Congratulations– you’re engaged! As you plan your next steps toward the big day, one decision that you’ll need to make is whether you want to work with a wedding planner or wedding coordinator.
Before you decide, let’s walk through what each one does and how to know who is right for your needs.
What Does a Wedding Planner Do?
A wedding planner walks you through every decision of the wedding planning process.
You can expect a wedding planner to help you:
- A wedding planner walks you through every decision of the wedding planning process.
- You can expect a wedding planner to help you:
- Design a budget and manage finances
- Find, interview, and choose vendors
- Choose style and design elements
- Create your guest list, seating chart, and timelines
- Attending meetings, tastings, and tours
- Coordinate guest arrangements including transportation and hotel blocks
- Track RSVPs
- And, of course, they will oversee your wedding day so that everything goes off without a hitch!
And, of course, they will oversee your wedding day so that everything goes off without a hitch!
If you can do all or most of these yourself, what’s the point of hiring a wedding planner?
Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime day. While that makes it magical, it also makes it difficult to plan. It can be hard to know where to start or what choices will look best.
Wedding planners know the ins and outs of the industry.
The right planner will have the best florist recommendations and know how to keep your budget perfectly on track. You’ll be able to enjoy your engagement without becoming stressed or overwhelmed.
What Does a Wedding Coordinator Do?
wedding coordinator is responsible for making sure the wedding weekend goes smoothly. They help by:
- managing the wedding rehearsal
- communicating with and paying vendors
- keeping everyone on schedule
- overseeing logistics of the ceremony and reception
A wedding coordinator is tasked with making sure everything runs smoothly on the wedding day. The only thing the bride has to worry about is enjoying herself!
If you opt for a wedding coordinator instead of a wedding planner, know that you’ll have to lay a little more groundwork for them to be successful in their role. The coordinator is coming in when all of the big decisions have been made, so you’ll need to supply information such as:
- vendor contact information
- seating charts
- rehearsal and wedding day timelines
- last minute details to be taken care of (like lighting table candles)
At Chancey Charm, we offer month-of coordination services. Our “month-of coordination” package is more extensive than most planners because we want to ensure that our brides have an easy planning process–even when we are not working directly with them. In order to do this we gift our brides with the tools and expertise they need as they plan their big day, which allows for a flawless transition as we take over the to-do’s and make sure every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed.
A “month-of” bride is able to confidently hand things over to a trusted professional weeks before the wedding allowing themselves to be fully present in the days (and hours) leading up to “I do!”
How Do You Decide Between a Wedding Planner
or Day-of Coordinator?
Choosing between the two comes down to several factors.
Time: If your schedule is already packed, finding time to plan your wedding may be challenging. Have plenty of time? You could probably do most of the planning yourself.
Budget: A wedding planner will typically cost more than a wedding coordinator as their role requires much more effort.
Creativity and style: Regardless of how creative you consider yourself, you can plan a beautiful wedding. However, if you don’t enjoy being creative, this could cause a great deal of stress.
Proximity: Planning a destination wedding is challenging. Wedding planners understand how to coordinate with distant vendors, or you can even choose a planner who lives in the area of your destination wedding.
Complexity: If you’re getting married in an unconventional location or incorporating several unique elements to your wedding, a wedding planner is the best way to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
Choosing between the two comes down to several factors.
Time: If your schedule is already packed, finding time to plan your wedding may be challenging. Have plenty of time? You could probably do most of the planning yourself.
Budget: A wedding planner will typically cost more than a wedding coordinator as their role requires much more effort.
Creativity and style: Regardless of how creative you consider yourself, you can plan a beautiful wedding. However, if you don’t enjoy being creative, this could cause a great deal of stress.
Proximity: Planning a destination wedding is challenging. Wedding planners understand how to coordinate with distant vendors, or you can even choose a planner who lives in the area of your destination wedding.
Complexity: If you’re getting married in an unconventional location or incorporating several unique elements to your wedding, a wedding planner is the best way to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
Are you ready to start planning? We'd love to help!
You can find more information about our services- full planning and month-of coordination- right here.
If you need a little support bringing your design vision to life, we can help with our exclusive virtual wedding design service.
Looking for a guide that walks you through every step of the planning journey? We’ve got you covered with the wedding planning mini-course for brides.
Happy planning, friend!
-The Chancey Charm Team
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