Day of Coordinator vs. Wedding Planner

First of all-before I dive in-check out this post I wrote last year about why I don’t offer day of coordination (I do, however, offer wedding management. In summary: it’s just to clarify that the amount of work we do encompasses more than just the one day!)

What’s a Day of Coordinator? How is it different from a Wedding Planner?

Frequently, when people say wedding planner they could be speaking about a day of coordinator but it’s super important to understand the difference between the two so you can decide what you really need for your big day!

A Day of Coordinator is someone you hire (who doesn’t work for the venue) to run your wedding day-sort of like a stage manager! They help make sure everything goes smoothly and runs on time and will make sure the bridal party and vendors etc. there are all coordinated together so everything goes the way it should (and oftentimes they may help with some minor setup of décor and such). They’re the point person for that day. BUT-and this is why we call this service Wedding Management-a quality Day of Coordinator’s work does not begin on your actual wedding day. To be fully prepared, to make sure the day runs as it should, they need to know your timeline, be fully familiarized with your colors and style and wedding’s look, they need to know your vendors at least somewhat, and have any other important information so they know where everything should go and how everything should go down. If someone just came in on that day blind, they probably wouldn’t have a very good idea of what they were doing and wouldn’t be able to effectively coordinate the day.

A Wedding Planner is something a bit different. We are there with you every step of the way on your wedding planning journey. We help you decide on your overall look and style of the wedding (no, we won’t take over! We just work with you to help you realize your vision), tour the venue with you, connect you with the right vendors, create your wedding timeline, etc. We’ll even help you navigate some of the tricky situations that have been known to arise with the wedding planning process-and of course handle anything that may come up or go wrong (usually so you’ll never even know anything happened)! And then we also perform all the same duties of a Day of Coordinator on top of that. Wedding Planners are like a designer, coordinator, and friend all rolled into one! Pretty much-we make sure you get the wedding you want from start to finish and so you won’t have to worry about anything! Your special day is in good hands when you hire the right wedding planner.