Seeking help from wedding professionals

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.