Don't Skip the Day-Of Wedding Coordinator

From: 'The Wedding Planner' movie

We met with our day-of wedding coordinator today and I continue to be so excited to work with her. One of the event managers at the hotel where we are having our wedding event manager is also our day-of wedding coordinator. H & I are planners and so we don't feel like we need a general wedding planner, but the day-of coordinator is a total must-have.

Essentially, she is on top of her shit. Timeline, coordinating with all the vendors, bringing lunch to the bridal party, menu changes, hotel guest gift bags, all of it. There are so many behind the scenes things that go on during a wedding, I am really finding the value in having a day-of wedding coordinator.

The true value of a wedding coordinator can really be seen when you experience a horrible one. I was the MOH for a friend's wedding and the wedding coordinator was awful. She constantly looked like a doe caught in headlights, she didn't speak with confidence, and was constantly MIA. It got to a point where I took a walkie talkie from her and took charge for about an hour before the reception.

In experiencing first hand a good day-of coordinator vs a bad one, here are some things that I would look out for. There are tons of articles out there to help you figure out what questions to ask your coordinator, but I'm just coming from a personality perspective.

1. Confidence - If your wedding coordinator sounds confident and speaks with authority, then people will listen to him/her.

2. Organization - Things like having a portfolio to keep notes, a brochure, business cards, a website, etc. All these things point to a person being organized. Meeting with a potential client (you the bride & groom) is like a job interview and they should be prepared. I'm not saying they should be conservative or on guard. Just prepared.

3. Kindly Opinionated - This is your first time getting married, so you're going to ask questions like, "What do people typically do in X situation?" If their response is, "It's your day and up to you on how you would like to handle it," that's the wrong response. You have no idea what to do, but your coordinator has been through several weddings. So they should be able to provide a couple different options/opinions that will allow you to decide on what's best for your situation.

3. Appearances - You meet with your coordinator a few times, and so they should be presentable at all times in order to make a good impression on you. If they look like they have their shit together, more likely than not, they'll have their professional shit together.

4. Connection - You should feel like you have a good connection with your coordinator. If you like that person, and they like you, you'll be excited to work with them and they'll want to work harder for you.

Happy hunting!