Learn More About the differences between a Wedding Planner and a Day of Coordinator
So what’s the difference between a wedding planner vs day of coordinator? Before we talk about the details we just want to mention that having at least a day-of coordinator, will make things run way smoother if you’re interested in help. Weddings without external assistance often run behind schedule, and rely on the couple, family or friends to take care of logistics, like setting up the reception room, orchestrating the ceremony, etc.
There are lot of different types of wedding planners but the most popular services that wedding planners offer are full service wedding planning and a day-of or sometimes called month-of wedding coordination. Often the same wedding planner will offer both options in their services. Do you think you need a planner? Let’s dive into more information about what they do to help you find out.
What is a Day-of coordinator?
A day-of coordinator or sometimes called month-of coordinator takes your meticulous planning and brings it to life, allowing you to fully embrace your wedding day with family and friends without taking care or logistics that day. The typical process of hiring a day-of coordinator varies among companies. Generally, services commence around two months before the wedding date.
They review all the details you worked so hard to plan and make sure that the day runs smoothly. Which could be taking care of things like creating a timeline, coordinating with vendors, designing your floor plan, orchestrating the ceremony, managing the reception production, etc.
What is a Full Service Wedding Planner?
Hiring a full service wedding planner means entrusting them with almost everything. This service suits busy couples or brides who have a vision but prefer not to deal with the nitty-gritty details due to time constraints. One planner I know describes their full service option in this way, “we’ll spend 160+ hours planning your day”.
So what goes into all that time? It’s everything we talked about in the role of a coordinator plus things that happen much earlier in the planning process and more. For example they take care of things like, reviewing and creating a budget, touring venues, finding vendors, creating suggestions for the design and layout of your event, dress styling, wedding dress fittings, assembling gifts, planning a morning after brunch, etc. Really anything you can think of that you need help with related to your wedding, they take care of.
So what’s the right option for you?
Undoubtedly, a full wedding planning service comes at a higher price than a day-of coordinator, but they also free up a ton of your time. Ultimately it comes down to how much time you want to spend on planning your details, do you want help with taking care of logistics on your big day, and what’s your budget?
Some couples really enjoy the DIY aspect of things and want to plan and execute their vision themselves. Those couples often aren’t bothered because the day is running behind schedule. And in my experience, if you don’t have someone helping, 99% of the time it will run behind schedule in one way or another. Which can be totally fine, you just need to be flexible and have a team of vendors that can also be flexible.
If you love planning but really want to relax on the wedding day then having at least a day-of coordinator is a great option for you. And if you would prefer to have someone take care of everything while you approve things as you go, then the full wedding planning service is definitely for you.
Thanks for reading our blog about wedding planner vs day of coordinator. We hope this helps with deciding which route to go down for your wedding planning journey. Whatever it is, have fun with it and congratulations!
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