When it comes to hiring your wedding planner/coordinator, there are usually a lot of options. You can have a full service coordinator, who can help with your initial venue search, budget creation, all your vendors, and your overall wedding day vision.
Then, you have a partial planner. Someone who is a bit more hands on, but you as the wedding couple will still do about ~75% of the wedding planning work.
And then, you have a month of coordinator— once 90% of the work is done, this person will iron out all the details, tie together all the loose ends, and ensure everything you have planned is executed.
And yes- I am not mentioning a “day of coordinator” because y’all know how I feel about this! A day-of coordinator does NOT exist, and a vendor who claims they are is new and does not know what a wedding entails!!! Okay, off my soap box.
If you are hiring a month of coordinator, this means you are doing a majority of the planning. Here are a few tips to best utilize your month of coordinator and to help make your wedding planning a breeze.
Vet your Vendors!
Ensure your vendors have reviews on multiple sites, come as a referral, or are from a preferred vendor list. MAKE SURE they have a contract you can sign!
When communicating with vendors, be sure you can give accurate arrival times
Make sure you are aware when vendors can arrive to the venue to set up. You also need to take in to account the timing for your photographer and videographer— are you doing a first look? will you be doing a send-off? Be sure to think critically about your timing— if you are not sure, ASK!
Communicate with your vendors efficiently
I get it, you are probably working a full time job AND planning a wedding- not easy! It can be helpful to dedicate one time a week to sit down and do wedding stuff. It can be overwhelming for vendors when you hit a spontaneous wedding planning session and we get emails and texts in multiple threads at 10pm… and then we don’t hear from you for weeks. It can be helpful to keep communications in the same threads, CC other vendors that need to be in the loop, or set up a time to chat with vendors if you have a few questions! We promise- we would way rather have you ask a question 6 months before the wedding, then have to change your vision a few weeks before!
Always ask, “Okay, so who is going to do that?”
This seems silly, but when planning- you always have to ask who is going to complete what task you have in mind. You bought 300 votives candles— who is going to light them? You want to serve a pre ceremony cocktail-who is going to serve that? It is important to you to have your dogs in the wedding- who is going to look after them? If a vendor cannot complete the task, who will?
Communicate, communicate, communicate
This seems like a no brainer- but I cannot stress communication enough! This is in regards to everyone who will touch your wedding— your vendors, your bridal party, your parents, your guests. Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, ever assume. Unsaid expectations will go unmet— be sure to let people know what you expect of them. Be sure you tell your VIP and bridal party about important dates as soon as you are able. Communicate with your vendors what is important to you. Communicate with your guests important details. No one cares more about your wedding than you— be sure your expectations are communicated!