Wedding planners are experts in coordinating these special events, keeping track of vendors, guests and every little detail involved in a wedding day and night. Most brides and grooms want to be busy enjoying their big day, not worrying over vendor payments or obsessing over table arrangements, which is why wedding planners are such a practical part of any wedding budget.

So, when your wedding goes perfectly as planned, you have your wedding planner to thank for it. Here are a few ways to truly convey your gratitude to your wedding planner, so they understand what their effort means to you:

Referrals

The number-one best gift to any wedding service provider — any business, in truth — is a referral. If you were pleased with how your wedding planner handled all the important elements of your Big Day, you should sing their praises to your affianced friends and relatives. Your wedding planner is always on the hunt for new clients, and happy customers are some of the best marketing tools available. If any of your soon-to-be-married loved ones use your wedding planner’s services, they are likely to send you a token of their deep gratitude, like a thank-you card or small gift certificate.

Social Media Tags

When you finally get your pictures and videos back, the social media blitz will begin — but you should be sure to tag your wedding planner as much as possible. Your wedding planner worked to ensure your day was as beautiful and stress-free as possible, so all the big smiles in your pictures are the result of their tireless effort. Your wedding planner almost certainly has profiles on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can ask for their preferred tags. Through your wedding posts, other soon-to-be brides and grooms will learn of their services and consider hiring them.

Wedding Swag

Anything you are giving your guests or wedding party, you should offer to your wedding planner. This goes for party favors as well as more personalized gifts. You might create a basket with all sorts of wedding swag, like the custom water bottles and flip flops with your wedding date or champagne bottles with your names on the label, but you should also add a special something extra for your planner, like a professional photo from the wedding of you and your planner together.

Personal Token

You have spent a lot of time with your wedding planner, so chances are that you have gotten to know them quite well. If you think back on your conversations, you should be able to identify a hobby or special interest held by your wedding planner, like oil painting or watching a particular TV show. If you share this hobby or interest with your planner, offering them a token of this unique bond will demonstrate how much you appreciate not just their hard work but the relationship you built during your wedding planning sessions.

Personal Note

If you don’t have the wedding budget for an expensive gift for your wedding planner, there is no need to fret — a well-written personal note is just as effective at showing how much you care. Some tips for writing a thank-you note that sounds heartfelt include:

Don’t start with a thank you. If your note starts “Thank you for…” then you don’t have anywhere else to go in the letter. Instead, you should remind them of the event, remark upon your relationship or express feelings of joy or excitement.

Be specific. “Thank you for planning my wedding” doesn’t scream deeply felt gratitude. Instead, you should offer specific thanks for the services you most appreciate, like keeping the in-laws in line or organizing the live band.

Consider your future relationship. If all goes well, you won’t have another wedding, but you can continue your relationship by promising to refer their services to everyone you know. You might also plan to use them for future events like birthday parties, anniversaries, retirement celebrations and the like.

Big Tip

In America, it is customary to tip anyone in the service industry, which includes most wedding vendors. Wedding planners typically do not expect a tip, but if you have no other ideas for gifts, you can tip between 10 and 20 percent of their service fee up to about $500 — any more than that comes off as ostentatious.

A gift is a good way to tell your wedding planner that they made your wedding special. If you appreciate your wedding planner more than words can say, you might offer them any of the above gifts at the end of your Big Day.