One of the hardest decisions a couple has to make when planning their wedding is how much help to get from a Wedding Planner. In a perfect world with unlimited budgets, I am sure most couples would love to have a full-service Wedding Planner to take all the stress and work away. However, in the real world, it’s not always possible to have that so couples need to decide what’s best for them.
We thought it would be helpful to give you a little more insight into how Wedding Planning and Wedding Coordination differ (or this can be called Wedding Management, Day of Coordinator, Event Manager…you get the idea) and which can be the right fit for you.
For the most part, if someone is offering Wedding Planning services, they include the Wedding Coordination services in that package. There could be some different elements to what someone offers to Planning clients vs. Coordination clients, but on the whole, it should be part of the service. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask or get clarification if you can’t easily tell from a Planner’s brochure or proposal that Coordination services are included in Planning services. Never assume anything when it comes to wedding planning!
So, you just got engaged, and now what? After the initial excitement passes, the work begins. You need to make out a guest list and a budget. The guest list is all on you, and so is the main number of the budget, but getting help on how to distribute it (and be realistic about it) could be part of Wedding Planning services (but not usually Coordination).
Next, you typically start looking for a venue. Venue searching is very much an area where having a Wedding Planner can come in handy but once again, is not typically included in Coordination services and most Planners won’t book Coordination services without at least knowing what venue you are at. Some Planners (like Keyed Up Events!) may also have a standalone venue-searching service because it’s such an important part of wedding planning and they don’t want couples to go it alone. However couples may also not be ready to commit to Wedding Planner, so venue-searching services are a great way to see how a Planner works and if you want to commit more time and budget to them.
Okay, you’ve got a guest list, budget, venue, and date! Now it’s time to start finding all of your other vendors. If you have joined forces with a Wedding Planner, most of them will be involved in this part. At Keyed Up Events, our Planning clients get curated and vetted lists for each vendor category, but not all Planners work the same so be sure to ask yours or the one you are considering what kind of help they offer in sourcing clients. Most of the time, if you have hired a Wedding Coordinator, they will have a Preferred Vendors list they will share with you, but aren’t doing any of the work to see if they are a right fit for you or even available, you still need to do that.
During your planning process, most Planners and Coordinators will let you contact them with questions at a minimum, but from there, services can vary greatly. Planners will do your main timeline with input from your photographer, catering lead and music provider. A Coordinator may do that (KUE offers this in our Management services) but they may also just give you a more generic one to go off of and you have to do the detail work yourself. Depending on your level of service with them, Planners will help you with your wedding website, transportation planning, hotel room blocks, invitations and RSVPs and a whole host of other tasks. Wedding Coordinators don’t typically get involved in the deeper levels of planning.
In the end, the decision to hire a Wedding Planner vs a Wedding Coordinator will probably come down to budget, time, and experience. If you have the budget to hire someone but not the time to do a lot of the research and detail that goes into wedding planning, then a Wedding Planner is the right choice. If you have a good amount of spare time to plan the wedding, and like doing research and making decisions, then a Wedding Coordinator would be a good fit. If you don’t have a lot of experience being around weddings or in them, or if you know you get decision fatigue, then either one will be helpful for you, but having a Wedding Planner would be the best way to go.
If you want more information on how KUE works and the services we offer, check out our services page or schedule a call and we can help you figure out what’s best for your wedding!
