LA | Seattle | Worldwide
Wedding Planning Tips:
Interview With A Professional Wedding Planner
Did you just get engaged and now you have no idea where to start with wedding planning? You're not alone! Planning a wedding can be a daunting and stressful task. But it doesn't have to be! Do yourself a favor and get a wedding planner. They are equipped with all the tools to create your dream wedding for you without all the stress. We did an interview Chelsea Delphin, a professional wedding planner for over 12 years, to help couples like you get some of your most important questions answered. Let's see what she has to say!
What is your name and profession?
"My name is Chelsea Delphin. I've been a wedding and event planner for 12 years. You can find me if you search my name, Chelsea Delphin on Instagram, Facebook and all the other socials."
What areas do you serve?
"I love serving any area that needs me. I have worked in Northern California, Southern California, and even helped with destination weddings as far as Mexico. So wherever there's a party, I'm there."
What does a wedding planner do?
"Wedding planning is different for every client. Some clients need me beginning to end. Some clients have a full idea of what they want, and I could just come in and help them plug in those items at the right time, make sure that they're getting their timeline down. But really, I'm happy to help with anything they need. My favorite is doing full design, because I really get to know the clients, I'm working with them 6 to 9 months, very closely, getting to know their personalities and their relationship together is one of my favorite parts."
What is the difference between a wedding planner and a day of coordinator?
"A wedding planner is going to be a longer commitment, like the 6 to 9 month, maybe 12 month commitment with your wedding planner. Day of coordinator generally starts about three months before any event. So we get to know everything that the couples planned and then get all of their timeline put together for them. So they have their dream day all laid out."
What services do you offer to your clients?
"Oh, there's so many different services that can be offered with wedding planning. If you need help with just counting envelopes and RSVP that come in, that's a separate service they can assist with. We even assist with bridal showers and your wedding showers. If you need something like that to have that special little extra design. And then that carries over nicely to your wedding because we keep the theme pretty consistent."
What makes a great wedding planner and what should couples be looking for?
"What makes a great wedding planner is somebody who's seen it all, has been ready for the things that you're not ready for. Being a good wedding planner is really expecting the unexpected and wearing a smile through it. Getting through a wedding day isn't easy, even for the most seasoned wedding planners. Things happen. Sometimes it's 104 degrees. Sometimes people don't show up on time. But that's what really, the wedding planner is. To keep everybody calm and keep everybody on time. And it's just my favorite thing to do."
Why did you become a wedding planner?
"I love a good party. That's where I started, very young, 20 years old, and I realized I was good at organizing as well. Once I figured out that I was good at organizing and good at a party, I got invited to help with a wedding, and I fell in love instantly."
What advice do you have for couples just starting out planning?
"Start early to plan your wedding even if you don't know. Get your Pinterest board together. Get your ideas down of what your vision is for your day. Always work backwards when you're planning your wedding. You start with your big vision and you work your way back. As a professional wedding planner, I took 13 months to plan my wedding, and it came out exactly how I wanted it. Now, you can plan a wedding in six months, but you're going to be a little bit more stressed out, and your wedding planner might need a little extra coffee."
What is your biggest tip for couples?
"My biggest tip for couples planning their wedding is to know your end budget and work on that. Because not knowing your budget will really hinder your planning. Sometimes things cost a little bit more than we want them to, especially these times after Covid. So knowing your budget and trying to stay under that is definitely the biggest tip I can give."
Do you help clients figure out their budget?
"I help all my clients figure out what their price range is. If they hire me for full coordination I can definitely help them with budgeting and planning out the percentages they wish to spend in each fraction of their wedding. I really think that if you don't have the money to get the big wedding that you envision, we can still get you everything that you've dreamed of with the budget that fits for you comfortably. I would never say to go into debt for a wedding. People that use credit cards, I would never suggest. I would just say, let's plan a fabulous, intimate ceremony. It'll be everything that you've ever wanted."
What do couples spend the most amount of money on for their wedding?
"Couples will definitely spend the most money on their food and drink budget. That one will surprise you sometimes. With the alcohol and the partying, it gets expensive. Generally the venue, if it comes with rentals or food included, that can help with your budget as well. Not a lot of venues have that anymore. Luckily, you're able to kind of pick and choose the vendors that you want and not just have A, B, or C plan. You can kind of make your plan. And then your flowers and decorations, any installations that you have like that will definitely end up being a higher end of your budget as well."
What's the average budget for a wedding in Los Angeles?
"If you're looking to have about 100 guests, I would suggest somewhere from $25K to $30K for the average wedding these days. Definitely, if you are looking for a higher end budget for 100 people, you'd be looking at $35K to $40K, depending on location, of course."
What is a hidden cost that couples may not be aware of?
"A hidden cost that brides aren't ready for is all the glam and makeup for all their ladies and themselves, because it gets expensive to look this fabulous on the special day."
