Wedding planner vs. wedding coordinator — & making the case for both
You’re engaged and you’re about to start planning your wedding. Where do you start?
Among the many things you’re probably considering — like venues, dates, saying ‘yes to the dress’ — is how to go about planning your wedding, and maybe even who you should hire.
No matter who you are, you need to hire someone. That is, if you want to actually enjoy your day. Now the level of involvement of this “someone” is fully dependent on your personality, preferences, and the involvement you want to have in your planning process. Below, I’m going to break down the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator, and make the case for them both.
Why even the ‘Type A’ bride can benefit from a wedding planner
I get it — you’re the kind of person who is organized, detail-oriented, able to juggle multiple things at once, and are more than capable of handling the many moving parts of wedding planning. You probably love lists (I know I sure do!) and you’re maybe even a bit of a perfectionist. AND you probably feed off of some level of control. Does any of this ring a bell?
Well, if that person I’m describing sounds a lot like you — just know that it is very ‘me’ too.
Five ways to make your wedding budget work with your design vision
My husband and I like to refer to it not as the “best day,” but rather as the “first day” of what will be a lifelong love and commitment. Just because it’s your big day doesn’t mean you need to add financial stress to your planning process or start off your newlywed life in debt. Weddings are full of emotionally charged decisions, and finances are almost always an emotional pain point. Put the two together, and it could really be a recipe for, I don’t want to say “disaster,” but maybe something along those lines.
Let’s talk about: paper
Early on, after choosing a venue and securing a date, I started the deep dive of gathering inspiration and trying to figure out a general theme for the wedding. Really, I hate the word “theme.” I believe that you don’t need to have a theme, but you do need to have a vision. And I know what you’re probably thinking — no, they are not the same thing. I equate a vision to a feeling. Maybe you don’t have every detail accounted for in your head, but you know how you want it to feel. So, this was at the start of that vision, and feeling, really coming into focus in my head.
The two key details to finalize first when it comes to wedding planning
Engagement season is upon us, and to all the new brides-to-be out there: I congratulate you! Whether the moment completely caught you off guard or you knew it was coming (maybe because you dropped all kinds of hints … @me), it is such a special and exciting milestone in your life. Before you jump head first into the planning process, take some time to simply celebrate and soak in the start of this sweet season.