Are you a DIY Bride and planning your entire wedding yourself? Let’s face it, since you’ve chosen to plan your own wedding you cannot execute those plans the day of! Let me repeat this, you cannot execute those plans the day of your wedding. Once the day arrives it’s going to be super overwhelming for you and you won’t be able to focus on getting ready for the big day you’ve been waiting for. That’s why hiring a Day-of Coordinator is one of the most important elements of your wedding day.

From my experience I was a DIY Bride and one of the best things I did was hire a day-of coordinator. I knew that I couldn’t afford a full time wedding planner so hiring someone to step in to execute my vision the day of the wedding was the best thing. I truly didn’t have to do anything once it got closer to the wedding day. My day-of coordinator was amazing she literally stepped in a month before the wedding day, scooped up all of my plans and managed everything from there. My wedding day was absolutely magical and I’m glad that I hired a day of coordinator.

Now you’re probably thinking, what is a Day-of Coordinator? Well, in today’s blog I will be sharing with you the responsibilities of a day-of coordinator and when will you need to hire one. – Let’s get in to it!

So what is a Day-of Coordinator?

A Day-of Coordinator is a professional that is hired to take on the last end of your wedding plans and executing them seamlessly on the wedding day. They are responsible for overseeing vendor management and communication, managing the timelines, orchestrating the wedding rehearsal and taking on last minute challenges leading up to the wedding and the day of. So basically they are the ones that play a key role on your wedding day so you’ll be able to live in the moment stress-free and they are the your go to person when you start to panic!

The responsibilities of a Day-of Coordinator

Communicating with the Vendor Team. Usually wedding coordinators are brought in 6 – 8 weeks prior to the wedding day. They’ll take on all of your wedding plans, introduce themselves to the wedding vendors and will make sure all of the vendors are doing their jobs according to what is listed in the contract. The day-of coordinator will make sure the vendor team is aware of set-up/strike time, parking instructions, and provide final head count to appropriate vendors.

Handling logistics. The day-of coordinator will make sure all of the supplies arrived at the venue/location on time for set-up. The décor rentals are approximately accounted for and it’s the correct quantity for the wedding day. The floor layout is set up according to the confirmed floor plan. They’ll oversee the design execution, manage the floor plan and will make sure everything is going according to the confirmed timeline.

Timeline creation. This is the most important piece to wedding planning, the timeline creation. The day-of coordinator will work with the couple and the vendors to create a finalized timeline. The timeline is to ensure everyone from the couple, the family and vendors are sticking to the timeline the day of the wedding. It’s super important to have a timeline in place so that way the guest are seated in time for the ceremony, reception activities are rolling according to plan and everything going seamlessly.

Troubleshooting. Let’s face it, everything doesn’t ever go according to plan. Having a day-of coordinator is there to make sure to troubleshoot any problems that may come up during the wedding. For example, if the hairstylist assistant is stuck in traffic and they fall behind schedule, the bar runs out of wine, or all of the table linens are dirty. Yeah, the day-of coordinator will be able to put out all of these fires so that way the couple doesn’t have to deal with the stress.

When is it best to hire a Day of Coordinator?

DIY couples. Many couples that are doing all of the plans themselves they will likely hire a day of coordinator to execute their vision so they won’t have to deal with the stress the day of. As mentioned previously, they will come in 6 – 8 weeks prior or hired in a short period of time to take on the last minute plans. The day of coordinator will also help the couple pin point small details that they’ve overlooked.

Non-traditional Venues. Let’s start with a traditional wedding venue, which is an event space, banquet hall or hotel. They are already have staffing in place that can put together a wedding seamlessly. But for the couples that is planning to get married at a location where they are working with a blank canvas, that’s when a professional day of coordinator is hired. For example, a non-traditional location is at a park or in a backyard. – Again, a day-of coordinator is brought in to help with figuring out the floor plan, setting up the tables, chairs, linens, flatware, etc.

I hope today’s blog was helpful! If you are planning your wedding and need help executing your vision the day-of we are here to help. We would love to chat more about your wedding day! CONTACT US

XO, Jalyssa!