To hire a wedding planner or not to hire a wedding planner? That is the age old question. In this post I’m breaking down my honest opinion on the subject of hiring a wedding planner—as a luxury wedding photographer who’s seen it all—and how to go about making this decision!
The Difference Between a Wedding Planner and Coordinator
This first thing to address is the difference between a Wedding Coordinator and a Wedding Planner. Because trust me, there’s a big difference!
Coordinators typically help with wedding plans a month or two leading up to your wedding, but no more.
When you hire a wedding planner, they are by your side throughout the entire wedding planning process—whether you’re starting two years or 6 months before the big day.
The Role of Your Wedding Coordinator
To many people, a Month Of Coordinator and a Day Of Coordinator may be one in the same, but when you’re going through the vendor hiring process, it’s important to make the distinction.
Month Of Coordinators typically help with:
- Vendor communication and contracts
- Creating the run of show and wedding day timeline
- Sometimes: offering decor rentals
Timeline: Roughly 4-6 weeks before your wedding date, your coordinator will start taking over vendor communication and venue organization details.
Day of Coordinators typically help with items on an expedited timeline, including:
- Day of organization and venue decor setup
- Distributing vendor payments
- Directing guests to ceremony and reception spaces
Wedding Coordinators do NOT typically help with finding and securing wedding vendors, wedding design and decor, or helping couples stay on budget.
Timeline: Day of Coordinators will usually meet with you at least 1 month before your wedding to finalize vendor contracts and the wedding day timeline.
Hiring a coordinator is best for low key weddings hosted by couples prepared to take on the bulk of the organization, planning, and design of their wedding. If you’re on a tighter budget, have less than 75 guests, or have event planning experience, this might be the right option for you.
The Role of a Full Service Planner
Hiring a full service wedding planner or team is the equivalent of paying for a stress-free engagement season AND wedding day. I’ve never heard of my couples regretting hiring a wedding planner, although I have heard the reverse (more times than I can count) 🫠
Full service wedding planning means that your planner walks you through the entire planning process—from sending out save the dates to tearing down decor at the end of the night.
Some of the primary tasks that full service planning teams handle are:
- Vendor selection and contract negotiation
- Keeping you on a budget
- Set up and take down on the wedding day
- Handling all vendor communication
- Wrangling your wedding party
- Keeping family members and loved ones on a photo schedule (this is more helpful than you know!)
- Sometimes: Helping with overall design details, large and small
Timeline: It’s always recommended to hire your planner 1-2 years before your wedding date, although, planners can be a massive help when you’re planning on a tight timeline. Many planners offer monthly progress meetings or email check ins to keep things on track. Full service planning also gives you access to phone and email support in case anything comes up between meetings.
This option is best for couples:
- looking to entertain guests for the whole weekend
- planning an intricate destination wedding
- who simply want a professional to guide them through every step of the wedding planning process and throughout the big day
- who want to fully hand off vendor communication
What Do Wedding Designers Do?
Wedding designers specialize in bringing your overall vision—colors, textures, themes, guest experiences, and more—to life on your wedding day. Sometimes you’ll find those rare wedding planner/designer hybrids with a knack for both the overall aesthetic and the logistical details of your wedding day. Typically, this type of planner has a team to execute on both the design and organizational details of your day.
You may also find that you’d prefer to hire two different vendors to tackle these aspects of the planning: one to oversee the design choices for your day and the other to take care of details behind the scenes. Regardless, these two people or teams will work closely together to pull together each element of your day, so it’s important to rely on the experts for their vendor recommendations.
If you find yourself leaning towards hiring two different vendors or teams, see if either one has a list of preferred vendors they like to work with and a portfolio of joint work they’ve pulled off together. The more synergy you have between vendors during the planning process, the more seamless the entire wedding weekend will feel.
What Type of Planner Do I Need?
My expert opinion? Hire a full service wedding planner. And I’ll die on that hill! The peace of mind you’ll have knowing every detail, large and small, is being handled behind the scenes, is worth every penny.
The reality is, planning a event of this scale is a feat for anyone, even experienced planners. But non-planners like you and me? There’s so much going on behind the scenes that never even crosses your mind before it becomes an issue. And mind-numbing wedding vendor drama is quite literally the last thing you want to be dealing with on the day you’ve looked forward to your whole life.
You don’t want to look back on the best day of your life and think…”what if?!”
From the rolling hills of Lancaster and the charming streets of Philadelphia, to the sunlit Longwood gardens and the breezy shores of Ocean City, NJ, Lauren Bliss Photography captures love stories with timeless elegance. She has photographed celebrations at premier venues including Lancaster Country Club, Philadelphia’s historic estates, coastal resorts, and intimate garden settings. Whether it’s a classic ballroom wedding, a New York city soirée, or a romantic destination celebration, Lauren’s work blends artistry and emotion to create heirloom images that will be cherished for generations.
If you’re dreaming of wedding photography that is as meaningful as it is beautiful, Lauren Bliss Photography would be honored to tell your story. Inquire here to reserve your date and begin planning your unforgettable wedding photography experience!
