DIY or hire a pro? We asked 3 Black wedding experts if you should hire a planner

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Whether you’ve dreamt of your wedding since a child or are just trying to figure out where to start, having a wedding planner could be your biggest decision.

For couples who grew up in families where a simple cake cutting with Polaroids would do, a planner may seem like a costly luxury. But as many couples face an endless array of choices, especially in an era of social media where new trends and ideas spread fast, wedding planning can sometimes feel like a full-time job.

So what are the benefits of hiring a wedding planner? Are all wedding planners the same? We asked three Black wedding professionals to weigh in on the decision to hire a planner, and break down the most important considerations before appointing anyone. Meet the pros and see our individual interviews with them edited into one Q&A conversation below:

Suzette Spann Scarborough is the founder of Envisioned Event By Suzette, a full-service event planning company based in Brooklyn, NY, with deep expertise in wedding planning, travel experiences, and etiquette coaching. Spann Scarborough started planning weddings officially after a successful career in human resources and an inspiring conversation with Monique Greenwood, the creator of the Black-owned bed & breakfast Akwaaba Mansion. With decades of experience, Spann Scarborough infuses purpose and mission into her work with a goal to “showcase the beauty of life through celebration, travel, and knowledge that inspires and empowers.”

Marc Wilson is the founder and creative director of The Style Marc, a full-service luxury event and design studio, offering special services for floral and destination wedding design. Wilson began his journey in event design and floral artistry when an unexpected job transition in the home textiles industry gave him the financial freedom to travel and consider starting his own business. He was bold enough to talk a top-level NYC floral business owner into letting him intern for free, gained expertise in floral work, and then started booking his own top-tier corporate clients.  

Now Wilson’s Harlem-based business designs everything from private parties to bat mitzvahs to corporate events and weddings around the world. He recently served as an executive board member of The National Society of Black Wedding Event Professionals.

Jazmine Boutte is the founder of Dulce Events and Design, a full-service event and wedding planning business, based in New Orleans and now, New York City. After spending her entire childhood and teen years planning birthday parties, Boutte’s love for event planning went to the next level seven years ago when she planned a cousin’s baby shower.

With a background in public relations and marketing, Boutte works to create signature events that go beyond basic and feature memorable moments. Her experience in festival and conference planning makes her expertise even sharper, and she strives to meet a diverse range of client needs.

First, what types of wedding planners are there?

Wedding planning isn’t one size fits all. While some couples will desire a planning partner from the moment they get engaged, others will want to bring in a planner later in the process. What are the most popular different roles?

Boutte: There is a planner, a designer, and then there’s a day-of coordinator (I happen to be all three). So your planner is someone who literally works out all of the logistics. They are helping you plan your day from start to finish.

A designer doesn’t do any of that. The designer is focusing on how your event is going to look and how it’s going to come together. So they may just come up with the ceremony look and a reception look, and they’re literally coming there to decorate and they’re leaving. They only handle the design process. 

And then a day-of coordinator… They just come the day of and they’re just pretty much making sure that the run of the show is happening on time.

Spann Scarborough: [Day-of planners] plan, they organize, they’ll put things together so that you have an organized, easy-flowing day.  

Then you have planners who plan and design. That means that they can transform a space… They can create design decks, they can create renderings.  

Then you have planners who plan, design, and they produce. Producing is very different… producing is a high, extreme level… They can have foresight on things before they happen but also become MacGyvers in the midst of things happening.

I can only imagine the things that pop up on a wedding day! Great! So if a day-of wedding planner can help my day run smoothly and a venue already offers one, then I don’t need a full-service wedding planner, right?

Wilson: I don’t believe in “day of.” It’s month of. A good planner cannot come to you a week before your wedding and help you when they haven’t spent time understanding who you are and what’s important to you. Unless you know exactly what it is, you give them a list and say, these are the things I need you to take care of for me, and that’s it, then fine. But that’s not our client, our client, our people who it’s important in making not just their personal moment special, but the overall experience for their guests special. So planners are crucial to me.

