7 Reasons to Hire a Las Vegas Elopement Planner

Wondering if you should hire a Las Vegas elopement planner?

Here are 7 reasons to consider hiring one to support you on your wedding day. 

At Custom Las Vegas Weddings, we love planning Vegas Elopements for clients who want to celebrate their special day without any distraction from others. Clients who choose to break tradition to create something uniquely theirs to honor their relationship. Couple who understands that their wedding shouldn’t be a big event just because they’re married.

Eloping isn’t always easy – there are still lots of things to consider and plan for. However, if you’re looking for a stress free way to get married, then you don’t need to go through the hassle of navigating it yourself. We want to help you out by offering the services you need for your special day.

I think there are a number of common misunderstandings about elopments, and I’d like to clear them up! First off, most people assume that if they’re having an eloping, they can’t include any of the usual wedding elements. They think they have to do a quick ceremony and a couple of pictures, and that’s it. That’s just not the case at all! In reality, elopments are much more elaborate than that.

The beauty of eloping is that it can be whatever you want it to be. There are absolutely no rules, standards, nor any expectation. While an elopment is very different from a larger, larger event, there is still absolutely an requirement for a planner!

Eloping can be just the two or include close family and friend. Usually the total guest count will not exceed 12 guests and still be considered an elopement. Some couples choose to do a first look, photos, custom decor, first dance, cake – all the fun stuff. And this requires a great deal of thought and planning!

Even planning something as simple as a Vegas elopement comes with many questions. Some questions are easier than others — from what will your theme be to what dress will you wear? Some questions you won’t know to ask until you stumble into it, sometimes hours before your wedding — like timing vendor arrival.

Save money using an elopement planner: Much of any wedding cost goes right to the venue but with elopements you won’t have the huge price tag associated with elopement venues in Las Vegas unless you have an upscale event will all the bells and whistles. 

According to this Forbes article, wedding venues cost an average of $14,006. Unsurprisingly, a poll recently found that 91 percent of couples regret spending too much, so it pays you to consider eloping to Las Vegas instead of dealing with the cost of a full blown expensive venue and wedding. 

Couples often assume that hiring a wedding planner means flushing your wedding budget down the drain but it’s not true when you analyse how a planner saves you money in the long run. An experienced Vegas elopement planner has an established vendor network and can meet the needs of your budget restrictions when involvoed, even with a downsized elopement.

Rather than wasting gas and time and settling on a vendor to “just be done with a decision”, invest in an elopement planning adviser. In the end you will save more money by having someone help you than not.  You may then put that money toward your honeymoon or life goals as a couple. A planner will not only help you determine what budget you need but will help you stay within your budget. Who doesn’t like saving money?

What does a Las Vegas Elopement Planner do?

Planning an elopement doesn’t require much thought, but if you’re thinking about having an arch,  rentals, and more customized touches, then you’ll probably find yourself needing to do a little more planning. You may not realize how much work goes into planning an elopement until you actually start doing it.

Since most elopements involve just the bride and groom and a few friends or family members, the focus may be on you as the couple and this is one of the reasons couples decide to elope. They may spend their planning time away from a lot of external distractions.

Primarly, a Vegas Elopement planner will manage the entire event from start to finish and take the stress out of planning the details, such as scheduling experienced vendors from their personal networks. This could be any vendor from the photographer to an official for your wedding.

It is important to understand the most significant aspects of their elopment before speaking to a wedding elopement organizer. These include what their budget is or how many guests should come to the elopment. Planners do not have to learn every little detail, but the basic data will be needed to assist the organizer to understand your vision. The greater your needs are comprehended correctly, the simpler the arranging will be.

Here is a list of standard services Las Vegas elopement planners provide:

• Organize entire event
• Schedule all vendors
• Conflict resolution
• Coordination
• Plan Itinerary
• Plan decor
• Guidance

Here is the inherent value and duties a Las Vegas Elopement planner will attend to that you  may not have considered.  Perhaps you will see the benfit of the services and decide you dont’ want to go in alone and plan your elopement alone.

1. Organizing entire event

An excellent elopement planner should know how to create a detailed timeline. When having a simple wedding for two or even when only a handful of guests present,  the duties of a wedding planner are not quite as entailed a planning a large wedding event.

Nonetheless, the planner should create a basic timeline for their clients and hand it out to the vendors, such as the photographer, coordinator, and all the vendors involved. The vendors should approve the timeline to ensure everyone is in sync.

Planners are one of the most important elements of an elopement. They take charge of everything, from the small details like reminding about bringing the licensing and rings along, which can be a big issue, if someone forgets them, to the big ones, like making sure the chauffer gets to the correct location.

A professional organizer helps you organize everything for your big day. They vet the vendors and stay in control of events for your big day, lifting the burden of stress off your shoulders so you and your fiance enjoy yourselves.

2. Scheduling Vendors

The wedding planner will act as an intermediary between the couple and all the various service providers involved in the wedding. They make sure that everything runs smoothly so that the couple can relax and enjoy themselves without worrying about details.

It can be difficult to let the dream go when you’ve spend years imagining what your wedding would be like. Obsessing over every little detail is natural, but it can also hold you back — filling your day with endless imagined disasters. On your big day, you deserve to tune out the stressful stuff and focus on your big moment.

A Las Vegas elopement planner will know the local market well and be able to call upon the most reputable list of professional wedding vendors.  Here is a list of vendors you may need for your elopement.

