You've hired a planner. Good. Now comes the part nobody explains: the planner can't read your family's minds, and your family will still have opinions about the mandap at 11pm three days before the wedding. Working well with a planner is mostly about deciding, early, who decides what.
Short answer: Hand your wedding planner the vendors, timelines, run sheets and the wedding days. Keep the guest list decisions, the final say on budget, and family matters. Share one guest list (not separate files per side), agree a weekly update and one decision-maker per family, and approve every scope or budget change in writing before money is spent.
What to hand over, and what to keep
| Hand over to the planner | Keep with the family |
|---|---|
| Finding, booking and briefing vendors | Who is invited |
| Timelines and run sheets for every function | The final budget ceiling |
| Vendor payments schedule | Approving changes that cost money |
| Rooms, transfers and the hospitality desk | Rituals and what the elders expect |
| Running the wedding days | Who sits where at the family table |
Share one guest list, not four
The single biggest time-waster in a planned wedding is the guest list arriving as four files: bride's side, groom's side, Papa's office, and the one Mummy keeps in her notebook. Each has different columns and half the numbers have a missing digit.
Agree on one list with columns for name, phone, side, group and which functions each person is invited to. Collect RSVPs per function on the invitation itself, so the planner's numbers and yours are the same numbers. Our guest list template shows the columns, and Planno's guide to guest lists by household, side and function shows how planners organise them.
A weekly rhythm that stops surprises
- One update a week, written, on the same day: what's booked, what's pending, what's needed from you.
- One decision-maker per family. Everyone can have opinions. One person per side says yes.
- One WhatsApp group with the planner, with only those decision-makers in it. A 40-person group is not a channel; it's a waiting room.
- Changes in writing. “Add a dhol for the baraat” is a cost. Approve it with the amount before it's booked.
That last point matters more than it sounds. Planno's article on how planners handle budget and scope changes describes the approval step from the planner's side; it's worth reading so you know what to expect.
Give your planner access to the guest data
If your invitation and RSVPs are on Wedence, the Signature plan lets you give family members, and your planner, their own logins on the same wedding, so nobody exports spreadsheets back and forth. If your planner runs their business on Planno, they work in that same wedding dashboard: guest list by side and group, per-function RSVPs, the invitation and WhatsApp sends. Planno is built by the team behind Wedence.
Where couples and planners usually clash
| Friction | How to avoid it |
|---|---|
| “We thought that was included” | A written scope per function, read together before signing |
| Relatives briefing vendors directly | Every vendor instruction goes through the planner |
| The guest count keeps growing | Agree what the quote assumes and what changes if it grows |
| Late decisions | A decision deadline for each item, set by the planner |
| Payments sent without receipts | One payment tracker both sides can see |
None of these are about bad planners or difficult families. They're about nobody saying the rule out loud at the start.
The last two weeks
- Final headcount per function goes to the planner, who passes it to the caterer.
- You get the run sheet for every function. Read it. Correct names and timings.
- Hand over the vendor balance list and who pays each one, and when.
- Tell the planner which relatives need special care (elderly, travelling alone, dietary needs).
- Then stop deciding things. Let them run it.
Frequently asked questions
What should I hand over to my wedding planner?
Vendor booking and briefing, timelines and run sheets, vendor payment schedules, rooms and transfers, and running the wedding days.
What decisions should the couple keep?
Who is invited, the overall budget ceiling, approving any change that costs money, and family and ritual decisions.
How do I share the guest list with my wedding planner?
Keep one guest list with name, phone, side, group and the functions each person is invited to, and collect RSVPs per function on the invitation so you and the planner see the same numbers.
How often should I hear from my wedding planner?
A written weekly update works well, with faster contact in the last two weeks. Agree on it at the start.
Can my wedding planner see our RSVPs on Wedence?
Yes. On the Signature plan you can give your planner a login to the same wedding, and planners who use Planno work in that wedding dashboard directly.
What if I'm unhappy with my wedding planner?
Raise it early and specifically, in writing: what was agreed, what happened, and what you need by when. Most problems are scope misunderstandings that a clear conversation fixes. If it can't be fixed, your contract's cancellation clause sets out what happens next.