Spann Scarborough: Hire a great planner because they can save you time and money and bring a lot more value to you with what you’re looking for out of that day, including venues that provide staffing for you. There are some things that the venue is not going to do, like if your ceremony is not happening at the venue, they’re not going to go to your grandmother’s church and help you through your wedding rehearsal.

I had a wedding [where] we literally had to be in five different places at the same, on the same day. The bride was in one hotel. The groom was in a separate hotel, different parts of Brooklyn…That venue is not going to go to that level of detail with you. They’re not going to make up hair and make up schedules.

All of these things, just keep in mind… I don’t want people to feel that it’s impossible. It is not — when you have the support and the expertise that is available to you. 

So about that whole saving money thing… How can spending money on a wedding planner actually save you money?

Boutte: Your event planner is able to negotiate better deals for you. When you’re viewing a venue, there are certain things you don’t think to ask about. 

A planner may think to ask, okay, ‘well, if my date gets canceled, what is the rescheduling process?’ Most venues don’t even allow you to reschedule it within the following date[s]. Some do it only for within the year. So as a bride or someone who is not used to events, you don’t always think about those questions.”

Spann Scarborough: Planners can save you money… I’ve had clients where they have gone to a venue that I have a partnership with. They didn’t tell me beforehand, or they hired me later, and they paid more than they would have paid if they came through, if they were introduced by me. 

There are relationships that planners have that can save you money and allow you to reap benefits. And on the strength of the relationship, there are vendors who will do things for our clients because of the relationship they have with me or with the planner themselves.

And it also saves you time. Time is money, time is a nonrenewable commodity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. As a person who’s getting married and trying to build this life with your future partner, you don’t have the time. And it’s also not your warehouse of expertise. 

I have done this hundreds of times versus the five times you may have done it. So there’s value that I think is undervalued and underrepresented when couples, and particularly couples of color, are planning to get married and their decisions around not having a wedding planner is very costly. 

Besides saving money, are there other things planners can do for me that will make my wedding better?

Wilson: I tell people all the time, you really need to have a planner, because why should you as a bride want to sit there and deal with all of these little nuances? Because the list could be 15, 20, pages of nuances of things that you need done. You know, who’s going to wrangle your bridesmaids? Who’s carrying the ring? Are you having a ring bearer? Having a dog? The variations are unfathomable and they’re millions of them. So wedding planners, to me, are crucial.

Boutte: You don’t want to be stressed out thinking about, okay, what time is the DJ going to make the announcement to cut the cake? Or you might have a cousin [or] auntie and they’re wanting to party as well. So they’re not really paying attention to their duties. I really think the benefit is it relieves a lot of stress for the couple. You want to show up and enjoy your day. You don’t want to think about the little things. 

Spann Scarborough: I always try to prepare my couples because this is when the people in your life start to pull on you. So it becomes a lot emotionally. And so I’ve had to assist couples through that being their sounding board, you know, reassuring them. Sometimes giving them language on how to respond to certain things.

A lot of people are surprised by the intensity of outreach and [the] needs of their guests that happen right before the wedding. Having, the right people around you to support you through that is going to be extremely helpful. And setting boundaries.

None of this is to be depressing. There are so many sides to the journey to matrimony. When you have someone [who] knows what typically comes and how to navigate, you have support in a way that you may not have imagined. That relationship with your planner is like nothing ever. 

Okay, you’ve really got us thinking harder about this… Let’s say I’m all in on a planner. Is there anything else I need to do in this process?

Boutte: Definitely set a budget because I know people — they’re always like ‘Oh no, I don’t have a budget.’ Everyone has a budget. So a budget is literally the first thing you do, even prior to picking out a planner, because you have to set aside money for your planner as well. 

Definitely the budget, then hire [the] planner just because it’s things that planners pick up on that you may not think to ask, and then you allow them to help you source out your venue and find your other vendors but definitely set that budget first and then [hire] a planner.

Did you enjoy this special advice for wedding planning? If you so, follow our “Black Love & Marriage Wedding Series” for weekly tips and encouragement to celebrate your nuptials.