Do you need an on-the-day wedding coordinator?
This question comes up time and time again on many Facebook bridal groups, as often couples get confused about the difference between a venue coordinator and a planner that offers on-the-day coordination.
The answer is YES! Let me explain why.
You have spent a huge amount of time planning your perfect day. The wedding of your dreams. You know exactly how you want that day to look and feel. You invested a load of dosh for it to be just so, but are you ready to run the day yourself?
I don't think you should. You are the VIP couple! You need to be able to relax and enjoy your best day ever.
You shouldn't be running around first thing in the morning making sure everything got delivered and got set up exactly the way you wanted.
You need to be rested and happy, leisurely getting ready with your pals on the morning of, not stress about what is happening in the background. You want to rock up in your wedding attire looking fresh and relaxed. Not sweaty with bags under your eyes from not sleeping the night before. And trust me, you will not sleep, and you will stress about something going wrong, and you will be thinking, how will I ever get it all done on time AND get ready?
Venue coordinators work for the venue. Not for you. They are wonderful and knowledgeable and experienced. They will know everything there is to know about the weddings at the venue. They can give you guidance, inform you about the venue rules, recommend caterers, can organise serving staff, a cleanup crew, and be there to help if anything goes wrong, like the lighting, kitchen appliances, water, electricals, gas, the grounds, parking, toilets etc.
Your own hired coordinator works for you.
This means they will get to know you prior to your wedding. At least a month before! They will ask you to hand over all the info about your big day. They will get to know you. You will get to know them. You will know after your first meeting if they are the right person for you, and you can trust them to run the day as you would run it.
This is your on-the-day coordinator's job description:
Before the wedding:
- they will know the order of the day down to a T!
- they will get all the supplier contact details from you and get in touch with them
- they will meet you and the venue coordinator at the venue visit
- they will look over your schedule to see nothing has been missed
- they will fill in any missing gaps, i.e. recommend missing suppliers
On the day:
- they will be first on-site with the venue manager
- they will coordinate the setup
- they will coordinate the guests on arrival
- they will manage the serving staff
- they will manage the day - for you - instead of you - be a copy of you!
- they will be there if the seam of your dress needs fixing
- they will be there to help pin back a bra strap
- they will be there to fix your heel (I even have superglue in my emergency bag!)
- they will be there to keep an eye on unruly children
- they will be there to keep an eye on tipsy uncle Ted who can be trouble
- they will be there to distract the mother-in-law from ordering people about (oh yes, that happens!)
- they will be there to make sure nan gets into her taxi home
- they will be there to fix runny mascaras
- they will be there to make sure you actually have a little break, get fed and hydrated!
- they will be there to coordinate the guests at the allocated times for canapes, bubbles, group shots, first dance, cake cutting, table clearing, when it's time to turn the place into a dancefloor, and so on.
- they will be the buffer between the queen of the night (you) and the rest of the staff who will want to ask you a hundred questions if things aren't happening on time or something has gone wrong.
All these things I've listed above is something you shouldn't be doing on your wedding day. Nor should you give this task to a mate or sister or any of the wedding party guests. It is a huge responsibility and even though they will offer, I don't think it's fair to ask any of your loved ones to do this mammoth task. They should party away with you worry-free, right?!
So you see, investing in your very own on-the-day coordinator is a smart move for sure.
Whole Lotta Love,
Zuza xx