Wedding consultants manage details of special day

They can't help find Mr. Right, but once the date is set, wedding consultants can make a trip to the altar a little easier on the nerves.

Wedding planners and consultants handle everything from coordinating vendors to designing the ceremony and reception environments, according to Joyce Criswell, owner of The Bride's Maid in Springfield. Criswell informally helped people plan their weddings for years before hanging out a shingle in 2000.

"I thought as long as I'm going to do this, I might as well get paid for it," she said.

As The Bride's Maid, Criswell customizes her services to the client. While Criswell can connect brides with vendors for the wedding and reception, she finds that most who choose her service need her logistical help more than anything else.

"More and more, I sense that brides can go to the bridal shows to find and choose their vendors," Criswell said. "They need me most that last month or two before the wedding." Criswell's services include recommending vendors, designing the wedding and reception venues, and helping out with the rehearsal.

Martha Wright, owner of Gracious Occasions, 2726 S. Glenstone inside PaperWorld, has been planning weddings for 10 years and has directed approximately 150 weddings.

Wright, who bills herself as a "full-service wedding coordinator and bridal consultant," provides such services as pre-wedding planning and on-site direction of the rehearsal, wedding and reception.

"Ninety-five percent of what I do is on-site direction, making sure that the wedding, the bride and groom plan is carried out as smoothly as possible," Wright said. "I keep things moving on schedule and make sure everything important, such as photography and videography, gets done, so you and your guests can enjoy your wedding and reception."

While a couple can book a cake and a DJ on their own, a wedding planner often has connections that prove invaluable when it's time to pay the bills for the big day, according to Wright and Criswell. "We work with all budgets, so we have vendors of all price ranges," Wright said. "We can help you have the wedding you want within your budget."

The use of wedding planners and consultants fits today's bride, according to Wright. "Brides today are professional women, usually a bit older," she said. "They know exactly what they want and how they want it done."

No wedding would be complete without something going wrong, and wedding planners and consultants are there to smooth out snafus and help avoid a teary scene, according to Criswell and Wright.

"We often take care of a lot of problems on the wedding day before the members of the wedding party are even aware of them," Wright said.

Criswell and Wright have both foiled a myriad of last-minute wedding problems, from hired help that failed to show to running down missing formal wear. "That's the advantage of having a wedding consultant we do all the worrying," Wright said. "We try to take the stress away."

At times, the wedding planner even steps in as amateur counselor.

"At every wedding, at some point, someone will come unstrung," Criswell said. "I just tell them that this day is all about the two of you. This is not a Broadway production."

Wright said that either she or a member of her staff is with the bride at all times to make sure the bride has everything she needs including last minute soothing of frazzled wedding day nerves. "People are always very nervous," she said. "We run interference with anyone who might be trying to spoil the wedding."

Wedding planners and consultants price their services in different ways, according to Wright and Criswell. Criswell prices her services at $25 an hour, with most couples spending $600 to $1,000 with her, while Wright's prices are scaled to the number of wedding guests in attendance.

Wright's charges begin at $750 for her services at a wedding with 100 guests in attendance, and consulting fees follow a separate schedule.

Wright said that those who balk at the cost of a wedding planner or consultant should consider the other costs of professional wedding services. "Most people tell me that compared to the rest of the expenses of the wedding, it's a bargain," she said.

According to the Association of Bridal Consultants, fees for a wedding planning professional can account for 15 percent of the total wedding budget second only to the 28.3 percent of the budget devoted to reception expenses.

While both Wright and Criswell assist with weddings in many price ranges, the total costs for Criswell's weddings are typically in the $6,000 to $8,000 range. The total costs for Wright's weddings are usually $8,000 to $10,000. One fete Wright directed costing an estimated $50,000 to $60,000.

The wedding planning professional's role is to keep the magic in the wedding day by handling the inevitable problems that arise.

"I always have a Plan B," Criswell said.