Day Of Wedding Coordination vs. Full Service Wedding Planning

Wedding Planning is hard work. These ladies know it.. but are really really good at it, so we recruited their opinions on whether to have a full planner or day of coordinator for your wedding. A big thanks to the planners behind Preppy Chic Events, Intertwined Events, and A Day in May Events for these helpful tips!

Stephanie Uchima of Preppy Chic Events:

I prefer full planning as it ensures that your bride and grooms day is perfect and runs smoothly from start to finish. You not only know exactly what the couple wants (so you can act on their behalf) but you can also save your couple a ton of headaches and not to mention money! Planners will help you create a cohesive wedding vision and design, book reliable vendors, review contracts (so your clients don’t get taken advantage of), get better pricing on a lot of items, such as rentals and decor, and keep you on track with the planning process. When you come in toward the end of the process as a day-of coordinator, you end up fixing a lot of mistakes. For example, I know a bride who decided to pick her own vendors and only hire day-of, she is now dealing with issues one year after her wedding as the photographer and videographer still have not delivered the photos and video! Her contract didn’t list a specified time of delivery, and because she didn’t have a planner, she wasn’t aware that this could happen! As a full planner you can be one step ahead, ask the right questions, and help guide your client to a dream team that they will love and that you love working together with!

Photo by Anna Kim Photography

Alicia Caldecott of A Day in May Events:

The topic of full planner vs. day of coordinator is something that we discuss often with those clients who are seeking further information from ADIM. We are a full service planning firm and feel that the services we provide to our clients throughout the planning process only work to strengthen and heighten the enjoyment and being able to experience the wedding moments further. However, the choice to hire someone as a day of coordinator or full planner really is about the couple, not the service. If the couple has experience in project management, or team management they are more likely to succeed with a day of coordinator vs. a couple who are more spontaneous and perhaps even those that run their own companies but are very busy. I am an advocate for full planning over day of coordination, aside from my own business, as I feel it’s a better service and experience for all those involved. In addition, the knowledge and resources we have to help guide and educate our clients, sharing our successes (and failures) is important. Yet, if the budget does not allow for a full planner, having a day of coordinator to help keep the vendors unified and on time is worth its weight in gold!

Photo by Jen Kroll Photography

Katie Webb of Intertwined Events:

Having a day of wedding coordinator is a must, but for those who hire a full planner, I believe they truly see the best value.  From the very best vendor recommendations, tips on getting the most bang for their buck, help in finding everything the client needs and guiding them to make the best, educated decisions, I truly believe a planner is worth every penny.  Our clients will tell us we were the best money they spent when hiring us for full planning as we act as their friend, counselor and planner throughout 6 to 12 months of their life, sometimes longer.  When we are with the client throughout their engagement, we truly get to know them individually, and as a couple, and can do our best job to make the wedding feel personalized.  As a day of coordinator, we aren’t given the opportunity to know the couple as extensively.  While we work to ensure their wedding is executed flawlessly, when we aren’t involved from the beginning, we are sometimes left to pick up the pieces since we couldn’t offer best practices or provide those valuable vendor recommendations from the very start of planning.

Photo by Ray Kang