How to choose your wedding planner in Bordeaux: the criteria that really matter

You've decided to get help for your wedding — excellent decision. But type "wedding planner Bordeaux" into Google and you're faced with dozens of profiles, elegant websites and similar-sounding promises. How do you tell apart the professional who will carry your project from the one who'll let you down? I'm a wedding planner in Bordeaux myself, and I'm going to give you the criteria I'd recommend to my own sister — including the ones that don't always work in my favour.

The wedding planner profession isn't regulated: anyone can build a website and call themselves an organiser. Look beyond the Instagram feed. Ask how many full weddings the person has planned (not just coordinated on the day), in what kinds of venues, and for what size of reception. A 120-guest wedding in a Médoc château isn't run the same way as a 30-guest birthday party.

Detailed client reviews (Google) are worth more than portfolios: look for words like "unexpected", "handled", "at ease" — it's in the difficult moments that a wedding planner shows her true value. And if she can put you in touch with former couples, that's an excellent sign.

This is the decisive advantage of a local wedding planner. In Bordeaux and Gironde, the exceptional venues (châteaux, estates, orangeries…) each have their own constraints: required or free-choice caterers, end-of-evening curfews, access logistics, accommodation capacity. A locally established professional knows these subtleties before you sign, has relationships with reliable local vendors, and knows which ones deliver on their promises. Ask her to talk about venues she personally knows: her answer will tell you a lot.

A serious wedding planner offers well-defined services. At Horizevent, for example, there are two packages: Full Wedding Planning (complete planning, from vision to the big day) and Wedding Day Coordination (coordination of the final weeks and the day itself). Be wary of vague offers where everything is "quote only" without you understanding what's included.

The contract should spell out, in black and white: the exact scope of the mission, the price and payment schedule, cancellation clauses, and what happens if the wedding planner is unavailable on the day (backup plan). No detailed contract = walk away.

In France, full wedding planning generally ranges between €4,000 and €10,000 depending on the scale of the wedding, and day-of coordination starts around €1,200. Some professionals charge a flat fee, others a percentage of the total budget (10 to 15%).

A very low price should raise a flag: planning a wedding represents hundreds of hours of work. A wedding planner who underprices herself will need to take on far more weddings to make a living, and your project will suffer. On the flip side, the right instinct isn't to look for the highest price either, but to understand what each euro funds: ask for a breakdown. I go into more detail in my article on the cost of a wedding in Bordeaux.

The discovery meeting is exactly for this — come with this list: Are you available on our date, and how many weddings are you handling that season? Who will be present on the day, and how many people? How do you work with vendors (commissions, freedom of choice)? What happens if a vendor lets you down? How do we communicate during the planning process, and how often?

The question of vendor commissions is particularly revealing: a transparent wedding planner will tell you clearly whether she receives any. At Horizevent, the answer is no — my recommendations are guided by quality alone, which is what lets me advocate for one vendor over another without any conflict of interest.

You're going to spend 12 to 18 months with this person. She'll know your budget, your family stories, your last-minute doubts. Beyond skills, ask yourself a simple question after the first meeting: "Do I feel confident, listened to, and understood?" A wedding planner who looks brilliant on paper but with whom you don't click will make your preparations feel heavy. The right professional is the one who combines the rigour of a project manager with a relationship you feel good in.

Before signing, you should be able to tick off: verifiable experience on weddings comparable to yours, real knowledge of venues and vendors in Bordeaux and Gironde, clear packages and contracts, pricing that's explained and makes sense, transparency about commissions, and a genuine human connection. If even one box is missing, keep looking — your wedding deserves it.

Want to check all these criteria for yourself? Book your discovery meeting — it's free, with no obligation, and within an hour you'll know whether we're a good fit to work together. You can also discover my Full Wedding Planning and Wedding Day Coordination packages, or browse the weddings I've organised across Gironde.