When planning a wedding, recently engaged couples rarely know where to begin. Maybe your engagement was a happy surprise. Maybe you’ve been dreaming about your dream wedding for years. Regardless, starting the planning process is a massive, often overwhelming undertaking. Hiring a wedding planner in Baltimore will ease much of the burden of event planning in this bourgeoning city. We talked to Diana Venditto, a floral designer and “event wrangler” at Eventi Floral & Events, about some of the benefits of hiring a Baltimore-area wedding planner.
Why a Wedding Planner?
As a veteran wedding coordinator, Venditto has a great way of helping people understand the benefits of hiring a planner. “Just like you would hire a general contractor to manage the building of your house, a wedding planner can manage the organization of your wedding.”
Potential clients often overlook various ‘hidden’ benefits gained from wedding coordinators. As professionals in a competitive yet communal industry, planners have dozens of local connections, which often lend themselves to discounts. This is especially important for the Baltimore area, which is developing a potent ‘buy-local’ movement: “Wedding planners have access to vendors and relationships with vendors that you would not ordinarily be aware of! Aside from that, planners are often able to pass along discounts and negotiate add-ons simply because of the relationship they have established [with these vendors].”
Planning Your Baltimore Wedding
Hosting your wedding in a city is special, regardless of your size and budget. For your Baltimore wedding, Venditto advises couples to capitalize on local vendors: “I think with any city, if a couple has pride in it, you need to make it a part of the day. Focus on welcome bag details, menu items, and subtle décor items that you can easily include.” Adding a subtle Baltimore theme will both contribute to the local community and allow you to show off your city pride. Before deciding on a caterer or venue, consult this directory of local businesses.
Wedding Coordinators for Baltimore Residents
The City of Baltimore has seen a recent, dramatic increase in popularity. Younger people are moving to the area because of its reputation as a hip, low-cost alternative to other, larger East Coast cities. In fact, most of the city’s population is under 35 years old. This means that, while planning a wedding, you might also have to juggle attending school, building a career, and building a life.
As a result, hiring a wedding coordinator may be especially beneficial for young couples in the Baltimore area. This person will help to alleviate the pressure that comes with being a young adult. Venditto explained, “Since you have a planner to manage your wedding planning process, you are able to focus on other parts of your life with which they would not normally assist. Usually around the time you are getting married, many drastic lifestyle changes are happening: change of careers, school graduation, change of address, relocation, etc., so the job of planning your wedding can become overwhelming.”
Want a Home Wedding? Baltimore is the Place to Be!
Engaged, city-dwelling couples often overlook the option to host a home wedding. Don’t sell your city short—this is entirely possible, especially in the Baltimore area. Venditto agrees, citing home weddings as her favorite to coordinate: “They are so intimate and personal no matter how big or small the actual event.”
However, when planning a home wedding, many important details may fly under the radar: “So many additional logistics go into planning a home wedding that bringing a planner on to assist is highly recommended. Details such as handicapped accessibility if necessary, power sources, bathroom capacity, and delivery schedules to overlook can often be overwhelming.”
Baltimore’s architecture may also, at times, be hard to work with. Madeline Capozzi, a Baltimore-area home stager, told us that, regardless of neighborhood, most houses she sees are rowhomes. In fact, she told us something pretty startling: “Some of these rowhomes are only 8 feet in width! Most properties that we see are rowhomes, and whether they are 3,000 square feet or 900 square feet, some people just aren’t able to walk into a property and visualize where they should put their sofa or dining room table.”
This distinct architectural detail makes hiring a wedding coordinator even more important. They are able to see a space, plan where details should go, and arrange for other amenities if necessary.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Hiring a Wedding Coordinator
If you plan to hire a wedding planner for your Baltimore-area wedding, keep your eye out for your perfect match. Venditto elaborated: “It’s so incredibly important that your personalities match. You want to click with your planner and to be able to work together on planning what so far is one of the biggest days of your life! Always ask for references and be sure to review their online portfolios to confirm that the work they show is in fact their work.” If you’re in the market for a stellar wedding coordinator, consider Eventi Floral & Events. Their talented team, dedication to craft, and local connections will help you host the best wedding imaginable.
