Post summary (so you don't have to comb through it if you don't want): this is just an explanation about our offbeat take on the wedding coordinator/DOC.
I see these as valuable and necessary people for the event for a lot of reasons, and I knew I wanted to have a DOC at the very least. We were just really fortunate to be presented with this alternative that others may want to consider: use local university resources, especially in the theatre department, for key professional coordination needs.
Some background: I am a big-time BUDGET bride (working from a graduate student stipend.) The FI and I went into planning each bringing 3 words to the table: his were "occasion," celebration, and fun. (the first question I asked him was simply "when you think back on our wedding, what three words do you want to have to describe it?") The "occasion" word, when I asked him to describe it to me, meant that he wanted the ceremony to have some weight and seriousness to it, but not overly formal. He wanted to look back and have it feel the solemness of his promise, but also enjoy the fact that we love the unexpected, too. And he wanted to make sure that people felt free to laugh all evening. I said whimsical, practical, and recyclable, meaning I wanted the marriage to last and I didn't care if the wedding day went haywire. So I didn't want to bring a lot of things home that could not be used/worn again, not a lot of trash but decor that could be recycled, I wanted to avoid any debt, and I wanted moments of levity through the whole thing.
Here's the irony that I love: neither of us wanted the wedding to be just some performance, but the best help in the world (said in ALL seriousness) comes from our awesome friends and connections whose professions are in theatre (Chicago House of Blues' lighting director/designer, Milwaukee Ballet's lighting designer, sound board technicians, etc.) Instead of a wedding coordinator, we have a professional Stage Manager- she is fantastic at organizing "props," "actors," "set design," music, sound, and lighting, and keeping things on time in their right place. Plus, she's GREAT in emergencies. Our rental lists etc. have come through the theatre department, keeping costs down BIG time because of these connections and because I'm a grad student. Our photographers are also through the University and they are advanced/graduate students who take the headshots for the actors and do the University's promotional campaigns for the shows throughout the city.
Here are some of the ideas the theare people came up with: "flipping" the room: our venue doesn't have room for the dinner setup and the dance floor to coexist. They proposed a scene change, just like on stage, coordinated perfectly to have the entire room "flipped" from dining to dancing, with cocktail tables etc in just a few minutes. The entire ambient lighting (I trusted them completely. I gave them the emotions I wanted to come out of the "scene" and they were on TOP of it.) acoustic set-up for our in-the-round ceremony lay-out.
Advantages: cost (they don't automatically hike prices simply because you say the word "wedding"), accessibility, excitement to expand their repertoire, practically over-enthusiasm to please, plenty of references and evidence of their work throughout the community. Creative problem-sovlving. These people know how to work in teams to cover all necessary tasks. (I am constantly amazed)
Disadvantages: students may be a bit rough around the edges (going with graduate students is a definite plus here), the photographers will probably need a "must-have" list if you prefer posed pictures, and I had to teach them how to write a contract (fortunately, because I'm a composition professor, I was able to help them a lot in this department) This option is definitely better for a less formal event, unique venue, or for a smaller-sized event. (our guest list is 95)
I am brimming with gratitude for the wonderful people in our life that practically jumped out of their chairs (or through the phone lines) to say "oh, do you need ANY help with...?" (And no, this is NOT a sarcastic comment.) A bit of caution, though: I tried very hard NOT to cross the line between guest and help because that can just be messy. Those people that we invited as guests who really, really wanted to volunteer their professional help did so by straight out approaching us and saying "I want very much to be able to do this for you if you'll let me." They happen to be the dearest of dear old friends. I did officially seek out and hire the Stage Manager after going through my resources to find a good person.
Anyway, this is simply an off-beat suggestion that, from the looks of the forum, seems to fit here.
Cheerio!
meacu1pa
My motto = I was a queen before the man: I'll be damned if some wedding is going to demote me.