Reception Decorator

djlsmccann

Hello,
  I am really looking into the option of hiring someone to do my reception hall decorating, to relieve the stress for myself, my family, and my wedding party.  I love the idea of being able to have someone set it all up and take it all down. I am meeting with a couple gals tomorrow and My questions are I have no idea what to look for exactly.  I want to get the biggest bang for my buck because of my budget. So does anyone have any tips.  Has anyone hired someone to do their decorating? What all are they doing? centerpieces? set-up/take down? lighting?  About what price range should I be considering? What questions should I ask? I'm a little lost here because all my friends have DIY'd their own reception halls and I just don't want to haha ;-)  so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
L

AurorasEnvy

I've hired a DOC (day of coordinator).  Basically someone to be responsible to make sure everything runs smoothly, is decorated, vendors are paid, etc.  That's what I might recommend.  I am paying $400 for the entire day.  I have never heard a bride say that they regretted hiring one, but I've heard some brides post later that they wished they had.  I just want my close friends/family to be able to enjoy the day, (esp. the open bar at night) without worrying about being responsible for various things throughout the day.

Sue-n-Kevin

I think you are smart trying to find someone who will do this that is not YOU or your friends or family. It's not something that is easy, and not fair to them or you.

Are you meeting with "day of wedding coordinators" or just someone recommended to you who does not do this as a job, but will be doing it as a favor?

I had a "day of wedding coordinator". She met with me once, helped with some coordination, but to be honest I was pretty organized and didn't require her often. She also met with me, the venue and caterer about 2-3 weeks before the wedding to go over floor plan, what was happening, etc. We made the floor plan then, with which table #s went where.

She set up all my DIY on the day of the wedding (but it was all there ahead of time). We only had access to the venue 2 hrs before it was opened to guests.

She set up:

- pew cones, unity candles, floral arrangements, wreath, programs and handrail decoration in the chapel

- centerpieces, napkins with napkin rings and menus (pre-assembled by me), candles, flowers, cigars/matchboxes, cake top on cake, table numbers, guest
book, luminaries outside, cardbox, bathroom baskets.

She also took it all down at the end of the evening and boxed it for us. She had a "pre-filled" organizer sheet where I filled in the blanks with cellphone numbers for all the vendors we were using to make sure everyone knew what was going on.

This is what a pro does. For a pro, you will probably pay a flat fee, ie $350-$500. If you are hiring college students for set up and want them to clear everything at the end of the night, figure the number of hours x the number of people, and expect to pay about $10-$15 per hour, per person.

Good luck.

djlsmccann

thanks ladies