Is everyone having a wedding planner?

I planned everything myself. My venue offers a day if coordinator that I will use.

Day Of******

We have 2 as they own the venue and are best friends who work together. They own a catering company and started an all inclusive company that uses the venue and the catering company. It is the best thing we ever did. It's been so less stressful as they took control of everything but we also had input and say in things. I would do it again honestly been nothing but a good experience.

View Quoted Comment Thank you ladies. This is helpful! We’re in the middle of escrow snd I get anxiety thinking of wedding costs. Home buying is so expensive amd ejem a wedding on top ugh

One of the best things I did was hiring a day of coordinator (DOC). She made my wedding planning (and my life) so much easier! I think that most people on this forum will tell you that having your bridesmaids act as party planners is neither appropriate nor a good idea. The bridesmaids should definitely support you the day of, but planning tasks are best suited for professional vendors that you'd want to hire. Because full-on wedding planners are so expensive, my advice would be to look for a DOC who can offer some help before your big day as well.

View Quoted Comment Love it. Thanks for the feedback!

It isn't up to your bridesmaids or anyone besides you and your fiancé to plan your wedding. If someone offers to help then that's fine, but to expect them to plan your wedding is wrong. Bridesmaids are supposed to buy the attire you request and be there to support you on the day of the wedding. If you need more help, then either hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator.

I'm planning everything myself and venue has a DOC. If you don't mind event planning I say save your money.

View Quoted Comment Wrong semantics!!! Wrong choice of words. I’m not trying to get anyone planning my wedding. Please disregard this comment and good luck to you all! I’m all good. Question was answered and can’t figure out how to delete this thread.

View Quoted Comment Threads can't be deleted.

Yes! We definitely hired a wedding planner. I always advise against using guests/bridal party to double as vendors. In doing so, their attention is split and neither “job” receives proper focus and energy. So the result of that will be reflected on your wedding day. But, most of all, if you want them to play “wedding planner” then (to do it well) they can’t enjoy the evening as a guest.

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Of course! In my city, a full-service wedding planner would have cost upwards of $10k. We did NOT want to pay that! Instead, we managed to find a DOC with different upgraded packages available, and the package we selected offered some planning and help leading up to our wedding. I think we met with her 3 or 4 times in the months leading up to the wedding, and she was especially helpful during that final month. We found it to be a happy medium in between a pure DOC and a full-on wedding planner. You can also look for "month of" coordinators as opposed to day of coordinators too for some extra help. Best of luck!

View Quoted Comment Sooo helpful. Had no idea coordinators existed. I’m seeing this is what most of my girlfriends did too. We’re in LA so this sounds like the most realistic and helpful way of doing it. I’m on the very beginning stages of venue searching amd have noticed some spots mention a coordinator. Te all making sense. Thanks again!!

A day of coordinator? Yes that is a must. A person who plans everything from start to finish and you show up as a guest? Those are super rare because couples prefer to plan their own and have a pro tie up loose ends and make sure the day runs smoothly.

NOPE!!

My sister and I are very organized and have been handling everything.

Luckily the venue includes so much it takes a lot of planning off my plate and they provide a day of coordinator.

Hello! I would highly recommend hiring a day of planner if a wedding planner is out of budget. I went to a wedding where there was no planner or day of coordinator and you could feel the confusion and lack of coordination. There was nobody to direct the dj on when the first dance was starting, cocktail hour went on way too long because nobody was tracking the time etc. If you bridesmaids are down to help you that is amazing! But also keep in mind that your bridesmaids are there to support you more than the actual day to day wedding coordination. After all, you wouldn’t want a bridesmaid skipping out on photos because she has to help set up ceremony chairs. Also, I’m sure your bridesmaids will want to enjoy the day with you. You’ll be shocked to find how much the bridal party has to support you while getting ready, taking photos etc that it might be hard for them to get away. If you are a very organized person I would plan out your whole wedding and hire a day of coordinator to oversee all of your plans come true. I hope you have an amazing wedding day!

Your guests including bridesmaids are not wedding planners/coordinators.

Also be aware that a coordinator provided by the venue usually only cares about whether you are following venue rules. They don't get paid to set up your tables and run interference with your vendors who are running late, etc as the venue will require to hire a separate coordinator for that.

No wedding planner for us. Our venue package does include a day of coordinator which will be super helpful!

I have one...and glad I got one because planning is not my thing.

We are an older couple so we chose an intimate event for our close family and friends. Candlelight wedding at our 100 year old club. Outside of the planner that works at the country club, I just kept building on one idea. It started to come together with no problems and now we have a very nice celebration waiting for us.


It’s not difficult to organize ideas that you have. My takeaway from this is that I never allowed the planning to consume me. I worked a hour every other day and quickly crossed items off my list. We also had bonus points on our business credit card [ turned into gift visa cards] and that paid for flowers and food. That way we didn’t need to use our personal credit card for the higher ticket items. I’m working on getting a pianist from our music conservatory at our local college. I would love to have him| her play for an hour after the ceremony, they charge very little. Instead of hiring a DJ I chose 150 songs with David Foster, Chris Botti and Boccelli on Pandora to play in the background. The videographer will be about $200. They are good at agreeing to the cost that you wish.
We chose Thursday which allowed us to keep costs down, flexibility at the venue and have the weekend available to visit with out of town family. I think we are only spending roughly $1200 total. We also chose 6:30 so we could have time with relatives the morning of.
It is easy to put items together and implement them. It is my hope that every bride has a fabulous day. Take a deep breath and enjoy every moment from now until the very end.