Wedding planners and Wedding coordinators - what are they?
What do they do? How much are they? Why do you need them? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the people that make your wedding day happen.
What is a wedding planner?
A wedding planner does exactly what the name suggests - they plan your big day. Depending on how far along in your wedding journey you are, a wedding planner can have different jobs. For example, if you have just got engaged and have no idea where to start or you don't have any time at all to dedicate to wedding planning, this is what you can typically expect from a wedding planner:
Finding the perfect venue (by creating a shortlist that suit your needs for you to choose from)
Putting together your wedding team (this includes photographer, cake maker, florist, decor hire, catering, entertainment, stationery etc.)
Mood boards to decide on a theme
Budgeting
Organising RSVPs
All wedding admin (seating plans, dietary requirements, order of the day etc)
And so much more!
Say you are engaged, you have found your venue, a couple of suppliers that you love and then you have hit a bit of a brick wall. A wedding planner can jump in at this point and take over any work you have been doing so far and run with it from there!
The benefits of having a having a wedding planner? There are almost too many to list, but here are the top benefits:
Experience with planning weddings - they know what works and what doesn't
Instantly taking away stress from planning a wedding
Giving you back the time you would be spending planning a wedding (can be up to 300 hours!)
Keep the budgeting on track
Extensive supplier connections
Occasionally can get you good deals with suppliers
If you are lucky enough to have a venue that comes with a dedicated wedding planner - then perfect! This means that you will have someone to help you with everything that involves your venue, however they won't get involved with all of the other details that take up so much time and effort, so a wedding planner is still worth considering. If you are planning a wedding in a dry hire venue (such as an empty barn with no tables, chairs etc.) or a marquee, then a wedding planner is almost completely necessary as you are starting with a blank canvas!
So what's a wedding coordinator?
A wedding coordinator is different to a planner, as most of their work is done on the actual day of the wedding, however it is not limited to this. A coordinator will usually take over all of your wedding planning about a month before the day, once the planning is complete. They will then liaise with your suppliers to make sure everything is ready for the big day. Here are some examples of what a coordinator will do on the day:
Being on hand during wedding prep, making sure the bride and bridal party are happy getting ready
Ensuring all suppliers are arriving on time and know what to do
Overseeing set up of the venue
Overseeing ceremony, including seating guests, ensuring music works, liaising with the officiant, preparing the bridal party to walk down the aisle
Making sure everything runs on schedule
Generally making sure that you are having the best day ever!
So it's clear that a coordinator does a lot, but what are the benefits of having one? Like a wedding planner, it's hard to list them all, but here are a few:
Taking over during the most stressful time with planning (the month before)
Making sure everything runs the way you planned while you get ready/get married/eat/party
Dealing with any last minute issues that arise
Making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time
Coordinating clean up/taking down of decorations so you don't have to the morning after your wedding
Like a wedding planner, you may have a venue that has a coordinator included in the price. If so it is still worth investing in a wedding coordinator as they will oversee all of the details that aren't involved in the venue. If you have a DIY or marquee wedding planned, a coordinator is even more important as you will need a dedicated person to help the day run - you don't want the role to end up falling on a mum or bridesmaid, or even worse, you!
