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Wedding Planner/ Wedding Coordinator

“To hire or not to hire them?”

 

“A GO OR A NO…hmmmm?”

This is one of the ultimate questions for the bride and groom.
Should you contact and hire someone to be your wedding planner or wedding coordinator?

Basically, if you are to have a civil wedding with only your closest friends and family members in attendance, you don’t need to call up such people. After the wedding diretso lang in a nice restaurant, where you reserved for the reception. That’s it.

A lot of restaurants offer wedding reception packages. The packages are made to suit the couple’s budget which depends on the number of their guests. But you don’t have to feel less excited during your big day. I can assure you such packages include a simple program for your reception and other important elements to make your humble wedding – extra special. An example is a famous chicken restaurant- remember my story of a bride who happens to be a Christian?

The couple had a civil wedding. Afterwards, they had a pretty nice reception in that famous chicken restaurant.  According to her for 60 persons she spent about 36k all in. The whole wedding costs them nearly 45k plus. Not bad actually. But it’s another story when you want a church wedding. 

Let’s go back to the question. With a bunch of things to be prepared and to be accomplished, will you hire a wedding planner or a wedding coordinator? First, let us differentiate the two. Who is a planner and who is a coordinator? People often use these synonymously. So let us have some clarifications.

 

A Wedding Planner (Noun)

Someone who plans and organizes weddings as a profession. Once you call a wedding planner, you have to give them your broad or detailed plan/vision about how you want your wedding to be. He/she will help you out from day one of your preparations. You can rely on this person from arranging and finding things like the venue, florists, to making your invitations, etc. You can be involved as much as you want to be. Well, it depends on the amount of time and resources that you have.  

He/she also helps you manage your timeline for the wedding. If you’re super busy, this person can handle everything for you. You don’t need to look for suppliers. He/she will do meet ups. Next, he/she will give you a list and explain everything to you. Then, you can make your pick. 

Ensure that such a person possesses vast knowledge about who you should hire. Lastly, he/she knows where you can find the best deals for your wedding needs.

 

A Wedding Coordinator

You typically meet with a wedding coordinator months or several weeks before your big day. His/her job is to actualize your plans. For instance, this person will take all your  research, inquire about your timeline, guest count, venue details and more. He/she will contact your preferred vendors, arrange bookings for venues and even help you with arranging seats on your event. Moreover, he/she makes sure that the ceremony starts and ends on time. A coordinator helps you to run everything as hassle free as possible during your wedding.

In a nutshell, when you don’t have enough time, hire a wedding planner. He or she will plan and look for suppliers. You will decide based on the options he or she provides. Such a person will do almost all the work for your wedding day.

On the contrary, if you want your wedding to have a personal touch go for a coordinator. If you can spare some of your time for the preparations, call this person. You’ll plan and look for suppliers. You’ll do meet ups but he/she may also help you out when searching for your wedding essentials. Most probably you’ll be busier than you can imagine. The coordinator’s job is to ensure that your plan will be well executed on your big day!

Below are more ideas to help you decide whether to hire a wedding planner or a wedding coordinator:

1. How much is your budget for the wedding? Are you willing to give at least 10% – 15% of your budget to a wedding planner? If your answer is no, perhaps you should consider a wedding coordinator. Why? It’s because a coordinator is more budget friendly. Since you’ll do most of the preparations for your big day! 
2. You have a vision for your wedding, but you need someone to help you with the formalities and protocols. For instance, what’s the ideal length of the wedding program? Or how should you assign seats to your guests? How can you make your reception more fun for your guests? If this is the case, then hire a wedding coordinator.
3. How much time do you have? If you have a tight schedule within a week or if you can spend less than 5 hours a day planning your wedding – call a planner.
4. Lastly, if you have a lot of ideas and cannot make a definite plan for your wedding – a planner is your best option.

PROS of Hiring a Wedding Planner/ Wedding Coordinator:

1. You’ll have an expert by your side.  This means that you can assure 99.9% possibility of an organized and beautiful wedding. The expert’s knowledge will help you pave the path for accomplishing your dream day.
2. Help you with your budget. A wedding planner will guide you in managing your expenses.
3. Tell him/her your ideas and they’ll actualize it for you. A wedding coordinator can make your wedding ideas possible. Like finding the perfect stuff and working on your chosen vendors.
4. Less stress. With someone doing the work for you, you’ll definitely feel less stress and pressure.  These people can run some errands and narrow down choices in relation to the event for your approval.
5. You can get discounts. A wedding planner knows a lot on where you can get the best value for your money. This includes reliable suppliers for the flowers and for your other wedding stuff. He/she can also share some new ideas you never have heard about.

CONS  

1. Additional Costs. Yes, you may get discounts for some elements of your wedding. Pero may bayad ang services nila and often these do not come cheap.
2. You’ll get detached from your own preparations. This happens because you don’t have time and almost all errands are done by the planner. So, you always have to keep yourself updated.
3. You might end up regretting the amount you spent. The wedding planner will help you with your budget. But sometimes, your planner’s ideal budget – may mean spending expensively for your part. So, you have to be very present in the planning stage. Be sure to monitor your expenses. Also, make it very clear from the start that you have a budget and you want to stick with it. 
4. You might find someone you can’t jive with. There is a risk of hiring someone, who’ll be a headache rather than a member of your team. This means having to miss deadlines, someone who is unable to understand/ actualize your vision. Chances are this will result in stress on your part and delays on your timeline. 

Yes, hiring a wedding planner or a wedding coordinator has its own set of pros and cons. Sa simula palang ng first meeting at pag uusap, you can immediately feel if the wedding planner or coordinator is the right person for your wedding. Just like choosing the other elements for the big day, you should also make a careful decision regarding to whom you shall entrust your big event.

 

MUST-READ AND SHARE!

2023 Your Practical Wedding Guide

Wedding Priorities

Create a Master List

Assign People To Help You Out

Beware Of Pandemic Protocols

 

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