Wedding Planner vs. Wedding Coordinator-Tips to help you distinguish between the two
Once the engagement euphoria starts to fade away, it is time that you take a solemn approach to the wedding planning matter. This is a thorough task requiring a lot of organizing and consideration, which increases the importance of you becoming familiar with every aspect. One of the things that most young couples struggle to differentiate is the notion of a planner and coordinator. These two terms are so often used interchangeably that not so many of you realize they’re quite different regarding their services.
So, in order to help you understand the difference between the two, as well as whose services you need, we are here to give you a brief overview of wedding planner vs wedding coordinator:
Wedding Planner
The role of the planner concerns the wedding planning logistics. It is a person who has a job to plan, design, and manage the details of the most important day of you and your partner’s life. This expert will follow you closely during every step of the planning process, ensuring that your vision will go as planned.
As professionals, planners are praised for their ability to multitask, as well as for the great attention to detail they exhibit. Depending on your vision and needs, they will probably offer you various services, from partial planning and day-of coordination to full package planning services.
The following is a list of duties wedding planners have:
Keep track of your budget and striving to stay within the allocated sum;
Tracking payments and deposits for every one of your chosen vendors, from your Charleston wedding photographer to the pastry chef;
Providing you with vendor referrals and attending meetings and negotiations so you wouldn’t have to;
Help you in brainstorming theme and style ideas, and provide you with different options;
Generating detailed floor plans and timelines;
Attending site and menu tasting tours (either by themselves or accompanying you);
Planning the rehearsal and all the details related to this event;
Overseeing your special day, ensure that everyone follows the original plan and timeline.
Hiring a planner will mean that you will have someone who will take care of all wedding planning logistics. A person who will be there to ensure that every little detail regarding your dreams and wishes is taken care of.
Wedding Coordinator
On the other hand, the person who is responsible for coordinating your wedding is someone who also focuses on the logistics aspect, but is hired for a shorter period of time. A wedding coordinator usually acts as a point person, and helps you prepare only a month prior to your big celebration. So, this professional will work with already established planning details, only refining them for the big day. In other words, this is a person whose job is to oversee what the bride and the groom-to-be have already planned, and help them execute their vision once the day comes.
Your coordinator will double-check and confirm the vendor services you have hired and design a definite day of timeline. Unlike the planners, whose job is to take care of every detail of the wedding planning process – from start to finish – the coordinator's primary role is to ensure that your special day runs smoothly.
These are some of the coordinator’s most notable responsibilities:
Contacting your vendors to confirm that everything you’ve booked and signed a contract for is going to be executed as planned;
Being in charge of the event’s safety measures.
Granting venue access and organizing deliveries and pick-ups.
Designing floor plans and detailed timelines.
Looking for and addressing anything you might have overlooked.
Coordinating the rehearsal.
Running on-day preparations and logistics and making necessary changes to the plan and on-site visuals.
You have probably already noticed why so many people interchangeably use the terms wedding planner vs wedding coordinator. The main difference is the length of their involvement, and the fact that the planner helps you from day one with everything, while the coordinator is only there to work with what you have planned and ensure your wedding unfolds seamlessly. And now that you’re aware of how both contribute to the wedding planning process and the details that set them apart, it should be easier to decide whose services will benefit your story the most.
For more related content, do not forget to explore the rest of our blog. And if you wish to hire a professional a Charleston wedding photographer to document your memorable moments, feel free to contact us.
