Planning a wedding with an agency or a hotel: what works better?

As a relatively recent phenomenon, wedding celebrations arranged exclusively by hotels may seem like a practice likely to catch on. Does it compare to the work of a wedding agency that specializes in planning these events? Here is a brief look at what you can expect while working with each.

A wedding agency’s work with the couple can start as early as a year before the happy event and come to an end half a year after. This includes assigning a wedding planner to guide them on their journey and help with the logistics of the event, as well as the details that make this occasion truly memorable – creating custom decor, organizing seating arrangements, assisting with rings and other accessories or picking out a perfect wedding bouquet. Due to years of establishing contact with qualified professionals in various industries, wedding agencies have access to an extensive network of subcontractors that provide a whole range of essential services for wedding organization.

A hotel typically offers a less varied selection or a set number of in-house staff to accommodate the guests’ wishes within a limited timeframe that begins and ends with a hotel booking. So hotel wedding planning can be especially challenging in case of emergencies or unforeseen events when a last-minute alteration or replacement is needed. As agencies have numerous contacts in each destination country, they offer balance and a safety net in case of emergencies. For example, as a destination wedding agency, ORI Wedding has access to a network of more than 120 qualified professionals across various industries and locations to accommodate any budget and requirements for wedding planning.

Even the most celebrated hotels offer a limited list of locations where their presence has already been established. A wedding agency, on the other hand, has a carefully curated list of venues across the country or, in case of destination weddings, the entire world to help the couples decide on the most appealing wedding location. Here, at ORI Wedding, we already offer three major destination picks – Georgia, Cyprus and the UAE with plans to expand to Greece, Spain and Italy, with more than 400 locations to choose from.

The same is true for the services provided – a wedding planner knows how to make your big day feel special by carefully crafting an immersive experience that can encompass a beautiful open-air photoshoot, an elegant restaurant with delectable local dishes and a cozy stay at very diverse venues. At the same time a hotel’s services, even ones like an airport transfer, are largely location-centric, catering more to a uniform and somewhat less creative experience while organizing a hotel wedding.

Another area of worry while organizing an otherwise happy day is the cost. Even with a tightly managed budget it is very easy to overspend without meaning to. A hotel mostly offers services that are dependent on its rating and price range. So when planning a wedding at a hotel it’s impossible to enjoy a luxurious service coupled with affordable accommodation and vice versa. A wedding package offered for the event may not include an option for additional adjustments, and the cancellation policy is typically strict. A wedding planner’s job, however, is to tailor every part of your wedding day to your liking while observing the budget restrictions and implementing your vision with great flexibility and discreteness to reflect your personality and style. As a part of a wedding agency’s team, the planner can provide a consultation on the scale and extent of changes you can make in your wedding celebration arrangements even after signing up, gracefully balancing the load of responsibility towards the subcontractors and your expectations.

One more crucial aspect is the legal side of the wedding. Registering a marriage abroad may be an involved and intricate process without professional help and can cause trouble on your special day or during the honeymoon. A hotel may not have the capacity, legal status or simply specialization to assist with the documents, their translation or securing legalization services. A destination wedding agency, on the other hand, has full control over this process, and can facilitate it even before the couple’s arrival to the country of their choice. A destination wedding planner at ORI is a professional knowledgeable about marriage registration abroad, obtaining civil marriage licenses and their apostilles, as well as their legalization. Moreover, they maintain contact with a network of translators and interpreters to assist you every step of the way.

As you can see, when it concerns such a responsible task as organizing a wedding, it is always better to choose a specialized agency that has a long history of success in wedding planning, rather than trust everything to a venue offering it a secondary service. For a wedding agency and a planner in particular, making sure you are carefree during your wedding day is the primary duty and focus of their work. Their reputation depends on flawless performance and ability to create happiness for the couples in their charge.