I think some people feel a wedding planner is like J-Lo in The Wedding Planner, or Candice Bergen in Bride Wars, only for celebrities and super luxurious weddings. Not true! Whether you hire a wedding producer, planner or coordinator, his/her services will probably be your wisest expenditure.
For purposes of convenience, I will refer to this professional as a "wedding planner" throughout the remainder of this article. You can hire a planner for full service, as soon as you get engaged. Although this is the most expensive option, this option generally gives you the most bang for your buck. Depending on the planner and their expertise, this is a short list of what s/he can do:
- recommend the best wedding venues based on your vision
- recommend the best particular vendors for the selected venue
- help you with negotiating the best contracts
- plan the overall concept and design
- assist you with budgeting, making your dollar stretch and using it most beneficially
- accompany you on visits to vendors as your advisor and advocate
The next would be a "month-of" type of planner who basically would do the following:
- reconfirm all vendors for your wedding
- create a timeline for the ceremony & reception
- run your rehearsal with a line-up of all involved
- everything a "day-of" coordinator would do
Finally, the last type and an absolute no-brainer would be day-of coordinators. I can't really call them planners because you've planned everything; they just jump in to assist at the end. The exact tasks, would vary from person to person, but s/he will be on-site to ensure the smooth flow of all the components of your day. They are there to help keep timing on track, make sure your rentals are there, follow up with vendors who may be late, or troubleshoot any last-minute problems. I could write an entire post just on the possible things that may come up on the actual day.
However, keep in mind that there's not much day-of coordinators can do if a potential problem has already been set in motion. Also, often people start off doing day-of coordination and may not be as experienced as someone with full planning experience. Sometimes you may get lucky and hire an extremely seasoned planner during a time when s/he is not already booked. One of the key talents a seasoned professional has is to troubleshoot and react on the fly.
The difference between a hired wedding planner and the on-site venue coordinator is that the on-site person is essentially responsible for everything you have contracted with the venue. At a hotel this may include your honeymoon room/suite, contracted room block, gift bag delivery, your ceremony site, reception and all food and beverage. On the same day of your wedding, the on-site hotel coordinator may have other appointments such as showing other couples the space or possibly a menu tasting. Maybe there's a wedding in the afternoon and one in the evening in the same room? They may be preparing the room between events. Most coordinators on-site will be available at least one hour prior to ceremony or reception but will ultimately turn the event over to a banquet captain on site.
Unlinke an on-site venue coordinator, a wedding planner should have no other distractions or responsibilities other than your wedding. This planner or one of their assistants will be with you throughout the day: while you are getting your make-up done until you leave the reception.
There's no doubt that if you ask your friends and family members who have been married recently, they'd say best spent money was their planner.