5 signs you need a wedding planner and coordinator
The wedding day is a celebration of two people in marriage and bonding of their families. This is a big celebration where a lot of planning in the lead-up to, and execution of the day is required to make the day be memorable and smooth.
Sure, if you have a big wedding planner diary or folder (from Kikki.K) can help, but over time, things can get out of hand, especially if you have more than one ceremony, or if you are having a large number of guests. This is when having a wedding planner or just a wedding coordinator makes a big difference, so that you can enjoy your big day.
So here are 5 signs you need a wedding planner and/or a coordinator.
1. You have a busy lifestyle.
When you have work, family and even personal commitments, there is not enough time for you to plan your own wedding. You might end up having to schedule meetings, replying to emails and calling back your suppliers during your lunch breaks, or on your way home from work. Sometimes if life gets in the way that you forget to reply to a supplier, the supplier themselves may have already locked in that day with another client.
Wedding planners not only have close connections with suppliers (including photographers), but we also respond to and coordinate with suppliers very quickly so that you don’t miss out on our recommended suppliers, and there would be a lot less miscommunication on the day of your wedding.
2. You want more time with friends, families and yourself instead of planning.
Wedding planning requires a lot of time spent on looking for inspiration, looking for and booking in suppliers. More contact with suppliers is required in the lead up to your wedding as details need to be confirmed and remaining balances need to be finalised. Some suppliers would also be in contact with you on the day with questions just to make sure you are satisfied. All of this time accumulated throughout your planning means less time with your loved ones, and less me-time too.
Having wedding planners look after all the details (including design) throughout the process means you do not need to spend time on this, and instead have more time for yourself of what is important to you. Wedding coordinators also confirm details within a few weeks prior to your wedding and are present on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly. This means you can genuinely be in the moment from the start of your wedding, have a glass of wine and enjoy every moment with your guest until the end of your wedding. At times when all details need to be clarified, you are spending more time with your friends, families and having your me-time.
3. You don’t want to worry about a thing.
It is human for us to second-guess ourselves, especially when we want our wedding to be perfect. You want to make sure the suppliers know exactly what you want - what type and colour of flowers, what time the suppliers will arrive, and will the caterers already be serving the wines you requested during the canapes section? When you start to worry about the fine details, you start to think about it instead of enjoying your wedding day and being in the moment.
Wedding planners and coordinators have gone through this many times. We already have the questions that we need to confirm with suppliers (as if we are on auto-pilot). We work with our recommended suppliers numerous times, we know how they work too, as if they are family to us. We also have experience that if there is a hiccup, we already have backup plans ready, so that you do not need to worry while we are behind the scenes, making sure your wedding day runs smoothly. This especially helps a lot when you do not want to bear the brunt and stress on your wedding day and you want to just sit back and relax, knowing that everything has been looked after by us.
4. You easily get overwhelmed.
The excitement of being happily engaged starts to fade quickly when you start to plan for your special day.
Looking for inspiration (especially on social media) can start to get confusing and overwhelming when you browse and look around for many hours to make your wedding special, magnificent, unique and out of this world. And this is before you start looking for and contacting and eventually booking suppliers! The overwhelm can build up very quickly.
We have seen this all before. As wedding planners, we know what works and what doesn’t work, especially when we are considering your budget. After you give us an initial idea of how you would like your wedding day to be, we design and plan your wedding with our suppliers’ details in hand, so that you do not have the overwhelm of endless visual inspiration and who or where to contact suppliers.
5. You are stressed.
If you have planned a birthday party or dinner, or even your own engagement party, you know that it can be stressful! Wedding planning comes with a lot of stress along the way, especially when the supplier that you have dreamt of having in your wedding is unavailable; and you need to look for other options and replacements. And on the day, if the flowers arrive in a different colour, or the suppliers run late, that causes even more stress on yourself.
Stress is more likely to happen with the jitters in the lead-up to your wedding. As wedding coordinators, we make sure all details are confirmed and to fill in the gaps if there are areas of planning that haven’t been addressed, so that it doesn’t happen on the day. If there are hiccups on the day, we manage these ourselves so that you do not need to feel stressed on the day.
What is the difference between a wedding planner and coordinator?
The wedding planner plans your whole wedding from the initial idea to the end of your wedding. This includes the wedding design and booking your suppliers.
The wedding coordinator comes into the equation within a few months prior to your wedding, where we confirm all details with your suppliers (that you have already booked yourself) and we liaise with you with remaining balance payments and are present on the day of your wedding until the end of your wedding, to make sure your day runs smoothly.
Regardless, having a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator will give you an immense sigh of relief throughout your wedding planning, so that you can focus on me-time, work and personal commitments. You know you can leave your wedding planning with an expert who will look after you and make your wedding day memorable and stress-free while you can get on with your busy lifestyle.