Even though a Dolomites Wedding Planner always is a huge help for an elopement or proposal, it’s not always necessary to hire one.
Wedding planning doesn’t mean the same for everyone – that’s why it’s important to understand what kind of help you want and need to feel at ease, and most importantly on the safe side.
Some people feel overwhelmed by making decisions and need guidance, others simply don’t want to spend weeks or months searching for the information, but still want to make sure to book everything on their own.
While some people want to hire a Dolomites wedding planner to do specific tasks and take care of the rest themselves, others love surprises and let the experts take the lead, and just want to be thrown into the experience.
Let’s explore how I can assist you as a local Dolomites photographer with elopement and proposal planning, compared to a Dolomites wedding planner.

 

You Can Hire A Dolomites Wedding Planner For:
Planning Assistance, Partial Planning or Full Planning

Before we jump into the differences, it’s important to understand, that a Dolomites wedding planner only focuses on wedding planning. That has its perks, especially on the wedding or proposal day itself. A wedding planner can do all the types of planning for you:
01. planning assistance
02. partial planning
03. full planning.
While as a photographer, I will do just the wedding planning assistance + photography. We will see the differences between the kinds of elopement planning in a few seconds.

Keep in mind that the services offered by a Dolomites wedding planner can vary, and it’s essential to communicate your specific needs and expectations before hiring one.

 

01. Planning Assistance – also “DIY Elopement Consulting”
(what I offer in all of my packages)

You have a helping hand for all that happens, mainly BEFORE the elopement or proposal. The key advantage of the Dolomites wedding planning assistance is that it strikes a balance between handling some aspects of the wedding yourself, while having the support of a professional to guide you through the process and ensure everything comes together seamlessly on your special day.

My Dolomites wedding planning assistance *includes* tons of tailored advice, such as: 

+ answering questions via video calls, email, or chat.
+ assisting with vendor selection.
+ providing recommendations on accommodations
+ selecting different, secluded locations where to elope or propose in the Dolomites
+ scheduling timelines for the day
+ offering travel tips for the region
+ extra insights on activities and local experiences, based on your interests
+ extra tips on restaurants and local food
+ extra advice on attire and essentials for the day

While booking assistance with a Dolomites wedding planner might not guarantee their presence on the day, I’ll always be there as your planning assistant too. Though my main focus will be on photography (word’s game 😜), I’ll check timelines, provide backup plans, and assist with any unforeseen issues during the event. However, some boundaries apply to this kind of assistance for me.

So what is *NOT offered* in *MY* planning assistance?

– budgeting
– booking other vendors, venues or accommodations
– paying other service providers
– responsibility for suggested accommodation/service providers in general
– documents and organizational matters for civil marriages
– creative advice on the theme, colour, style and design of the wedding or decor setup
– major coordination tasks (like transportation, logistics or management for elopement guests or helping to coordinate more than 2–3 vendors on the day)

See more package details and pricing here!
See how it is to be working with me here instead!

02. Partial Planning

With partial planning, you can delegate VERY SPECIFIC TASKS to a Dolomites wedding planner, which can be before or during and after the wedding or proposal. The Dolomites wedding planner will take care of what feels more overwhelming or daunting to you, such as:

+ just the paperwork if you want to legally get married in the Dolomites
+ just organizing the ceremony
+ just getting the most helpful contacts 
+ just coordinating the day
+ just whatever part of the day is personally most daunting to plan

 

03. Full Planning

For a 360° help, you can hire a Dolomites wedding planner who takes care and responsibility for all that happens BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the wedding or proposal. Of course, you can see with your planner all you need from them and collaborate in many blends. But full planning means you have not just a polar star every step of the way to completely rely on, but also a doer, that might take some decisions for you and gets really close to you.

+ budgeting
+ creating a mood board / design
+ timeline for all the vendors
+ location search
+ booking activities for you
+ accommodation search
+ booking other vendors
+ helping you with paperwork for a legal ceremony
+ different settings
+ decorating a ceremony spot
+ details
+ logistics for everyone involved (vendors, guests…)
+ transport organization
+ coordination on the day (get the decoration, phone calls for coordinating vendors, making sure everything goes as scheduled, problem-solving)
+ coordination after the elopement or proposal (clean-up and wrap-up, making sure all rented items are returned, and the venue or ceremony spot is left in good condition)

 

When is planning assistance from me as local dolomites elopement & proposal photographer enough?

 

The main reason why my planning assistance is more than enough for you and you don’t need to hire a Dolomites wedding planner is if you love to have a good DIY part in the process, while still having me as your support system behind all of it.
Here are more example scenarios when choosing my planning assistance better suits you than hiring a Dolomites wedding planner:

1. You’re eloping all on your own, and want a simple but special experience 
2. The guests coming with you are 7 or fewer, and they don’t have any special needs – or if you want to hike or do activities after the ceremony, you want to do them on your own
3. You’re able to get all your decorations or other things you need on your own to the elopement ceremony spot, or the venue/accommodation helps you with it
4. Just a few vendors are involved, and you can manage to coordinate them on your own (or with some minor help of mine)
5. You want it to be as low-key as possible, and just involve as few people as you can, to make it feel like a really exclusive celebration for you
6. You’re good at budgeting on your own
7. You don’t want a legal ceremony, or if you want a legal ceremony, you’re excellent at handling paperwork and back-and-forth with offices
8. You want to book vendors, accommodations and all you need on your own while doing your own research and still getting some of the contacts from me
9. You love to plan trips and make decisions on your own

 

When to better hire a Dolomites wedding planner

While I offer planning assistance + photography for small elopements, I know that some people want their elopement to be a bit more elaborate, or just need some extra help because yes – this requires some more skills, one more brain or two more hands and feet.
So here’s when hiring a Dolomites wedding planner is the better solution:

1. When you plan an elopement wedding with more than 7 people
2. When you plan an elopement with guests with special needs who might need to get shuttled to the elopement location or need extra assistance on that day
3. When you want to hire more vendors and need coordination on that day
4. When you want to do special activities, that require more intricate preparation and coordination, especially if more vendors are involved
5. When you need special logistical help e.g. getting decorations or a cake safely to a location, but also to help get everything tidied up and back to the base
6. When you want super exclusive locations, you can only have them by working with a local Dolomites wedding planner
7. When you want exclusive settings like a picnic or setup when you arrive at a location for an elopement or proposal
8. When you want to get married legally in Italy. Because it’s a lot of paperwork, and having a brain that helps you navigate the steps and mitigates the language barrier is just so much less stressful
9. When you’re forgetful or simply a terrible planner and want someone to make decisions for you, book other vendors and/or control the budget

Conclusion: Do I Need A Dolomites Wedding Planner?

It depends on case to case – I highly recommend looking closer at your wants and needs first, and I’ll be able to give you some tailored advice on this. Moreover, it’s worth understanding if a collaboration is going to complicate or ease the planning process. It’s definitely not always necessary to hire a Dolomites wedding planner for your elopement or proposal. But I will always be honest and make sure you get the best service possible. If I personally don’t have the capabilities to handle your requests, I’m going to openly tell you and see how hiring one more person to take care of your dreams and wishes uplifts your experience.