Wedding planning FAQ

Every wedding inquiry starts with a request for proposal and my answer every time is: let’s talk! Of course, there is a request form on the webpage but planning a wedding is such a complex process that personal contact is essential already in the initial phase. At least for me… Because for me, each and every wedding is special and unrepeatable so I need to sit down with every couple already at the beginning in order to get to know them and to prepare a customized offer. Below I have collected a list of 10 questions that are always asked at the first meeting in one way or another.

Quick disclaimer: this article does not replace the first meeting. 😊 This is just an aid for you to get a glimpse of what happens during a consultation session with me but it does not replace personal contact. The below items have been collected based on my subjective experience and hopefully by the time you get to the end of the article, you cannot wait to talk to me in person. 😊

And now, let’s take a look at the top 10 list to me, as Budapest based wedding planner:

1.Since when have you been planning weddings? I have been organizing weddings for 10 years and other events for more than 15 years.

2.What did you do beforehand? I was organizing conferences and other professional events. By the way, we still organize corporate events with my team in the framework of my own small enterprise.

3.How many weddings per year do you organize?It depends. In 2023, I had 12 weddings and 6 corporate events in my statistics.

4.How frequently do you have meetings with the couples? It varies a great deal and is suited to your needs. In case of couples living abroad, it may also happen that we don’t meet in person until the wedding only online (yes, that is not a mistake, it has happened a couple of times). In case a foreign couple intends to have an official wedding as well, I usually say we need at least 2 meetings in Hungary. On the first occasion, we look at the potential venues and then arrange the official paperwork on the second occasion. All in all, I can say that we need to meet in person 2 to 3 times before the wedding but it depends a lot on what you need from me to arrange. E.g. brides usually don’t invite me to bridal dress rehearsals but they almost always seek out my advice. Nowadays, we also meet more and more often in a video chat with the wedding service providers and it is possible to arrange many other things online, too. We communicate online and also have video calls, which is a very comfortable and flexible solution for everyone.

5.Can you arrange official paperwork for the marriage?I often get this question from couples living abroad (Hungarians and non-Hungarians alike) and the answer is yes, of course! Couples living in Hungary usually arrange this for themselves but I am happy to provide you with the details, especially if at least one of you is a non-Hungarian national. In case of couples living abroad, I can prepare the paperwork with all the necessary fuss but you will definitely need to visit Hungary in due course. However, if the process is managed by me, I will only show you where to sign the papers and that’s it on your end!

6.Can you also help with the wedding dress?Yes, sure! Many brides ask for my opinion, plus nowadays more and more grooms do, too. If needed, I am ready to give recommendations with regards to bridal salons and designers.

7.How many venues are we going to visit?Short answer: We usually visit 3-5 wedding venues in general, all of them in 1 or 2 days. If the venue selection is preceded by thorough research and your needs are clear, it is absolutely enough to visit the Top 3 wedding venues recommended by me and you will find the perfect one among those. It is totally unnecessary to wander throughout the country and look at irrelevant venues.

8.How long does it usually take to plan a wedding?There is no general answer to this question. It takes as much time as we have until the wedding. 😊 If you say you would like it in 2 months, we will plan it during that period. In my practice, I have planned weddings in 3 weeks to 2 years. (And I also had a wedding that had to be postponed 4 times during 3 years in the COVID period …) So there is no rule to this, just a piece of advice: the less time there is for planning and the more you would like a high-season wedding, the more you will need to compromise and the more you will be happy to have a great wedding planner.

9.Do you also undertake an MC role?I do but only in Hungarian for the time being. For our foreign couples, we always find the most suitable master of ceremony in the requested language(s).

10.The most frequently asked question that I always hear in each and every consultation session and quite rightly so: How much does a wedding cost? The first consultation is free of charge and besides getting to know each other, the aim is to discuss the basics of wedding planning, an integral part whereof is the budget. I could also say that when you ask this question, I will surely ask back: “How much budget can you dedicate to your wedding?” Because that’s how we will be able to estimate how much YOUR wedding is going to cost. Namely, it does not matter how much other weddings and “average” weddings cost, that is just a starting point. The essential thing is how much you will need to count with and that’s what we will discuss during the first meeting. I have talked about this topic in more detail in this article.

Well, the above list is just an extract, the Top 10! Besides these, we can tackle all sorts of topics that you have on your mind related to weddings and services. The first weddig consultation is always free of charge so use it wisely to ask me anything you are keen to know. For you, this is an opportunity to get to know me and for me to get to know you as well as your wedding ideas in order to provide you with a quote, based on which we can embark on our common journey.

If you can hardly wait to talk to me about your wedding, click here and feel free to contact me.

Andrea Rácz

Wedding planner

+36306518491

info@rgsmartevent.com