Seeking help from wedding professionals
Agustina Wayansari The Jakarta Post Jakarta
It is everyone dream to make his or her wedding day a memorable occasion. But having a successful wedding ceremony needs good planning and of course broad knowledge and experience.
Besides being inexperienced, the bride and bridegroom to be generally do not have enough time to arrange such an important event, while seeking help from friends or family is not always a solution because they do not have any experience either.
Thus, consulting a wedding professional, is the most practical solution for them.
"By letting the expert handle everything, they can relax and be stress-free before the big day. The couple can focus more on their performance during the ceremony," said Victor Humardhani from Sapphire Wedding Organizer.
Commonly, services of a wedding organizer could be classified into four steps; planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling or directing. Planning includes budgeting for all the items of the event, the theme, color scheme and party style, and reception venue options to suit the budget.
It also includes suggestions for the groom's suit, wedding gown and cake. Decorations and floral arrangements, invitation cards, souvenirs, wedding car, photographers and calculating the food and beverages according to the number of guests are also part of the planning stage.
The second stage is organizing, which includes a survey for the venue, a survey and selection of wedding needs. In the third step, the organizer will help the couple to coordinate all the arrangements and needs for the ceremony such as the selection of a wedding gown, make-up test, a site plan for decoration, technical meeting with the banquet manager and family members involved in the wedding ceremony. Rehearsal for the bride and groom, making a schedule for the wedding day ceremony, and final confirmation and re-check of all the wedding needs are also important parts of the coordination stage.
Controlling is the latest step, which include all activities on D-day. It will includes a morning call for the bride and groom to do make up, preparing the venue before the reception, coordinating the photographer, wedding car, decorations, catering, cake, entertainment etc. The organizer will also be responsible for a dress rehearsal with the bride and groom and family members and managing the food and beverages.
Although most people still consider the wedding consultancy fee expensive, they know that hiring a consultant can sometimes even help them save money. A professional organizer is usually better informed about vendors who can provide competitive prices for details such as the wedding invitation, decorations and florist, make-up and bridal gear.
In Jakarta, there are many organizers ready to help couples prepare their weddings. A list of wedding organizers can be found at www.weddingku.com.
In the list you can find big names in the wedding business such as Dwi Agviriloso, Felix Production, L'amiee Wedding Director, Harmony Wedding, Samuel Wattimena, Harry Darsono, Sapphire Wedding Organizer, O'Relia, Libra Wedding Management and Unique Wedding Consultant.
Some of them offer a complete wedding package which, among other things, includes wedding preparation, venue, buffet and video shooting. Prices for a complete package that include preparation, make-up, photographers, video, decorations, entertainment and catering for 500 guests can range between Rp 85 million and Rp 125 million.
Besides packages, they also offer specific services. If the service is related only to the organizing of the event, the price is between Rp 5 million and Rp 10 million, while for consultation, a couple will have to pay between Rp 250,000 to Rp 500,000.
"It really depends on the complexity of the ceremony. The more complex the ceremony, the higher the fee you'll be charged," said Ingried Budiyanto of Wedding Dreams.