Wedding Planner vs Wedding Coordinator Part 1

Many people have heard the terms wedding planner and wedding coordinator, but many don't know what the difference is or what each one does. Since we're in prime engagement season I thought I would explain the differences. In today's blog we will discuss what a wedding coordinator is. We will discuss what a wedding planner is in our next blog.

Wedding Coordinator

A wedding coordinator is often referred to as a "Day Of Coordinator". However, there really is no such thing as a day of coordinator - or at least there shouldn't be! I can't imagine just showing up on a wedding day without having done any work before hand!

A wedding coordinator is hired anywhere from the time you have your date set (coordinators book up quick so booking them early is good) up to a week before your wedding (yes...we've been hired that last minute!). Some wedding coordinators will provide vendor referrals (we do include that) but some do not.

For a wedding coordinator the main work typically starts a few months before the wedding when we reach out to you to get a wedding day timeline started. Once we have the timeline done we send that to the other vendors that will be there on the wedding day (such as the photographer, DJ, and caterer) to make sure the timeline works for all of them also.

A wedding coordinator confirms all of the details with your hired vendors in the weeks leading up to the wedding so that everyone is on the same page. They make sure that they have all of the vendor phone numbers and vice versa so that on the wedding day, if there is an issue, the vendors know to call the coordinator.

A wedding coordinator normally attends your final walk through so that everyone is on the same page with how you want things set up.

A wedding coordinator is there to help direct your wedding rehearsal. This is especially important if you are doing a self uniting ceremony where the "officiant" has never performed a wedding before.

On the wedding day your wedding coordinator acts as liaison between you and your other vendors. They take care of any issues that may arise and make sure you never know about the issues (or at least not until after the wedding!).

Your wedding coordinator arrives early enough to help set up all your decorations and direct the other vendors where things go. They are there to help you get your dress on (so your mom or maid of honor doesn't have to ruin her freshly done nails trying to button up all the buttons on the back of your dress!). They have an emergency kit to take care of any issues that may arise (our most used product is toupee tape!!). And they are there throughout the day/evening to make sure things run smoothly.

Basically a wedding coordinator is there to make sure all the hard work you put into planning becomes a reality without you having to do anything but relax and have fun with all your friends and family!

Did you hire a wedding coordinator? Was it worth it? We'd love to hear your feedback! And stay tuned for our next post on wedding planners!