Professional, competent, organized, confident, collected, calm, aesthetic
We hired Rachel for partial planning and day of coordination for our wedding the weekend before last, and she was an absolute lifesaver.
My husband (!) and I are very "do it yourself" people, idiosyncratic, and have experience in project management through our professions, so were not entirely sure if a planner for our wedding was necessary or if they would get in the way. However, we hadn't planned a large social event before, and we wanted to hold it at his family's house, so decided it was necessary as a backup if we got in over our heads and to take the pressure off our loved ones for "hosting". This was 1000% the right decision.
Throughout the process, Rachel was an excellent resource and sounding board for our questions and concerns. She provided information and ideas we wouldn't have thought of, while always adapting to what was or wasn't important to us personally. Every wedding is individual to the people involved, which she understood. She was very organized, checking in with us at key times to make sure we were on track, put together a necessary timeline for the day, coordinated with vendors, and guided the rehearsal with confidence.
On the day of the wedding, I hadn't realized how overwhelmed and incapable of managing anything I would be, as the bride. Luckily Rachel was there, and I was able to hand off a list of what I thought needed to get done for setup and throughout the day, and I never had to worry about anything after that. Rachel was able to manage our family members helping out with professionalism, provided necessary direction to the setup process, and even interpreted some of my vague ideas about decor with ease (we had a bunch of extra ribbon and flowers to put "somewhere"). I worked on details elsewhere, and when I came back out, the table settings and ceremony decor was *gorgeous* and better what I had thought of specifically.
Throughout the event, she was everywhere at once, thinking ahead to what needed direction or help, and kept everything running smoothly without us having to think about it. If you are on the fence about hiring a planner, don't be - absolutely worth it.