Wedding Planner Vs. Wedding Coordinator
Do you work a full-time job? Are you a mom? Have an image of your perfect wedding? Is organization not your strongest skill? If you answered yes to one of these questions, you might want to consider hiring a professional wedding planner or wedding coordinator for your big day!
Having a wedding planner or wedding coordinator can seriously change your life! You’ll be much more at ease and able to focus on other things throughout the months leading up to your wedding. Wedding planning can be fun or stressful. Or both. Probably both.
There are two different kinds of people that can help with your wedding: a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator. While both people contribute to the overall success of the wedding, they handle different aspects of the wedding. If you’re looking to hire a wedding planner or coordinator but don’t know the difference, keep reading below.
What is the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator?
The difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator is how hands-on they will be with the wedding planning. A wedding planner is logistically involved with your wedding planning process. Meaning, they schedule and attend meetings, help manage the budget, and oversee the wedding. They will become your go-to person for every question and request you have. Whereas, a wedding coordinator’s primary role is to make sure that the wedding day or wedding weekend is perfectly executed. They will meet with you a few weeks in advance to do a final run-through of your wedding day, manage rehearsal, and confirm vendor times.
Wedding Planner
To break it down, a wedding planner is a professional who assists couples with the design of their wedding from start to finish. Wedding planners will help decorate the entire wedding through the use of vendors. Your wedding planner will be at your big day to help with last-minute details. She will also schedule and attend every meeting, create a detailed timeline, and negotiate contracts on your behalf. They will also be your primary contact – almost everything will go through them.
Why should you get a wedding planner? Wedding planners take off loads of stress and tasks for you. So while you’re enjoying engaged life, your wedding planner will be behind the scenes taking care of all your wedding planning.
Wedding Coordinator
What does a wedding coordinator do? A wedding coordinator is someone who will help you coordinate your wedding, but doesn’t actually plan it.
Wedding coordinators are usually present only on your wedding day. They may or may not assist with vendor bookings. They help put the pieces of your wedding together but you will have to pick the pieces yourself. Of course, they help guide and give recommendations. They do some tasks that wedding planners do but you will have to do much of the work. For example, you will have to make negotiations with your florist and pick out everything yourself. And once you have all your contracts signed, your coordinator will then help you put everything together.
Most of the time, venues have an onsite wedding coordinator who will help the couples on their wedding day. Usually, it comes with the wedding package. But in short, you can think of a wedding coordinator like a hotel concierge.
Wedding Coordinator Vs. Day- Of Wedding Coordinator
What’s the difference between a wedding coordinator and a day-of wedding coordinator?
A day-of wedding coordinator will be on-site on your wedding day to help guide you through the venue. She is responsible for answering all your questions while assisting the guests. While she doesn’t plan much of the wedding, you’ll have a few meetings with her to go through your wedding day schedule. The day-of wedding coordinator will also help assist with the dinner rehearsal. That being said, her primary job is to make sure the wedding goes as smoothly as it can. Meaning, any last minute chaos or detail is something she will take care of.
A wedding coordinator is someone you will stay in contact with throughout your entire wedding planning process. Although she won’t be planning out your entire wedding, she will be able to assist you with certain decisions. Her primary role is to help get everything organized for the wedding day. That means, making a schedule of events for the vendors and helping the couple make certain decisions.
Generally speaking, a lot of wedding coordinators are also day-of wedding coordinators. So make sure to ask your venue manager what comes with your wedding package.
Do I need a wedding planner?
No, you don’t need one. However, if your budget allows it, then it’s so worth it! Have you ever heard of Mindy Weiss, the famous Hollywood party planner? She does all the Kardashian parties. There’s a reason why people pay money for wedding planners. It takes loads of stress and anxiety off of people’s shoulders. Don’t you want a professional to plan your wedding?
How Much Does a Wedding Planner Cost?
The average cost of a wedding planner is $1,500. However, it depends on how your wedding planner takes the payment. Oftentimes, wedding planners will take 10-20% of the overall budget. Sometimes, they charge a flat fee. Lastly, they can do it on an hourly basis. So yes, having a wedding planner can definitely be pricey. But like I said, if your budget allows it, get a wedding planner! Never heard anyone complain about hiring a wedding planner – most say how amazing it was and would hire one all over again!
Should I Get a Wedding Planner or a Coordinator?
One of the BIGGEST benefits of hiring a wedding planner or coordinator is that they have all the knowledge about weddings – the things you can’t find on the internet.
Deciding whether you should get a wedding planner or a wedding coordinator is entirely up to you and your budget. A wedding planner will be more expensive because they work more hours. Whereas a wedding coordinator might be only a few hundred dollars. It all depends on what you can afford and how crazy busy your personal life is.
A big wedding will have more hands that go into it. For example, if you’re having an outdoor wedding, you’ll need wedding tents. While it sounds easy, having a tented wedding is much more work than people think. In this case, having a wedding planner is beneficial. There are just too many things wedding planners know that we don’t – regardless how many wedding books you’re reading.
However, if you are having a small wedding and don’t need someone to help you with the entire planning process, you can go with a wedding coordinator. The wedding coordinator will be on-site on the day of your wedding to help assist you and make sure the wedding goes as smoothly as possible. Like I said, most venues, especially hotel venues, will have a wedding coordinator for you as part of their package.
Last but not least, if your venue does not offer a wedding coordinator and you cannot afford one due to your budget, you can buy a wedding checklist off of any wedding website. Most of these wedding checklists are extremely detailed and organized. Otherwise, there are huge wedding planning binders. While having a wedding professional is amazing to have, it definitely is a luxury spend. But don’t forget that your family and friends will be delighted to help out! Use them where you can.
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