Planning a wedding can be a fun and exciting experience, especially when you think of the big picture.

However, it can quickly become overwhelming once you start thinking about all the details and decisions. This is likely your first time planning a wedding (or an event of this size), and you may have a full-time job or other commitments where you need to spend your time. Sure, you may have a family member that is really good at organizing things and has more free time to help. Still, what happens when their opinions become too much or the wedding weekend arrives, and they want to enjoy the fun?

That is where a wedding planner steps in! Planners help you through the research and decision-making process, keep you on track, and ensure you and your family and friends can enjoy the moment.

Wedding planners are experts in the event industry. They can coordinate an event that is not only personalized to you but beautiful and logistically sound, all while respecting your budget comfort zone. A planner allows you, and anyone involved in planning, to focus on “fun” parts of the planning process (menu tasting, design, etc.). At the same time, they handle the logistics and back-and-forth details with vendors.

“…at the core is ensuring the wedding day runs smoothly.”

Many planning companies offer a variety of packages ranging from event coordination (also known as day-of or month-of coordination) to partial/guided planning to full-service planning. These packages may vary between planning companies, but at the core is ensuring the wedding day runs smoothly.

Sounds simple, right? The reality is your planner will spend anywhere from 30-40 hours on an event coordination package and 150+ hours on a full-service package, not to mention up to 12 hours on your wedding day! Let’s briefly break down the high-level difference between a wedding coordination package and a wedding planning package and what a planner might be responsible for in each of these:

Wedding Coordinator

  • Typically steps into the planning process around 2-3 months before the wedding
  • Assists in communicating final details and logistics with vendors you selected
  • Creates a comprehensive wedding weekend timeline to share with vendors as well as you and your wedding party
  • Is onsite on the wedding day, directing vendors and ensuring the timeline is being followed and the day runs smoothly

Wedding Planner

  • With you from the beginning, sometimes even before you have selected a date and location
  • Assists you in establishing a vision and realistic budget 
  • Connects you with professional vendors to bring your vision to life and reviews all contracts
  • Communicates all details and logistics with vendors throughout the entire planning process
  • Helps create a cohesive design based on your vision and budget
  • There to guide you during planning, providing etiquette guidance on aspects such as invitations, family situations, and wedding day flow
  • Creates a comprehensive wedding weekend timeline to share with vendors as well as you and your wedding party
  • Onsite on the wedding day, directing vendors and ensuring the timeline is being followed and the day runs smoothly

View My Planning & Coordination Packages

Planning packages offer a long list of services a planner will do to help make the wedding process stress-free and enjoyable for you and your family. However, in addition to that long list of service offerings, many more services are not listed that help make your wedding day seamless and let your friends and family have the experience of a lifetime. 

Some of these lesser-known services are…

  • Listening and empathizing as you go through the ups and downs of wedding planning
  •  Putting out fires and solving problems that arise on wedding day (without you ever knowing!)
  • Fashioning a bustle out of safety pins and thread underneath your dress when yours breaks
  • Ensuring that you and your partner actually get to eat the food at your wedding, uninterrupted
  • Finding another vendor last minute when your vendor gets sick on the day of your wedding
  • Giving you and your partner (and wedding party) breath mints and tissues before walking down the aisle
  • Making sure you have your room key/phone/wallet at the end of the night before you leave
  • Having bobby pins, boutonniere pins, and a steamer on hand to fix up any outfit
  • Helping out all your other vendors to help them bring their A-game

A wedding planner is much more than someone who shows up on the wedding day and tells people what to do (though that’s important too)! Trusting your planner and knowing they have your best interest in mind is essential. They are experts in their field and have seen a thing or two when it comes to weddings.

Booking a wedding planner will save you time and stress, so contact me if you’d like to work together to bring all your great ideas to life!

Blog photo by Saaty Photography