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will taste good. A consultant will be able to tell you which caterers can cook and which caterers can really cook. The most common complaint heard from someone leaving a wedding always has something to do with the food that was served, or not served. Why take a chance on unknown vendors when all you have to do is ask a wedding planner where to go for what.

Hosting an event is like putting on a show and everyone in attendance will have his or her own opinion as to how yours was. Nothing ever goes off without a hitch but nine times out of ten everything turns out fine in the end. The trick is to pull the whole thing off with as little stress as possible. After all, what bride wants to be a puddle of nerves on the day of her wedding? Hiring a consultant, even if it is just to supervise the day's events, can turn that puddle of nerves into a pool of bliss. And isn't that the purpose of the day? It is the bridal consultant's job to sweat the details. Let them make sure the flowers are delivered, the hall's ready and the limo is on time. Want to hear a certain song? Let the consultant find it.

Another thing that can cause major stress on the bride (and I personally hear this all the time) is the simple act of trying to make everyone happy. The bride has ideas, both mothers have ideas and even the groom has some idea of what the wedding should be like. Planning any event is stressful but planning a wedding can wreak emotional havoc on all parties involved. This doesn't have to be the case. The experienced and knowledgeable consultant will know how to put all those ideas together and come up with a plan that will make everyone happy. Of course some ideas may be outrageous and considered improper when it comes to etiquette, there are tactful ways to deal with them. And when all else fails, I have no problem in allowing my brides to "Blame me, the wedding planner".

Everyone wants to be unique, brides especially who wants a copycat wedding? Most of the itinerary will be the same but how it's executed can be truly original. Of course you have your own ideas and it is the job of the consultant to help you incorporate them into your own personal wedding. If you have no ideas whatsoever, the consultant can provide you with a wealth of inspiration, insights, opinions and experience. They know what works and what doesn't. If there's a way to do something, they will find it; or at the very least get as close to what you want as possible.

A good consultant will deal with their clients individually and as though they are their only client. As a consultant, every one of my brides is special to me. However, one stands out in particular.

A mother of one "bride to be" called me about twelve moths before her daughters wedding was to take place. She hired me to do the entire affair, from the engagement announcements, to the shower, to the reception. Although the bride's parents were paying for most of the expense of the wedding, they chose not to get involved with any of the decision-making. The bride and I worked as a team with very little involvement on the part of the mother. This is normally not the case when planning weddings; however, this was what this particular client wanted.

Finally, at the reception I got to talk with the mother of the bride on a one to one basis and asked her what she did for a living. I assumed it was something that took up a lot of her time since she didn't seem to be worried about her daughter wedding. Well, I nearly fell off my chair when she told me she herself was a bridal consultant. Of course I had to ask her why she didn't want to plan her own daughter's wedding. She simply looked me right in the eye and said, "Who needs all the stress, it was easier to hire you".

That was a compliment of the highest regard and one that will never be forgotten.

Whatever your reasons for hiring a wedding planner or bridal consultant, you can be sure it is money well spent. Just be sure you hire someone you know you can work with.

Ask questions about where they received their education, which vendors do they deal with, are they licensed, should you get wedding insurance, honeymoon insurance, what types of vendor discounts can they offer you? Also determine just how enthusiastic they are about your particular wedding. Can you reach them in case of an emergency or just between the hours of nine to five? All these are legitimate questions when considering which one to hire. And never hire a consultant without a contract. Be specific as to what you require them to do and the fee for any services performed. The last thing any couple needs is to receive a final bill that is way over what was agreed upon. The wedding planning process takes months and what was agreed upon at the initial meeting should be put in writing immediately or it may be forgotten at the final meeting.

Have any questions you want to ask the consultant written out ahead of time. This will keep you focused and on the subject at hand. After all, time is money and in this case, it is your money. With or without a wedding consultant, planning a wedding is fun, scary and exciting. I wish you luck with yours and hope it's everything you want it to be.

Article by Lisa Feret
Owner of The Main Event 
& Author of "Entertaining A to Z"