In London drinking wine when we decided to get married in Thailand. It sounds romantic when you say it out loud. The reality was different. We had no idea what we were doing. Neither of us had been to Thailand before. We didn’t know anyone there. We had no vendor contacts. One of us would have to take charge of this massive project while working a full-time job.
I spent the first month googling everything. Thailand wedding venues. Thailand wedding photographers. Thailand wedding catering. The results were overwhelming. Some websites looked professional. Some looked like they were made in 2005. I couldn’t tell who was good and who was charging triple the normal price for tourist couples. I started a massive spreadsheet. I watched YouTube videos about Thai wedding ceremonies because we wanted to incorporate some traditional elements. I joined wedding planning Facebook groups and asked questions. People were helpful but I still didn’t know if the vendors they recommended were actually reliable or if they were just friends posting about their own businesses.
Three months in I was exhausted and we hadn’t booked anything major yet. My mum asked why I didn’t just hire someone in Thailand to help. I thought it would be too expensive. Then I realized I was spending money on international phone calls, flights to visit venues, and countless hours that I wasn’t even billing as work. I bit the bullet and contacted a wedding coordinator in Phuket that a friend of a friend had used.
That first conversation changed everything. Her name was Orawan. She asked me questions I hadn’t even thought to consider. What was my absolute budget and was that flexible? Did I want a traditional Thai ceremony or were we keeping it Western? How many guests? What time of year? Did we have a venue in mind or did she need to suggest options? Had I considered the monsoon season? Did my family have any specific requirements or traditions we needed to incorporate?
We spent an hour on that call and I felt like someone had finally turned on the lights. She said she’d visited twelve venues in the past month alone. She knew which photographers actually delivered quality work versus which ones looked good on Instagram but showed up late or missed important moments. She knew which caterers could handle international guests with different dietary requirements. She knew about Thai marriage regulations that I’d never even thought about. She knew the weather patterns, the best times to book vendors, which decorators could actually execute the vision I was describing.
Hiring Orawan was genuinely one of the best decisions we made. And I’m not saying that because I’m trying to convince you to hire someone. I’m saying it because I lived through the alternative. I spent three months trying to do it myself and got nowhere. Within three weeks of working with Orawan we had our venue booked, our photographer locked in, our catering tasted and approved, and our timeline sorted out.
The thing nobody tells you about destination weddings is that they require someone who actually knows the destination. You can’t troubleshoot vendor problems via email at midnight. You can’t visit a venue you’ve never been to. You can’t taste food from a restaurant ten thousand miles away through a computer screen. You can’t navigate conversations in a language you don’t speak. You can’t understand local customs and regulations you’ve never encountered. Someone needs to be there, on the ground, with real relationships and real knowledge.
That’s what best wedding planners in Thailand actually are. They’re not luxury extras. They’re necessities if you want your destination wedding to work. Orawan visited every single venue with me via video call. She walked through them, showed me the spaces, asked me questions about lighting and layout and feasibility. She knew which ones got booked six months in advance and which ones had last-minute availability. She explained the pros and cons of each choice without pushing me toward the most expensive option.
For catering she took me through multiple restaurants. She actually tasted the food before suggesting them to me. She asked about my dietary requirements, my family’s preferences, whether we wanted traditional Thai food or a mix of options. She coordinated with the caterer to explain we had guests from five different countries with various restrictions. She followed up multiple times to make sure they understood.
For the photographer she showed me portfolios and past wedding galleries. But she also told me which photographers were reliable about timing, which ones would stay past the contracted hours if something ran late, which ones had backup equipment in case something broke. That’s information you only get from someone who works with them regularly.
Why Wedding Planners in Thailand Make an Actual Difference
I watched my parents try to coordinate their fiftieth anniversary party from three different countries. It was a nightmare. Everyone had opinions. Nobody could see the space in person. Vendors gave different information to different people. Documents got lost. Things fell through the cracks. Now imagine that but for a wedding with two hundred guests and international travel involved.
Destination wedding planners handle the coordinating that would otherwise consume your life. They manage vendor communications. They track deposits and payments. They create timelines. They handle the hundred small decisions—table sizes, napkin colors, ceremony music volume, timing between courses, backup plans for rain, coordination with photographers and videographers about must-have shots, guest accommodations and transportation logistics, alcohol licenses if needed, ceremony permits, vendor coordination on the actual day.
The week before our wedding Orawan sent me a detailed timeline of the entire day. Not just our ceremony and reception, but when vendors would arrive, when setup would start, when final payments were due, what time the photographer needed to be there for getting-ready shots, when the florist would deliver, when the caterer would start prepping, everything. She’d coordinated with every single vendor so everyone knew exactly when they needed to be there and what they needed to do.
The morning of the wedding she was there at six in the morning checking the venue setup. She walked through with the florist to make sure the decorations were exactly what we’d discussed. She checked the sound system. She made sure the catering team had everything they needed. She coordinated the photographer’s positioning. She managed the timeline so nothing ran late. When my sister realized her shoes were uncomfortable and asked if there was any way to solve it before the ceremony, Orawan somehow found someone to run to a shop and buy alternatives that actually matched.
That’s what you’re paying for. You’re paying for someone to manage all the chaos so you can actually be present in your own wedding.
The Money Thing
I was worried hiring Orawan would be expensive. Her day rate plus her coordination percentage actually came to less than what I would have spent trying to do it myself. I wouldn’t have had to fly to Thailand twice to visit venues. I wouldn’t have wasted time on dozens of vendor emails that went nowhere. I wouldn’t have paid rush fees on last-minute changes because I didn’t know better. I wouldn’t have made mistakes that cost money to fix.
Wedding planners in Thailand aren’t charging London wedding planner prices. A good coordinator costs maybe fifteen hundred to three thousand dollars depending on what they’re doing, how many vendors they’re coordinating, and how much hand-holding you need. For a wedding budget of fifty thousand dollars or more, that’s a legitimate investment that actually saves you money and stress.
Finding Someone You Actually Trust
When we were looking for Orawan I asked my friend for honest feedback. Had she been responsive? Did she stay on budget? Were there any surprises or hidden costs? Did she actually deliver on what she promised? The answer to all of those was yes. That’s how I knew to reach out to her.
When you’re looking for wedding planners, ask previous couples those exact questions. Don’t just scroll through Instagram photos. Call them. Ask them real questions. Find someone who has experience with your type of wedding—if you want a small intimate celebration, find someone who’s done that, not someone who specializes in hundred-person corporate events.
At the End of the Day
Our wedding in Thailand was one of the best days of our lives. My family said it was the most well-organized event they’ve ever attended. Our guests felt welcomed and taken care of. Everything ran on time. The food was delicious. The decorations were exactly what we wanted. The ceremony was meaningful. The photos are beautiful. None of that would have happened without Orawan. That’s when I truly understood why best destination wedding planners are worth every penny you invest. They don’t just plan events—they create experiences that people remember for a lifetime.
If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn’t change anything about hiring her. I’d recommend hiring her earlier. I’d recommend being even more specific about my vision from the start. But I wouldn’t ever do it without professional coordination again. Destination weddings are too complicated. The stakes are too high. The number of moving pieces is too much to manage from a different continent while also having a job and a life.
Get yourself someone local who knows what they’re doing. Someone who has real vendor relationships. Someone who has done this before. Someone who will answer your emails and return your calls. Someone who will solve problems you didn’t even know existed. Wedding planners in Thailand aren’t luxury. They’re the thing that makes your destination wedding actually work.