Planning a wedding can be enjoyable and stressful. Did I just say that in one sentence ? Yes! It can be the best of both worlds. Now that you have done all the planning, you definitely don't want to deal with any more details on your wedding day. So who can you hand over this information to ? A Wedding Coordinator! Yes! Not a family member , not a friend and definitely not your Maid/Matron of Honor!
A wedding coordinator has the role of managing and executing the details you have planned for your wedding day.
The wedding coordinator is the representative of the couple to their vendors, their wedding guests and their ceremony and reception venue.
Even though most venues have a Venue Coordinator, Banquet Manager or a Matri D, but they do not represent the couple directly. They represent the venue and manage all the details that their establishment is contracted to provide for the couple's wedding.
There are many versions of what the wedding coordination service is called but majority of what the service entails is standard across many wedding and event planning companies. I'm sure you have heard of Day of Coordinator, Month of Coordinator, Event Management or as we refer to it Wedding Day Management.
Most of these services start anywhere from 12 weeks up until 6 weeks prior to the wedding date.We prefer to work with our couples for at least 12 weeks. There are so many details, big and small, that we definitely want to capture it all as early as possible. Plus, we want to get to know our couples on a more personal level to be able to build meaningful relationships and provide the service you need. You may think this sounds cliche but it's true! If we have a great time working with each other, it helps make the wedding day experience so much more enjoyable for all. So as a Wedding Coordinator what do we have to offer to engaged couples ? Our expertise in the world of wedding planning! Our focus is not to just to coordinate and manage your wedding day but to also share our knowledge along the way.
Here are just a few tasks that Wedding Coordinators help with leading up to the couples' wedding day and on the day of:
Prior to Wedding Day
- Suggestions on maintaining a budget - Sharing preferred vendors list - Assisting with communication with vendors, especially your venue - Going on a venue walkthrough - Creating a wedding day timeline with the couple - Creating a ceremony program with the couple - Sharing suggested wedding songs list
- Share suggestions relating to bride, groom or bridal party attire and accessories
- Collecting vendors insurances for the venue (if requested) - Offering Wedding Rehearsal the week of the wedding
- Assemble welcome gift bags for your out of town guests staying in a hotel
- Confirming with vendors of their services, time arrival and location at least two weeks prior to wedding date
On Wedding Day
- Being the main contact for your vendors on the day of the wedding
- Overseeing vendors (decorator, florist, photographer,videographer) during setup on the day of the wedding
- Setting up for your wedding prep photos in your hotel room (bride and groom)
- Assist with the First Look with the couple and/or bridal party
- Setting up escort cards, ceremony program, aisle runner and favors
- Ensure bridal party has bouquets, corsages, bouteniorres, flower girl baskets, ring bearer pillow
- Ensuring that you sign your wedding license after the ceremony
- Guiding the bridal party through the processional and recessional of the ceremony
- Work alongside Photographer/Videographer to ensure that the appropriate photos and/or videos are captured
- Assist guests with table seating
- Coordinate the Bridal Party Entry for reception
- Make sure the bride and groom eat at their reception!
- Ensure the formalities of the reception occur in a timely manner.
- Monitor the gifts, guest book (if any) , etc...
- At the end of the reception, pack top tier of cake, pack up any personal items of couples', signage, gifts etc and leave in designated location and/or family member
As you can see, both lists are pretty lengthy and can go on much more futher than this! The details of the wedding day are many! A wedding coordinator has a lot to offer in such a role and their expertise qualifies them do so.As a wedding coordinator, we want to help take on the details of your wedding so that you are able to let loose, have fun and and enjoy one of the most important days of your life!
Congratulations to all the newly engaged couples!