We know what you’re thinking—maybe you can save some money and do the wedding planning yourself? After all, planners and coordinators cost A LOT and they don’t really do THAT MUCH, do they?
It’s a slippery slope to fall into, that’s for sure. On one hand, you’re right. You probably could do most of the wedding planning yourself. On the other hand, who wants to be traipsing around in curlers and a robe on their wedding day, commanding the troops and making sure everything goes smoothly?
At bare minimum, you should be hiring a Day-of Coordinator. They will make sure that you can be fairly hands-off on wedding day.
For peace of mind, you could go a few steps further and have a one-month out planner. These planners are the perfect compromise because they have a fairly good handle on your wedding day, without the large cost of a full planner.
If you’re one of the lucky few who have it in the budget, you can take your mind totally off the planning and hand the ropes over to a full event planner.
No matter how you slice it, having a coordinator or planner is a game-changer and should by no means be cut from the budget. Why you might ask? Here are our top reasons why you should absolutely have one:
Leading up to the wedding, there will be SO many questions that you won’t know the answers to. Sure, Google can give a few bits of advice but a good planner or coordinator knows the inner workings of a wedding. They have close relationships with venues and vendors and can help with all of the pre-planning leading up to the wedding day.
On your actual wedding day, you will have absolutely zero time. Between hair + make up, getting ready photos, bridal photos and dress photos, your availability will be slim, if any. Don’t expect to have any available minutes to be bossing around vendors, managing the timeline and making sure things go smoothly. The only thing you should be worrying about is drinking mimosas and singing with your besties.
Don’t you dare depend on family/friends to do the coordinating and planning for you. There are many reasons why this is a bad idea but the main one is, if this is not their actual profession, there will be so much that they don’t know and don’t have the stamina for. A wedding day is typically 16 hours FULL of work and months of planning leading up to it. Do you really want to pass off the baton of the most important day of your life to your second cousin?
Hire a professional and enjoy the day with your loved ones! Don’t make them work on your big day just to save a few dollars.
When venue hunting, search for a venue that INCLUDES top-notch coordination. If you fall in love with a venue that doesn’t have in-house coordination, the next best thing you can make sure of is that they allow you to choose any coordinator/planner so that you can make sure you are working with someone that you love.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! Just because someone has a lot of good reviews or because your friend “used this one girl” does not mean that they are a good planner/coordinator. Most importantly, they may not be a good fit for YOU. Before hiring anyone, make sure you meet them in person and that you like them as a human. You will be spending a lot of time with them leading up to the wedding day and on the actual day itself—please make sure they are someone that you like being around!
