If you’re like most couples, you’ll probably be hiring a wedding planner to help make your big day run smoothly. But did you know that wedding planners can do much more than just coordinate the festivities? In fact, they can provide a wide range of services from a year out to the big day to make sure your wedding is everything you’ve always dreamed of. Here are five surprising things your wedding planner can do for you!

Develop Design Elements For Your Event – One of the main things a wedding planner does is develop the design elements for your event. This includes everything from selecting the color scheme to designing the invitations and coordinating color schemes and décor with all of the other vendors involved.

Manage Your Wedding Finances – Another important task that wedding planners often take on is managing the wedding budget. They can help you figure out how much money to spend on each aspect of the big day and then keep track of all expenses throughout the planning process so that nothing is left unaccounted for in your final bill. You can request a monthly budget check-in to ease your mind and make sure you are in good financial shape at every stage of planning.

Offer Fashion Input and Expertise – Wedding planners are great at giving advice when it comes to fashion, too. They can help you find the right dress for your style and preferences, recommend how to coordinate the outfits for the wedding party members, consider how the color scheme and wedding theme will look in your photographs, and even advise on accessories like shoes, jewelry, veils, boutonnieres, and your bouquet.

Set Up Your Wedding Website – Many wedding planners also offer web design services to help couples set up their own wedding websites. These sites are an important part of planning your big day, because they allow guests to RSVP online, check out photos from the event afterwards and get updates on any changes that might be made before or during the celebration. This may be a very valuable offering if you or your spouse-to-be don’t have the computer skills to take on the task yourselves.

Initiate Family Mediation – Finally, most planners have seen enough weddings go awry due to family drama that they’re prepared for almost anything. If there are any tense situations between members of your family leading up to the wedding, they can often help mediate and keep challenges between family members from getting too out of hand. They may be skilled at handling emotional situations and correcting misunderstandings at the outset so your festivities are not marred by complicated family dynamics.

While not all wedding planners offer all of these services, it’s always a good idea to ask about what they can do for you specifically before you hire them. The necessary skills of your wedding planner will depend on the specific needs of you and your future spouse, your family, and the vision of your special day. That way, you can be sure that they’ll be able to take care of as many details as possible and let you relax and enjoy your wedding as planned!