What is the Difference Between a Wedding Planner and a Wedding Coordinator?

Over the past year of having this business, I have realized that there are many people out there that don’t know the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator. The answer to this question can be very simple. A wedding planner plans the wedding with their clients, and a wedding coordinator is there to coordinate the wedding day.

As a wedding planner, I am here to walk you through the engagement process and assist you with getting all of your vendors picked out, booked, and confirmed. As my client, you will receive a personalized planning timeline to make sure you stay on track! This helps people that tend to procrastinate, and it helps people relax a little bit when they feel like they have to get everything done all at once. This planning timeline will help you feel like you can plan a wedding! I am also a great recourse for any design or etiquette questions you might have when planning everything out. A wedding planner is like having a personal assistant and mentor throughout the planning process. I will be there for meetings with other vendors, if needed, as well as give you any tips I have on saving money. Hiring a wedding planner is great for anyone that has no idea where to start, has no interest in planning, or needs a person to keep them on track with their planning timeline. Everything I do as a wedding coordinator is also included if I am hired as your wedding planner!

A wedding coordinator is there towards the end of your wedding planning journey. After booking, I like to connect with you a little over a month out from your wedding to get a list of all of your vendors, plans, and other small details about the wedding day. (I will already have this information if I am your wedding planner.) Then I reach out to your vendors to confirm what time they are showing up, what they are bringing, what they are doing, and what time they are leaving. That way everything is confirmed and never assumed. Once I have everything confirmed, I will create a detailed day-of-timeline and distribute it to all of the vendors and wedding party members so that everyone is on the same page! Then I will typically do a site visit with you to get an understanding on where everything should be set up. This will allow me to point vendors in the right direction on the wedding day. Hiring a wedding coordinator is essential for every couple. Not everyone needs help with planning, but a coordinator is a MUST!

When we are a day or two out from the wedding, we will have a rehearsal with the officiant and everyone in the wedding party. This will ensure that everyone has a feel for the way the ceremony will run. It is especially important to do this if there are children with special roles during the wedding ceremony.

On the wedding day, my job as your wedding planner or coordinator is to make sure that everything we have worked so hard to create runs as smooth as possible. I am there as the person that everyone comes to for answers so that you, your family, and your friends can enjoy the wedding. If you would like a detailed blog post of what all we do on your big day, please let me know in the comment section! I would love to make a post about that.

Thank you for reading my first blog post! I really appreciate it.