You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! If you can’t find an answer to your particular question, feel free to contact us.
What is the difference between a Wedding Planner & Wedding Coordinator?
Even before you got engaged and started the wedding planning process, you might have heard the term “wedding planner” or “wedding coordinator” and thought they were pretty much the same person. They are actually very different! While a full-service wedding planner is with you throughout the majority of your wedding planning process and may take on the role of a wedding coordinator on the day of your wedding, a wedding coordinator is generally considered a separate person for those couples doing the majority of planning themselves.
Wedding Planner (not what we do)
Think of a wedding planner as your new best friend. This person will be with you at every meeting, every step of the way through your wedding planning process. Typically, they are the person you call shortly after you get engaged. Once you hire a wedding planner, you give them your vision of your wedding and they can then help you pick out everything from a wedding venue to florists, caterer, furniture rentals, invitations, etc. If you’re super busy at work or in life and don’t have the hours to dedicate to wedding planning, they can take it over for you.
Wedding Coordinator (exactly what we do!)
The wedding coordinator is pretty much a gift from the gods on your wedding day behind the scenes, making sure that your wedding day goes as smoothly as possible so you don’t have to worry about ANYTHING. The one who will take all the hard work and research you’ve done to plan your wedding and turn those plans into reality. You typically meet with a wedding coordinator a couple months (depending on your availability!) before your wedding to go over your wedding timeline, guest count, venue details, and more. Your coordinator will make sure the tables are set on time, the guests are seated in the right spot, the ceremony starts and ends on time, all of the vendors have what they need to do their best job, things are packed up at the end of the night and that everything is running as smoothly as possible.
Are you a “DAy-Of” Coordinator?
We believe that “day-of” coordinators (DOC) don’t truly exist. It implies that someone will work only your wedding day and you will pay them only for that one day of work. That would be magic. There is no way someone could know where everything is supposed to go and what everyone is supposed to do without a few meetings before the wedding day. We are an abbreviated service compared to a Wedding Planner, but we are so much more than a DOC! After years of wedding coordination and 100’s of weddings served we offer the very minimum in our package that is needed to ensure we can execute the day on your behalf. Trust us, we’ve got your back!
I don’t need everything you offer in your package. Can you customize your package?
It is not unheard of (e.g. if you are not having a ceremony rehearsal then we can remove that), but we rarely decrease our package. We think of our package as a cookie recipe; have you ever made cookies and left out the baking soda? They are still cookies, but they just aren’t as good. That’s how we feel about all of the steps we take in our wedding day coordination package. Every ingredient serves an important purpose to give the best product possible in the end.
- initial consultation – learning about you, your family, and what you envision for your wedding.
- walkthrough – knowing where you want everything to be setup.
- timeline – knowing when you want everything to happen. It’s important that we create the timeline in our format so that we have every piece of information. Trust us we do this for a living!
- processional – who is walking down the aisle in what order and who is escorting whom.
- vendor confirmation – so they know we are on board and we are privy to any last minute decisions that are made.
- rehearsal – we meet all the key players and they meet us, so they know who to go to if anything goes awry.
- 10 hours on the wedding day – the minimum needed to setup, greet all the vendors, coordinate the ceremony and reception up until the very end.
What Kind of weddings do you specialize in?
We like to think that we specialize in all weddings! We are experienced in Catholic Weddings, Jewish Weddings, Indian Weddings, Same-Sex Weddings, Persian Weddings, Celebrity Weddings, and Non-Denominational Weddings. Every wedding is different and we like to expand our knowledge by asking you all the right questions to make sure we know exactly what traditions you are or are not following. Weekend Wedding Warrior is a very proud member of the Fair Event Vendor Alliance that strives to give equality to all Couples.
My venue already has a Wedding Planner, why do I need Weekend Wedding Warrior?
Although the planner at the venue is there to help you, his/her first responsibility will be to the venue.
Coordinators that work for venues answer your questions about their policies, assist with menu choices, and process your paperwork. Many times on the wedding day the coordinator for the venue is not there for the entirety of your wedding. Also, if they are on site, they will likely have responsibilities other than your wedding to attend to (showing the venue, paperwork, or even another wedding or event). The coordinator will most likely not set up your many personalized items such as your favors, seating assignment names, sign-in book, gift box, champagne flutes, and other details that you want on your special day. If there is a problem in the kitchen while you need to have your dress bustled, any venue challenge will take precedence.
Your Wedding Warrior works for YOU and will be there every step of the way to help. In addition, your Wedding Warrior is trained in helping you with the entire wedding weekend, not just the part that relates to the venue.
I can’t decide if I should hire a wedding coordinator or just ask a Friend of the Family?
This is quite the dilemma and initially it can seem cost-effective to hire (or get the service for free) from a Friend of the Family. However, we have seen this go wrong many more times than it has gone right for a couple. Your Friend of the Family may be very organized. However, unless they work weddings regularly, the Friend may not be aware of the many things that a wedding professional does to keep the schedule seamless. We have seen many weddings succumb to chaos because there was no wedding professional on staff. It’s too much work for the Mother of the Bride or Maid of Honor to manage. Don’t your family and friends deserve to enjoy your wedding day with you? Do yourself and your Friend of the Family a favor and hire a Wedding Warrior instead!
Do you charge for an initial consultation?
Our initial consultations are complimentary. This is a time for you to get to know your Wedding Warrior and make sure they are the perfect fit for you and your family.
How much communication will we have?
Our policy is to respond to all emails and phone messages in a timely manner. All clients will have access to unlimited communication with us. We have online resources to gather all your event details and you can update it anytime, keeping us updated along the way as plans develop.
Will you design our wedding for us?
We consider ourselves experts at wedding day logistics. We are “Left-Brain” people, skilled in organization, logic, and analytics. We like to leave the decor and design to a creative-minded “right-brain” person like a florist or event designer. We just believe that you should have an expert in every wedding vendor category and it is very unlikely to find someone who is equally creative and organized. Let us handle the logistics and recommend a talented designer to take care of the aesthetics. Better yet, you may be that creative person who designs and sources their own wedding decor. We will set it up and tear it down for you exactly to your specifications so that you can spend your wedding morning sipping mimosas!
I live out of town, but am getting married in the city you service. Have you worked with OuT of Town Couples before?
We work with Couples that live out of town probably more than you think! Approximately 40% of our couples live out of town! So, we are very familiar with accommodating travel schedules and often have meetings over the phone to make things as convenient as possible!