What's the biggest regret you see couples have at the end of their wedding?
"I definitely see that brides and grooms at the end of their wedding, they've realized that they've put too much thought into other people. So I would suggest to brides and grooms to just think about the couple and their needs, because everyone's going to be happy just seeing you two happy and in love on the best day of your life.
Do wedding planners go with you to look at venues?
"Oh, absolutely. I love going with couples on venue sightseeing. That's my favorite thing to do. We're able to pick out areas that look beautiful and will capture beautifully on film and camera. I will go to 3 to 4 venues a day with a couple, just to see their reactions and find the right place for them."
Meet Chelsea Delphin
What are some things couples should be looking for when looking at venues?
"You definitely want to know what's included with your venue, if there are rentals, if they do have contracts with caterers that you will be required to use, sometimes they require a certain wedding planner. So that's all things that you need to pay attention to when you are booking your venues. Also, how far the bathroom is from the bar."
What order should you book your vendors?
"If you're going to book a wedding planner, I definitely would suggest to look at your wedding planner first, and they can assist you with booking all your vendors at the proper times. Sometimes some vendors get booked sooner than others, so they would definitely know which ones to tell you to look at first. For the venues that you're looking at, I would definitely say venue comes very closely after planner because as soon as the planner meets the couple, they're learning about the couple and what they want and envision, and then we take them to the venues and we roll from there and just plug in all the beautiful little added details."
When should I book my photographer and videographer?
"Photo and video comes in very quickly. Definitely. After you get your venue, you want your photographer and videographer to know what the venue is so they can research it and look up the best images they can get you and the best times of day for the images that you want."
Does the wedding planner help keep the wedding on schedule during the wedding day?
"On the wedding day, the couple really isn't aware of the timeline because they're just enjoying and have the best day of their life. It's really up to the wedding planner to go and guide them, along with the wonderful venue, and the vendors that we hire to keep everybody on time."
Do you have sample timelines that you give to couples to help plan their day?
"I absolutely have a bunch of timelines that I send to my couples, so they can kind of get an idea of what they're looking at for their day based on other people's events I've done. And really, every timeline is different because every bride requires something different. I'm there to help them figure out exactly how long they need for what activity and when it fits in best for their day."
How do you figure out the design for the wedding?
"Meeting the couple really helps you nail down the design, getting to know their love and their story and what they like and don't like really helps the wedding coordinator or wedding planner figure out what kind of images that they should send them for inspiration. Really, they're going to come to the wedding planner meet, and then we're going to send them ideas in color schemes that they like, and we always suggest have 3 to 4 colors, don't do less than that. It gives you nice highlights, lowlights and then metal options as well."
What are some other important factors for making a wedding feel unique to each couples personality?
"Music and decor definitely set the tone for many of our couples. The music is a big thing. If you have a good DJ and they know your vibe, it's going to be so hard not to see you in that event everywhere. Decor. Some brides like flowers. Some brides don't like flowers. So really, you can see how much that they really like it. Spending a lot of time with the couples over the 6 to 9 months really helps you nail down what their ideas are."
How often do you meet with your couples to plan?
"We do weekly check in meetings if we are early on. If I do full coordination and design, we do weekly. BI weekly, we do zoom. So I will be guided along the whole way in ideas that the couple has and ideas that I have and how they mesh well together. So definitely getting to spend time with the couples and allowing us to both know each other, help me to nail down their decor well."
Do you have a recommended vendors list that you can give to couples?
"I absolutely have recommended vendors, vendors that I've worked with over the past 12 years that I absolutely love. But it's going to really decide who I suggest to them, depending on their venue. Because I don't want to suggest somebody that I love down in San Diego for somebody who's more in LA area, based on the travel and all that added cost for that vendor. So depending on where you are in California, I definitely have a vendor for you."
What happens after the wedding is over?
"After the wedding day is over it's really sad because you've spent so much time with this couple and loving them and loving their love and their marriage. You do miss them for sure, but you're so happy with the time that you've made with them, and all the experiences that you've helped happen for them are just absolutely a memory that you can live and enjoy with forever. Helping the couple after the wedding is letting them relax. Because for six to 9 to 12 months, sometimes we are working hard, we're doing emails back and forth, so letting them really catch up and enjoy their time together and their new marriage is the best thing that I could do for any couple."
Any last thoughts?
"I'm just so happy to be a wedding planner and enjoy these couples and help them make their day special. It really feeds my soul to see them at the end of the day, even if it's a hot day, even if everything has gone sideways, if the couple's in love and happy, I couldn't be happier."
We hope this interview has been helpful for all you brides and grooms out there planning your wedding day and not having a clue where to begin!
If you're looking for an amazing wedding planner who will make your day special, consider hiring our friend Chelsea Delphin! You can find her on Instagram @Chelsea.j.delphin or send her and email 2cjdelphin@gmail.com