Picking a wedding coordinator can be an amazing or not so amazing experience depending on the state you are in to planning.
Everyone has a different situation that they bring to the table, some people don't have a budget, some people are pinching pennies, some people don't have any idea where to start and feel completely overwhelmed. That's okay! This blog is here for brides who feel exactly that way, overwhelmed and unsure what to do.
Here are 3 things to look for when planning your wedding coordinating service.
How much are they charging? I am here to tell you that CHEAPER is not always better. unless they are interning a company and giving you a special rate it is probably not the best idea to go with a cheaper coordinator. Let me put things into perspective for you. Cheaper normally means one of two things 1. They have very little experience and do not know the cost of other vendors or their market cost. 2. They have to book 20-30 weddings a year in order to stay afloat without another position. Now that may not seem like a lot of work but believe it or not MOST vendors work part time somewhere else because they normally get booked on the weekends that fall between April to late November - of course you have the classic new years weddings and the christmas eve weddings, but those are often rare because most vendors close their dates for those days to be with family. If your vendor is charging a substantially low cost for your coordination package chances are they will not have the time to complete a lot of what you are asking UNTIL the last minute because they will be preoccupied with other things. I say this AS someone who used to charge too little and I was constantly onboarding clients to make ends meet. PLEASE do yourself a favor and get someone who is pickier with their clientele OR if you can't afford someone like that then set your expectations on a lower level because they will not be as qualified as someone with experience.
Find someone Who offers multiple services- This makes your life A LOT easier. I run into brides all the time and they are overwhelmed by all of the things they have to get done before the wedding. By going with a vendor who offers MULTIPLE services you do 2 things . First: you will check off a lot of the items that were needed in the first place, and second: you will save your wedding planner or yourself if you don't have a planner TONS of heartache with calling all of your vendors because they will be handling multiple parts of your party for the day of.
Lay out the Expectations BEFORE the wedding or event and ASK them if they can do it- I can't stress this enough. PLEASE tell us what you want BEFORE you sign your contract. This is imperative for your coordinator because if you ask them to do things last minute like chair covers, bows on chairs, car ornaments, cake cutting, and billowing of the ceilings, arch decor, running to get things. I have had people ask these things last minute and did them because I was way too nice when I started however I know that most people in the coordinating industry will not do some of these things without payment because they take A LOT of time and 9 times out of ten they have to hire someone to help them out with it. The best wedding I ever had was one that had a HUGE storm and blew everything over. Why? Because everything was laid out perfectly as far as expectations so I was able to plan the day smoothly and fix the outdoor area and bring it inside without being sidetracked on things that I wasn't planning for the timing. If you have specific questions about how much something is feel free to message your headcount and your question! We'd love to give you a ballpark so you know exactly what range for pricing you should be in.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, we can't wait to hear about YOUR special day!
Best,
Victoria
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