Do you really need a wedding planner?

You're asking a wedding planner, so you already know which way I'm going to lean. Let me be more useful than that.

The honest answer is: no, not everybody needs one. Plenty of couples plan brilliant weddings on their own. But there's a difference between planning a wedding and being able to enjoy it, and that's usually where I come in.

You probably don't need a planner if…

• Your venue is all-inclusive, with catering, staff and a coordinator who runs the day.
• You're having a small, simple day with two or three suppliers.
• You genuinely enjoy the organising and have the time for it.
• You have someone reliable who is happy to run the day and not be a guest.

That last one matters. Somebody has to make the decisions on the day. If it isn't you, and it isn't the venue, then it's your mum, your best friend or your photographer — and none of them signed up for it.

You probably do need one if…

• You're building the day from scratch. Marquees, private houses, dry-hire barns, fields. More freedom, far more moving parts.
• You have five or more suppliers. They all need a timeline, access times and someone to answer their questions on the morning.
• You're both flat out at work, or planning from a distance.
• You've hit the overwhelm point. Lots of tabs open, no decisions made, quietly dreading it.
• You want to actually be present. Not answering questions during your own drinks reception.

What actually changes

The thing nobody tells you is how much of a wedding day is admin. Deliveries arriving early, a supplier stuck behind a tractor on a Dorset lane, the cake table nobody set up, an usher who's lost the order of service, rain at 11am and a decision to make about the ceremony.

With a planner, none of those reach you. They get handled while you're having a glass of something with people you love. That's really the whole product.

Planning or coordination?

These are two different things and you may only need one of them.

Full planning is help from the beginning — venue, suppliers, budget, design, all the decisions, then the day itself. From £2,800.

Wedding coordination is for couples who've booked everything themselves and want someone to take it over in the final stretch and run the day. From £1,500.

Most couples I speak to think they want the second and, once we've talked, realise which one fits. There's a full comparison on the investment page.

How to decide

Ask yourselves one question: on the morning of the wedding, who do we want fielding the phone calls? If you can name a person and they're genuinely happy to do it, you may be fine. If the honest answer is "us, I suppose", that's your answer.

Either way, have the conversation early. It's much easier to help from the start than to rescue something in the last month — although I've done plenty of that too.