Coordinators and planners - Who is Who?

An overview: who is who and what do they do?

Related to those involved in coordinating your wedding day and ensuring things run smoothly are wedding planners or coordinators (typically hired directly by the couple) and venue coordinators. 

Wedding planners typically put 150 hours or more into planning a couple's big day, while only 14-16 hours occur on the couple's actual wedding day. They are involved during the majority if not the entirety of a couple's wedding planning journey.

On the other hand, wedding coordinators (day of, month of, etc.) usually only gets involved one to two months before the big day, spends about 40 hours per wedding with 10-12 of those hours being on the actual wedding day.

Venue coordinators are exactly that - they make sure the venue and venue staff are running smoothly on the day of your wedding. Their fee is usually built into the cost of the venue. While they can provide limited support in coordinating outside vendors, it really depends on the coordinator and the venue. They draw firm boundaries as their focus is solely on venue-related things.

Venue coordinators focus on the big picture - table placement, linens, staff, etc.; while wedding coordinators/planners can focus on the small details - decor, placement cards, etc. Not all venues have a venue coordinator, so make sure this is on your list of questions to ask a venue!

Wedding planner vs. wedding coordinator: which do you need?

A lot of people tend to get confused about this but it really all depends on the level of support you and your spouse-to-be need leading up to your big day. Put simply - if you feel like you need help every step of the way and have very little (if anything) planned, a full wedding planner is for you. If you have the majority of your wedding planned but need help with final details, partial planning is for you. If you have pretty much everything planned and just need help with decorating and coordinating vendors on your wedding day, then you just need a wedding coordinator. 

Regardless of what "level" you're thinking, most wedding planners or coordinators (including me) tend to tailor their package to each couple to match their needs and budget - so please reach out to chat and ask questions!

Why you should invest in a wedding planner or coordinator

Do you want your wedding day to be as stress-free as possible? Do you want to not have to worry about herding cats - coordinating vendors, guests, and your wedding party? Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the minute details of planning your wedding? Are you struggling with finding a venue or other vendors? If you answered yes (or HECK yes) to any of these questions, then you should consider building a wedding planner or coordinator into your budget.

As always, I hope this blog post helps to clear up confusion about the differences between the different people who help coordinate the moving pieces on your wedding day.