Check with your Location First
Some wedding reception locations have an on site coordination. Find out if there is someone at the location who will answer all of your questions during the planning process, give you tips on making your big day the best day possible, and be there the day of to deal with any issues that may come up. If they do have an on site coordinator, find out in detail what that person will and will not be responsible for that day or evening. Bringing in chair sashes the day of the wedding and finding out you are responsible for putting them on can not only be stressful but not fit into your ever shortening timeline.
Destination Weddings
If you are looking to get married in a destination location that you will not be able to visit prior to the wedding day, you may want to look into a wedding planner. These folks can help find the best vendors, locations, and fill you in on things only locals know. Yes, you can do your research from home online, but planners have extra knowledge of logistics and if they live in that location, they can find the vendor that is not only great, but fits your personality perfectly and that you may not have come across online. Also, planning a weekend of activities for your guests is much easier with the help of someone who loves and appreciates the area you are traveling to. They can find things to do for all of your guests, no matter how fun or sticks in the mud they may be.
How Much Do You Want To Do Yourself?
There are some real DIY ladies out there and more power to you! You may have a vision of exactly what you want the venue to look like and how the day should go. You have made the invitations, centerpieces, place cards, and gifts. Now it may be time to hire a day of coordinator so that you can actually reap the fruit of your labor with your family and friends. Being able to pass the set up of all of those hand made items and have someone else paying attention to timelines can be the best reward for your hard work. The same wedding coordinator can help make sure all of these items make it safely back home with you at the end of the night while you enjoy talking with your guests and listening to them talk about the amazing day they just experienced.
How Many Friends and Family Can You Recruit?
There are some very tight families out there that expect to help out when it comes to a family wedding. Wonderful! These favorite aunts and cousins may be willing to make centerpieces and decor items for you. Uncle Al has been a baker for 35 years and would love to make your wedding cake! If this isn't the family you grew up with, then check with your dear friends. Some may be very happy to sit and drink wine with you while you all make centerpieces out of wholesale flowers for your tables the day before your wedding.
What Type of Location Are You Dealing With?
Are you looking at a blank slate of a facility and have to bring everything in? Or is all of the furniture, flatware, food, and staff included and you just need to bring yourself? This is a big factor to whether you will need assistance. It is much more timely to have to look through rental companies and pick out every glass, plate, and chair than to show up to a location that provides everything including the flowers and cake. Wedding planners have that creative edge and they can give you ideas for a space that you never thought possible for the location. Look at how much would be on your plate and how much time you have to put into the planning and execution of your special day. If you decide you can take it all on and get everything organized prior to the big day then that is great. You may still want a day of coordinator to be the contact person for each vendor on your wedding day so that you can just relax and enjoy.
Happy Planning!
