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Many brides, picturing the perfect wedding day, never imagine that they’ll be finalizing details with wedding vendors, putting last-minute touches on reception table centerpieces and favors, or calling to remind the venue manager that the cocktail hour should begin at 5 p.m. even though the wedding party will not be arriving until six. When, after all, will she have time to do all that? Perhaps before the ceremony, while she’s having her bridal makeup applied or being buttoned into her wedding dress? Certainly not between the ceremony and reception when the entire wedding party is posing for photographs!
Though couples can and do delegate eleventh-hour wedding planning to-dos to relatives and the MOH or best man, more brides are hiring day-of wedding coordinators to handle the day-of details so their loved ones don’t have to “work the wedding.” Unlike friends or family, a day-of coordinator can focus the entirety of their attention on making sure your wedding day unfolds smoothly. Plus, a great day-of coordinator will have internalized just how you want your wedding to unfold – she or he will spend between 15 to 20 hours prepping for your big day.
Day-of wedding coordinators are on-the-spot troubleshooters, experienced stress relievers, and unfailingly calm in a crisis. Your day-of coordinator works for you, not your ceremony venue or reception site. She or he has no emotional attachment to your wedding day, which can be a boon. When things don’t go as planned, your day-of coordinator will look for solutions instead of reacting to problems.
This means, of course, that you can’t anticipate everything she or he will do for you on your big day. You can give your day-of wedding coordinator your wedding day timeline, copies of your vendor contracts, and a detailed set-up to-do list for every venue, so she or he can create a master plan, but there are so many unknowns that make it impossible to include every possible contingency in your day-of wedding coordinator contract. That said, every contingency that can be planned for and every expectation you have should be spelled out in the contract.
The important things to remember about your day-of wedding coordinator are that she or he isn’t responsible for helping you plan your wedding and, on the big day, can’t be in two places at once. If your day-of-wedding coordinator has just left to pick up the marriage license the groom forgot in his hotel room or has gone ahead to your reception venue to double check that the place cards are set up, having a back-up helper like a bridesmaid or your sister preselected can make your coordinator’s temporary absence less stressful.
Smart Hint: The price of a day-of coordinator can vary widely depending on where you’re getting married – for example, a day-of coordinator in a major urban area may charge four times more than one in an out-of-the way rural town.
Smart Hint: Ask all your wedding vendors to filter their questions through your day-of coordinator so you can focus on preparing yourself for your wedding ceremony and enjoying your wedding reception.
Schedule a consultation with a Palm Springs Wedding Coordinator today!