I want to start out by saying I may make 5 or more versions of this video throughout the life of this channel because I am CONSTANTLY learning more about the importance of hiring the right vendors…ESPECIALLY your planner.

I know that everyone has budgets and the things that you think you can do yourself. Planners and coordinators often fall into the category of “I can do it myself and then just hire someone to run the show.” 

Sometimes this works out…sometimes it looks like the cake getting lost because no one knew that we didn’t order delivery and someone needed to pick it up 45 minutes away…

My wish for every one of my brides, or I should say my couples AND their families, is a stress-free wedding day.

The day could be the most beautiful culmination of details and events but if you are feeling overwhelmed and pulled in a million directions, it doesn’t matter. 

So I want to break down just a small list of the things your planner / coordinator will do to make your day exactly what you’re hoping.

Weddings today are like really big performances that need a stage manager. Someone that holds all of the information about your vision, or even sometimes takes your ideas and creates a vision. 

Coordinators and planners are responsible for a LOT –– creating timelines, making sure everyone sticks to those timelines, communicating with vendors, making sure everything is in its place, and most importantly -– making sure you’re not focused on any of that.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with really awesome coordinators and there were so many things I didn’t realize they were doing in the background like…

1. Communicating with all of the vendors.

They will usually reach out to all of the vendors before your wedding to make sure that we’re all on the same page and that we have the same timeline. This is more than just where you as the bride needs to be but also when the flowers, cake, food, rentals, etc. arrive and are set up. 

You don’t want anyone calling your phone on the day of when you’re just trying to drink mimosas with your girls, and they handle all of that.

2. Handling things when something doesn’t go as planned.

We’d all like to remember the wedding days as flawless but there is always SOMETHING that doesn’t go as planned. The bride should never have to deal with that, and honestly the parents shouldn’t either. Y’all should be celebrating! 

Having someone who isn’t there to enjoy the party but to run the show and knows how to anticipate and handle those things makes things sooo much easier.

3. Help You Get The Most out of your vendors

This is an interesting one, but when you don’t have a coordinator handling all of the things and keeping the timeline moving, your other vendors have to step up which takes the focus off of what they were hired to do. 

If your photographer is trying to coordinate timeline changes with everyone to take advantage of a sunset, or your DJ is trying to find out where they’re supposed to set up and where they can plug in, it takes time away from doing what we were paid to do for you. 

Having a coordinator to be thinking about all of that beforehand makes life so much easier on your team which helps you get more bang for your buck.

The best coordinators are also the ones who make sure that you have a drink in your hand at all times, that you actually get to taste your yummy food, AND allows for time for you to see and take in all of the carefully planned details of your day. 

4. CLEAN UP.

All of this planning and time setting up just to have it all taken down. You definitely don’t want to be a part of this process and this can be one of the most stressful parts of the day. It’s more than breaking down tables and folding linens. All of that stuff needs to be packed away, ready to be cleaned or sent back to where they came from. 

There is also a chance that if you aren’t organized and careful during clean up, that you can actually be charged additional fees for things that are forgotten and ruined. The coordinators job is to make sure that that doesn’t happen, that all of your belongings are brought to the appropriate place, and that no cleaning or damage fees are racked up in the process.

Again, every time I work with an amazing coordinator I learn a new reason to be thankful for their position. Every time I see a wedding without a professional coordinator, I learn even more reasons to be thankful for them! 

Many venues require coordinators for this reason so I would recommend talking to the venue, your photographers, and other vendors for recommendations if you’re looking for someone!