To some, hiring a day-of coordinator might sound like a cost effective option, but in our opinion, it is too big of a risk to take when you’ve put so much energy into all the other facets of your event. Day-of coordination can be misleading, but here’s what you need to know.
No matter how many weddings you’ve attended or how many bridal parties you’ve been a part of, nothing prepares you for taking on the planning journey of your own big day and all that it will require. We often hear couples express overwhelm in the way of: “there are so many little decisions to make” and “we didn’t realize how many things we’d have to pay for” and “dealing with my family coming into town is hard enough! We’re just trying to keep it all together.” “We’re budget conscious, so day-of coordination is the solution…right?”
Think about it. You’re investing thousands of dollars into one day. You’re putting hundreds of hours into planning and research.
Even superstar planners–our type-A, spreadsheet kings and queens–quickly find that the more planning they dive into, the more questions they have. It makes sense! They’ve likely never planned a wedding before and you can’t expect to be well-versed in all the moving parts of how an event actually comes together when you’ve never done it before.
However, we see in the swirl of all that goes into orchestrating and funding a major event like this that naturally, many couples find themselves looking for corners to cut as expenses begin to add up.
We don’t blame them. Weddings can be pricey affairs. One of the biggest temptations we see couples toy with is hiring a day-of coordinator in hopes that they can curb this expense. However, this term can be misleading.
The expectation is that if the couple plans it well enough, a professional can pop in on the morning of (or a few days prior), take their timeline, and execute the day without a hitch.
On the surface, it sounds like a clever way to put in a little more effort in the planning area to to save a little money and there are several companies out there who offer day-of coordination services. This post is to simply guide you into making the decision that’s best for your personal situation.
While we empathize with the desire to be frugal, choosing the bare minimum in coordination does not set your event, your coordinator, or you up for success. Based on our years of experience, the final months of a couple’s planning journey is the critical homestretch. Day-of coordination, in our personal experience, is simply not enough. Without the expertise, support, and organization of a coordinator, that can make or break many other parts of the day. This is because there is much more to coordinating a wedding than setting up decor and following a timeline.
Unexpected hiccups, miscommunication among vendors, and missed gaps in planning are all obstacles we as planners work hard to remedy before the day you say I do.
However, if we’re not privy to the details of all that’s going into the day or we’ve not been granted the time to learn you as a couple pre-wedding date, it makes it impossible to customize our support come event time.
At Beyond Smitten Events, our driving goal is that our couples feel at ease and present for every moment of their wedding day knowing we have their backs from start to finish.
We do this by taking the time to learn what’s most important to them in the months prior. This stage is vital in building the trust necessary for our couples to rest easy knowing that even as they’re getting dolled up for photos or dancing the night away with their guests, there is a coordinator working on their behalf behind the scenes.
With hundreds of weddings under our belt, we personally don’t offer day-of coordination because it simply is not enough in providing the tailored support all of our couples deserve.
Again, our goal is that our couples don’t have to give one thought to their spreadsheets, layouts, timeline or any kind of paperwork on their big day. We want them to have the time and energy to fully engage with their guests, soak up the love of the day, and dance their hearts out at the end of the night. Helping troubleshoot the natural challenges that occur in the planning stages, organizing the details with you beforehand, and most of all, earning your trust as a couple can make this a reality!
We’re firm believers that your wedding planning journey should not be a burden to bear but a joy-filled ride to savor. If alleviating some stress on your wedding budget is a priority for you, this is another area where a planning professional can be of help with recommendations and industry tips in the months leading up to your day! Need help figuring out what alternative options you have? Read this blog post to learn which service might be a good fit!
