Should We Hire A Wedding Planner? | The Day of Coordinator vs The Full Service Wedding Planner
August 2021
Picture this, you’re recently engaged and ready to start planning the wedding of your dreams. You’ve had visions of this day, but you don’t even know where to begin! Who’s the best florist? What venue should we pick? What time of the year is our favorite? This is just the start of all the questions you may have when planning your wedding day. Another question you may be asking is, should we hire a wedding planner for our BIG day?
So what’s next, you hit up your favorite search engine and get to work. There are hundreds of examples and opinions just telling you if you should indeed hire a planner. These searches guide you through some of the different options you may have to choose from. One of the most popular options is the {Day of Coordinator}. Then you have the more extended version of wedding coordination which is hiring a {Full Service Wedding Planner}. So I’m here to help explain what’s the difference between these two types of planners?
We all know the wedding planner is supposed to make your event sail smoothly. So keep on reading and you can decide if you should hire a wedding planner? Or further more, which type of planner is best for you?
Envision starting your wedding day with your morning yoga followed by breakfast with the BFFs. Suddenly we are all the way through to the final stages of clean up (Wait, right now are you questioning morning yoga on your wedding day??)…If you say “Heck yessssss!” then let’s ADD IT to the wedding check list now. If no way on earth are you doing yoga on your wedding day, maybe you should just pencil in for some Chik-fil-a mini breakfast sandwiches instead. These are the details your planner can help bring to life. Whether you’re an early bird or not, a wedding planner can help you check off all the things YOU want to do to personalize YOUR wedding day.
So lets break it down a little further!
{Day of Wedding Coordinator} ** If you want an epic light sign and an even more amazing exit, your wedding coordinator dream team is who can make that happen **
- The day of coordinator will help manage your wedding day timeline.
- This often includes set up and tear down of all of your wedding decor, as well as place settings, tables and chairs, linens etc.
- They are there to keep your event flowing during emergent scenarios
- There is typically minimal interaction prior to your wedding day. Yes they will gather some details ahead of time, but they are not there throughout the entire process.
- This is the option that is recommended for clients who want to be more involved in all the details and just need help with the execution of their own design.
Certainly some of this info comes from my 8+ years of personal experience in wedding photography. However, to create this journal I also connected with a few local planners to get their take on this topic. Here’s what Kaitlin (of Kaitlin Shea Weddings) has to say;
“It’s impossible for a planner to come in without at least SOME prep work, like a final walkthrough to get familiar with your venue! These kinds of packages typically just include the necessities, like your timelines and floor plans, and day of setup/tear down/vendor coordination! Many clients that are a bit more independent and excited about the planning process take this route. “
If your dream day has you puzzled from the start, you’re going to want to hire a full service wedding planner. Kaitlin says;
“There are many clients who want a lot more input as the whole process seems a bit overwhelming to them! These kinds of clients receive the same day of attention, with the addition of holding the clients’ hand the whole way! From vendor meetings, to design, to website creation, these full planning packages cover just about everything involved in the planning world! Personally, we’ve found that many clients land somewhere in between, so we’ve edited our packages to be fully customizable!”
I also spoke with Taylor of Mountainside Events. She’s been in business for nearly 6 years so she’s also got some great advice to add for anyone looking to maximize their wedding day.
The full service options that set a full service wedding planner apart typically include; helping you plan a wedding that is within your budget. They can work with you to properly allocate your funds and set maximums for each vendor. When hiring a full service a wedding planner they can also help you to review other vendor contracts and make sure everyone is fully understanding all the terms and conditions. Below are some other items that the full service planner can help you with.
{Full Service Wedding Planner}
- Setting a budget and offering referrals for vendors within your price range
- The will help you to design and produce your full event. With personalized setup and tear down.
- They are the ones that stay in contact with vendors through the planning process. They also work to execute the full wedding day timeline.
- Just as the day of coordinator, the full service planner will also help to keep the event flowing during emergent scenarios.
Taylor also adds;
“With full service planning, we are typically with our clients in the very beginning stages of the planning. This may include everything from booking a venue, the booking of each individual vendor, styling, coordinating decor, and much more.”
So, I know that was a ton of info above! As you can see a wedding planner can really help to maximize your day. Now you just need to decide, as Kaitlin says;
“Regardless of the level of help you’re needing, having someone there that day is priceless! Both you and your families can relax and enjoy without having to worry about ANY behind the scenes details because let’s face it, you’ve done enough worrying at that point!”
Taylor also touched on these (nearly identical) feelings;
“The best benefit of hiring a coordinator is that the couples don’t have to worry about all the little details, we take care of that! They can actually enjoy their wedding day and it doesn’t fall on them, or their friends and family to have to coordinate.
Ultimately, as you can see here, hiring a wedding planner shouldn’t be a question of if you should get one. It is best to determine how much help you want and which type of wedding coordination is right for you!
Taylor expressed most of her couples spend around $2000 on their total investment with her.
“Every planning company is different and unique in their own ways, and at Mountainside Events we really strive to create a great experience with our clients and vendors by making the process as seamless as possible, regardless of if they book us for day of event coordination, partial or full service event planning we are with our clients every step of the way!”
If you’ve loved Kaitlin’s info check out all her planning details and packages. Her prices start at just $350 for event planning (like rehearsal dinners and bridal showers) and $1650 for full wedding planning services.
Check out more gorgeous weddings shot by Captured Perspective Photography
Also a shout out to Brides.com for some solid advice they have listed on their page in regards to this topic.
A BIG thank you to Windblown Photo & Video for allowing me to second shoot for your brand. I am so fortunate I was able to capture some of these stunning images above!
Share this story
