Wedding Planner

“An independent planner or coordinator helps to take care of all wedding day aspects and not just those that fall under the venue’s responsibilities.  This includes creating and managing a timeline, coordinating all vendors, advising on decisions leading up to the wedding, and ensuring the day unfolds according to the couple’s wishes, rather than what is easiest for the venue.”

Cassidy Dawn, Owner of Dusk to Dawn Events

A wedding planner is your wedding BFF. They are hired by you, for you! Overall, wedding planners want you to have the best wedding planning experience from beginning to end. This can include creating your moodboard and color story, finding your dream wedding vendor team, chatting about logistics, creating your wedding timeline, and helping you throughout your wedding day. Here are some specifics they’re here for:

Planning

Wedding Planners know weddings inside out. They typically have a foolproof timeline that can help you plan your day with the least amount of stress. They may have a checklist that you can follow, or send you emails about the next steps in your planning process. From the beginning mood board to your last dance, they are there for you every step of the way to answer any questions, listen to problems that may arise, and to be your sounding board.

Time-Saving

Weddings can take over 500 hours to plan. To put that into perspective, that is 12.5 weeks of a full-time job. Those hours include hundreds of hours of research, back-and-forth conversations with prospective wedding vendors, comparing quotes and values, and figuring out what fits in with your budget the best. With a wedding planner, they work those hours so you don’t have to. Instead of reaching out to 20+ florists, they reach out to them for you, chatting about your vision, checking their availability, seeing if they’re in your price point, and even seeing if they are someone you will get along with! From there, they present you with the best of the best – so instead of 20, you might only have to look at 3-4. This saves so much time, but also helps a ton with decision fatigue.

Timeline Creation 

Walking down the aisle and when your cocktail hour starts aren’t the only times needed for your wedding timeline. Wedding planners also reach out to all the vendors to see what time they will be arriving and ensure everything they need is set up before their arrival (how is a florist going to set up the table centerpieces if the table linens aren’t down?). They know when to leave an extra time, when golden hour is, and to add five minutes after your wedding ceremony to celebrate with your partner before family photos start. 

Venue Coordinator

A venue coordinator is hired by the venue. They are the ones who make sure the venue is all set to go for you! From ensuring the spaces are cleaned and set up properly to making sure there are enough bartenders on staff, they make sure it’s smooth sailing with the venue.

Venue Specific Events

These tasks can change from venue to venue. Typically, venue coordinators ensure that there’s enough staff to work your wedding day. They also ensure that the tables and chairs are set up as discussed during your final walk-through. If your venue caters in-house, they will be the point person for finalizing your menu and making sure the family tables get food after you do, and that the salads are pre-placed prior to guests getting seated. 

Day-Of Coordination

Venue Coordinators are at the venue making sure everything is going smoothly. They will most likely be here to make sure your vendors arrive on time and to make sure everything is set up. However, they will not be there to greet you at your hotel in the morning with your drink of choice, and they won’t be at your ceremony to set everything up or run your wedding rehearsal for you.

“A venue coordinator manages the venue space and operations of the building. A wedding planner manages the experience of your overall wedding, meaning bridal party, guest, vendors and venue.”

Ashanti Neal, Owner of J.J. Events and Designs