Do I need an On the Day Coordinator is something we are asked all the time and the answer is almost always yes. But you would expect me to say that wouldn’t you, so let me explain why I believe why you probably do need an On the Day Coordinator.
If you are engaged and planning a wedding you are super lucky, because you have access to so much information to help you plan your day and most of it is right at your finger-tips; from wedding blogs and online magazines, right through to mini courses and Facebook groups accessible 24/7 to give you support and guidance as you plan your wedding. And do you know what, a lot of these resources are excellent. If you have the time and the desire to plan your wedding, I absolutely think you can do it and there are some very good reasons why you would, including that it can be a fun experience and it will save you money on hiring a full Wedding Planner.
Here’s the thing; even the most organised couple, who have paid attention to every last detail, get to a point where the conversations about the day turn to; but who is going to do that? Or; but I want our parents to relax and enjoy the day too. And; do you think it is fair to ask our friends to work on our Wedding day?
Let me give you an example from a Wedding we did recently. The couple were super creative and had made a lot of their reception decor themselves; including a wishing well filled with paper cranes for guests to take, a lolly bar with bespoke elements that needed to be placed in a certain way and a number of personalised items that had to be arranged on each of the 10 tables and at each setting (approximately 100). As this couple were very organised, the process of boxing up these things for their wedding started about 6 weeks prior to the day, but as they did this they started to realise just how long it would take them to set everything up on their wedding day; especially as much of it had been wrapped for protection in paper and bubble wrap. And of course, it all had to be packed up again after the wedding.
The couple’s first thought was that they could set up the day before and pack down the day after. But they hit a road-block as the Venue had weddings all weekend and couldn’t give the couple access to the reception room until 10am on the day of the wedding and needed everything packed up on the night of the wedding. As this couple were getting married at 2pm, at another location they knew there was no way they could set up on the morning of the wedding (and they were right, it took 3 people, 3 hours to style their reception space). They also knew that the last thing they and their friends and family would want to do at the end of the night, was pack up. They also had concerns about the logistics of the day, especially as many of their guests were from overseas. So they called us to do they Styling and Set up + Pack down and to Coordinate the day up until the Reception started. We liaised very closely with them to ensure we understood their vision and priorities and executed their plans on the day, leaving them and their guests to simply enjoy the day.
So as I say, if you would like to plan your own wedding, I say go for it, but I also highly recommend putting a plan in place that will enable you to walk away from being the chief organiser, ideally a week or two before the wedding and most certainly, on the day itself. After all the work you have put into planning your day, you should be able to enjoy it alongside your guests, which is exactly why you do need an On the Day Coordinator.
If you have been asking yourself the question; do I need an On the Day Coordinator, the answer could be as simple as talking to us. We will ask you some specific questions about your day and be able to tell you quickly whether On the Day Coordination or On the day Styling/set up and pack down, could benefit you.
Previous Blog Post
Next Blog Post