• • Transportation companies
  • Floral and decor vendors
  • Photographer and videographer
  • Hair, makeup, tux and gown
  • Venue options
  • Officiant
  • Coordinators
  • Licensing

Finding the right vendor for each job is intrinsic to making your dream Las Vegas wedding come true. Connecting you with the most reputable vendors such as florists and hair and make up vendors are all important elements that come down to having the right connections.

3. Conflict resolution

You can almost always count on having unexpected issues leading up to and on your wedding day. For instance, some remote locations such as having a wedding outdoors at Red Rock canyon will provide some challenges couples will not be prepared for such as weather fluctuationsand having no cell phone service. A local planner will know how to make sure the guests get to the right location without getting lost and oversee the limousine vendor to make sure they also get to the right location.

Another issue that has actually happened in our experience has been a hotel malfunction, leaving our customers tux and gown soaked in water after the hotel sprinklers go off and drown your attire in water.  In this case a planner will reach out to the tux and gown vendor and arrange a last minute solution for your attire and help with the delays you experience.

Sometimes, in Vegas, we run in to bad weather conditions for outdoor events and it’s good to have a planner on your side when this happens. They will guide you to know what to wear and how to navigate the situation to be safe, dry and warm in inclement weather conditions. 

A planner is “on point” in each of these little situations. An excellent Vegas elopement planner will guide you through these unexpected issues and help resolved them discreetly.

4. Day of elopement coordination

Day of coordination essentially means organizing and ensuring everything goes as planned for the wedding day. Their job also involves helping couples overcome any last minute challenges or problems that may arise.

A wedding ceremony is an official event: there are cues to follow, people to manage, maybe special vows to share, songs to play, and so on. Without someone to organize everything, your event may be disorganized and disjointed. And if you’re worried about the wrong song playing when you walk down the aisle, the elopement planner has that covered too.

Here is a smalll list of the duties a day of elopement coordinator will do:

• Checking on the marriage license and rings to ensure they are with you when you leave the hotel
• Ensuring the limo driver knows where they are going and helping you connect with them properly
• Confirming your guests and VIP’s make it the correct location and are present for the wedding
• Overseeing the decor setup is done properly, including breakdown timing
• Meeting, confirming and overseeing the vendor payments, set up, etc.
• Running a ceremony walk through and overseeing music or musician timing
• Oversee flower pinning and bouquet, boutonniere distribution
• Having emergency supplies and other needed elements on hand
• Making sure the event ends on time and all is in order

There are a lot more duties a day of coordinator ends up doing but this is just a fragment of the support they provide.

5. Planning itinerary

You may prefer to take care of specific details yourself but when it comes to scheduling the itinerary you often lose out when choosing a chapel, for instance.  Chapels don’t typically plan an itinerary for your event from the time you are planned to be picked up from the hotel to when you return.  They have limitations.

A planner, on the other hand, will help you plan the details surrounding your event and be able to not only pair you with the right transportation company and cater to the periphery needs you may have, such as arranging the final drop off point to a hotel or arranging extra services after the ceremony such as a photo tour.

The itinerary will cover when you are picked up, how long you will be at the venue and intriquate details until you reach the final destination when it’s all complete.

6. Customizing decor

It’s not a requirement to have custom decor but some couples want that.  It’s great to have something unique and special for your ceremony backdrop.  A planner will help you envision this and organize it to make it happen for you.

Wedding planners know local florists and have worked with them extensively. They will bring you cost savings with respect to setting up chairs or arches, decor and flowers and will help give the needed directions you need.  Then they will send you the estimate and pull it all together for you so that it is transported, set up and torn down in the most organized, timely fashion for your event. 

When decor is customized for you, the planner will create a mood board to showcase your colors, photos of the flowers and give you an overview of what to expect.

A Vegas elopement planner will customize your decor so  you can have your dream and still save money. Any aspect of your wedding can be customized. If you see you  a particular idea or ambiance in mind — send the ideas along to the planner and they will make it happen. 

It’s more than just hiring someone to decorate. The planner is the epicenter of the planning experience and making sure the decor set up and break down occurs without a hitch. 

7. Guidance

Anyone who is helping you plan your special occasion should care and hold your vision close to their heart, after all they becomes an active part of this meaningful moment of your lives. They will share that vision with you and be your support, offering advise at important junctures of your planning experience. 

Legal details: Your planner should be knowledgeable about the legal licensing details you need to know.  There are definite rules in Las Vegas about licensing and what you need to know for the legalities when you are preparing for getting married.  This can be a little confusing and it especially matters if you are traveling from overseas.  If you are traveling to Las Vegas from another country or even from a different state where, it can be at a definite disadvantage.

This means you might come across situations you where may be taken advantage of by the hustlers in Las Vegas.  If you have an adviser and confidant who knows Las Vegas you will be safer.  This means the all the details will be handled with care and guests will be at the right place at the right time.

You should be free to enjoy the big picture of your wedding and future together blissfully without worrying about unexpected issues, staying in budget and getting all the little details right. Check out our part two which covers the ins and outs of how your Vegas wedding planner masters the seemingly endless to-do list with calm expertise. Meanwhile, you show off those fancy boots, look your best and celebrate your big day.

Wedding planning is stressful, especially when planning for a destination wedding. Let us at Custom Las Vegas Weddings help you make your wedding memorable. It’s our job, after all, and we love what we do.