WHY DAY OF COORDINATION IS A SCAM

Planning a wedding can seem daunting, intimidating and downright confusing. It’s also as equally hard to gauge if you need help and when you think this help should begin. In the age of Pinterest, Instagram and blogs- it’s easy to think that you CAN plan your own wedding and it WILL look like all your inspiration pictures you’ve posted on your boards. Social media has a sneaky way of showing you the nice shiny end product, but not the technicalities, logistics and the people behind the scenes you require to get you there. So I’d like to shed some light on one of the biggest misconceptions brides have and why I feel the notion of having just a “day of coordinator” is pretty much in my eyes- a scam. A term that puts a veil over your eyes leading you to believe- I’ve booked all my vendors so I’m basically done my wedding planning because the “Day of Coordinator”will do the rest.

Back 10 - 15 years ago clients either had a wedding planner for the duration of their planning or a day of coordinator, there wasn’t really an inbetween. This was also the time of match your table linens to the color of your bridesmaids dresses… Now, to help you visualize this period of time, this was back in the day when Facebook just started having business pages, Instagram wasn’t really a thing and Pinterest was just launched. Basically, weddings were very simple back then. So naturally a day of coordinator could be reasonably all you needed. But nowadays, perceptions and expectations of brides have completely changed. Now most weddings have complicated logistics, intricate tailored designs, jam packed schedules and twice the amount of vendors to manage than back in 2007. (the year I started planning weddings ;)

I should preface this by saying you DO need a wedding planner on your wedding day. What you DON’T need is someone flying in a week before your wedding to try and organize your details which they can’t completely grasp since they weren’t part of your planning process from the beginning. Here within, lays the problem, and the problem has real repercussions.

Imagine that……. you believe you’ve planned your wedding in full, have finally tied up all those loose ends and are ready to meet with your Day of Coordinator just 7 days shy of your wedding. What you’re not prepared for is your seasoned planner to audit your wedding and provide you a long list of things you need to correct or change before the wedding day- because you forgot this, didn’t consider that and was never told “x”. Now you have a long “to do” list that you can’t quite grasp, can’t understand nor have the time for. Or Even worse- a newbie planner smiles and says nothing and figures “It is what it is, whatever happens- happens, because, hey-I’m not really truly responsible anyways.” It’s sad, but this is a real thing and it can happen to you.

Now let’s keep imagining, because the narrative isn’t over yet……

It’s still the week before your wedding and you start getting messages from those vendors who have been ghosting your emails asking questions you’ve already confirmed, don’t know how to answer, can’t answer or questions regarding logistics you know nothing about. But how could you possibly know you needed to be informed of these things if you’ve never planned a wedding before? So to you, it almost feels like you’re re-planning your wedding all over again. Your vendors have forgotten your details and/or have confused you with another wedding. The anxiety is slowly creeping in because the wedding you worked so hard to plan seems like it’s fracturing. There are so many balls in the air that you don’t know where to start…… But wait, you have relatives flying in, appointments, a dress to pick up, a pending ceremony rehearsal…. and your brain literally stops working. Wait, was there something I was supposed to remember? ….. Where’s that to do list?……… Slowly when anyone asks you about your wedding, you dread the conversation because you just want the day to come and be over with.

Unfortunately what I am telling you is reality. Simply having a day of coordinator is not going to ensure your not stressed during your wedding planning or closer to the day, it does just the opposite- adds a layer of anxiety. A day of coordinator simply makes sure vendors show up and you’re running on time. There is no pre-organization with day of coordinators. I should also note that most planners that feature this service and not a Month Of or Partial Planning service in lieu is probably within their first year or two of business and is limited in their knowledge and aren’t fully equipped to plan a wedding from start to finish.

At the very least you should hire a planner to step in a month or so before your wedding to ensure they are properly briefed on your details while auditing your prior arrangements and take over management of all those final details before your wedding day. I always say- think of your brain like a chalkboard with all sorts of scrambled wedding scribbles. Now after your sit down with your planner a month before your wedding, you can wipe that chalkboard clean and NEVER have to scribble on it again!

Hiring a planner in advance is peace of mind. Priceless. And I can tell you, you’ll only completely understand the full benefits after your wedding day is complete.

Always here for you,

Eliza

xo

Photography by Joel & Justyna

BENEFITS OF A WEDDING PLANNER

Life is short and I firmly believe in investing in the best of what you love, and when you do- you better enjoy every single ounce of it because before you know it- it's over. Let me throw some math at you to help gain some perspective. 

 

$40,000 Budget / 12 hour wedding day =

You're spending $3,333.00 per hour.

That number is startling.

Now envision the responsibility in making sure everything you have envisioned come full circle without any issues.....  

Girl- you can't micromanage from that makeup chair and you sure as hell aren't going to leave this burden/responsibility to your mother or maid of honour (they're in the makeup chair next to you). You need a planner, and here's why.

SHORTCUT

Hiring a seasoned wedding planner is your biggest shortcut. They provide you with information that's specific to you and your wedding which you can't find on a blog, in a magazine article or even from your best friend who just got married. Although weddings have the same base strategy when it comes to planning, it's the variables in between that are hard to manage. These variables include things like specialty vendors, rentals, design details, time specific schedules etc etc. The more unique you'd like your wedding to be- the more variables are introduced. It's like juggling - except with 50 balls. If you have a hard time seeing the bigger picture now- having a wedding planner with vision can help you focus on priorities and ensure the bigger picture is planned and executed properly. 

 

EDUCATE

A huge part of my job is educating my clients on why things cost what they do and how much work goes into certain tasks- because it all boils down to perceived value and priorities. The number one question you should ask yourself before you begin wedding planning is, "What is important to me and why?". If anyone tells you the first step to wedding planning is figuring out your budget and ask the rents for money- fire them or burn that article! Everyone is so focused on money, when they should be focused on value. Once you know your priorities you'll instantly see value in the money your spending and your budget will form itself. Only then do you have the power to scale back and re-evaluate said priorities. My #1 non-negotiable term when you hire my firm is: "You can't have it all, so don't spread your money thin and cheap out just to have everything". I refuse to let my clients do this. It's such a waste. #truth 

 

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

As a seasoned wedding planner I have literally seen it all and been around the block numerous time/ I could write a Chicken Soup for Crazy Wedding Stories. (please tell me you remember those books...and yes I just dated myself). Because of this- I've learn't from the past and now instill this knowledge into planning your wedding so that these issues never happen on your wedding day. It starts with quality control. It's our job to know the back end of the industry, like when companies turn-over rental inventory, what vendors are expanding too quickly and their quality is slipping and even the newbies on the block whose work is garnering serious attention. I love taking the "guess work" out of the equation for brides. I am your google- so instead of researching vendors and scouring the internet for reviews- I can give you the real 411 based on my own real-life observations and discerning eye so that you can make informed choices. For example- the chair you're looking at renting is in fair condition....today. But once your wedding rolls around a year and a half later- that chivary chair will likely be on it's last legs with a flattened stained seat cushion. How do I know this? Because the chair is wooden, the paint chips easily because their stackable and not made of metal and the seat cushions are polyester, and I personally know that companies maintenance and turn-over routines. 

This my friends is just scratching the surface in regards to the things we do and know as planners which is hard to write on paper on in two paragraphs on our website when we describe a planning package . It really is my job to know everything- and I'm not boasting. It's a fact and it is also the reason you hire a planner:)