Do I Need a Wedding Planner or a Wedding Coordinator?

What is the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator?

A wedding coordinator is hired about 3-6 months prior to the wedding and is the point of contact for you and your vendors from that point through to the wedding day. They'll put together your timeline and distribute it to all vendors, oversee setup and breakdown on the day of the wedding, assist with the ceremony processional and recessional, acts as the liaison between your vendors, guests, wedding party, and, of course, you, just to name a few things.

A wedding planner handles everything, soup to nuts, beginning to end. You hire a wedding planner right after you get engaged and they'll guide you through the entire wedding planning process. They'll research venues and vendors, schedule appointments with you and those vendors, help you with overall vision and design, review all vendor contracts, acts as your point of contact through the entire planning process through to the execution of your wedding day. On the day of the wedding, they'll do all the things that a wedding coordinator does. They're a wedding planner and wedding day coordinator all in one.

Hiring a wedding coordinator is less expensive than hiring a wedding planner. However, to determine whether you'll need a planner or a coordinator think about the following:

1. How much work do you want to take on yourself and do you have the time? A lot of time goes into researching venues and vendors.

2. How much help do you need/want? Maybe you don't know where to start and want someone to guide you through the whole process. Maybe you love the planning but just want someone there on the wedding day to execute everything so you don't have to worry about it.

3. Will it cause you stress? Wedding planning can be stressful, so a couple will often hire a wedding planner because it takes the stress off of them.

4. What is your budget? Depending on where you're from, a wedding coordinator can cost $1500 to $3000, whereas a wedding planner will cost minimum $5000 and increase from there. As a wedding planner, I would assess the amount of work required on my end for the wedding (if it was going to be a big soiree or a smaller, more intimate gathering) to base the final price on and to keep it reasonable.

There is no wrong answer for this. BUT I do recommend at least having a wedding coordinator there for you on the big day. They'll handle everything, including problems that arise (though, they'd never tell you about them). I promise you; you won't regret it.