Anyone hiring a day-of coordinator?

pillsburyaj

I definitely want to hire a day-of coordinator so that my mom won't have to worry about a thing on the day of the wedding. We met with the first one last Thursday and the package was $1200. Sounds a bit steep to me, but she does sooooo much.

Are you planning on having a DOC? If so, what is the average price in your area? How much are you paying?

Skyjewell23

I am interested in this! What all does a day of coordinator do exactly? 

And I didn't realize they were so expensive!

pillsburyaj

A DOC pretty much:

-makes sure all of the vendors are on time and doing what they are supposed to be doing. 

-ensure that the schedule of everything is followed (cake cutting, etc)

-that everyone is where they need to be (i.e. ushers guests from ceremony to cocktail hour, etc)

-makes sure the table settings and any other arrangements look according to plan

-makes sure clean up is done properly

-makes sure the vendors all get their gratuity

-will fulfill any emergency plan (this one told me she literally had to sew a bride back into her dress when the zipper broke)

-ensures that the B&G actually get to eat!

-and a bunch of other stuff. But pretty much all the stuff you don't want to have to worry about on your wedding day!

penny12986

Yes!  I hired one around 2 months ago and it relieved so much stress for me.  She will be

-transporting decor
-coordinating vendors
-taking care of set-up and break-down
-managing the timeline of the day
-and probably a few other things that I can't think of

She was $650 because she has a small staff and not a lot of overhead but the majority of people were between $1500 and $2500.

ginadog

My venue rental is $1250 total, and she comes with the venue as a day of coordinator (also included are the servers, bartenders, setup, cleanup, etc).

I get to give her all my decorations and she and her crew will set it all up to my specifications.  She will coordinate with any vendors that drop off stuff (cake, flowers).  She will also act as the MC to segue along reception timelines.  She also cuts the cake, serves it and boxes it for no extra charge.

I've been asking mine all sorts of questions via email about the venue, etc and she's been very helpful.

So your $1200 does seem steep but I have no idea on what the norm is.

mekiakoo

Nope. We met with 2 and decided to not hire one- the price was a bit too much for something that we probably can do on our own.

We may change our mind and hire one for the day only. So far we've got volunteers who want to help set up/clean up, but I am a bit concerned about contacting the vendors if something happens or if one of them doesn't show up.

bridetobe71412

We have a DOC in that we have a wedding planner. She is a post-contract wedding planner though, which means that she jumped in after we chose all of our vendors. I didn't feel comfortable giving over the reigns to someone to decide which vendors we should use, but we did end up picking a bunch of her suggestions.

Anyway, re: DOC: If you can fit it in your budget, ABSOLUTELY do it. I have never heard of anyone who said it wasn't worth it. In fact, I have heard most people say that it's the best money they spent. If something goes wrong, the DOC takes care of it. If you have a larger wedding or if you have a lot of logistics (many different vendors, several locations, transportation for guests, etc.) it will be extremely confusing for you to handle while you're trying to enjoy your wedding day. I just can't imagine calling the caterer, the band, the florist, setting up the reception and church, getting people onto the buses, overseeing the flow of the event, cleaning up after the reception(!!!!!) on our wedding day.

To me, it was an essential expense. The partial planning costs $3000. I know her packages start at $1500, though, and I believe that's for DOC (plus the week leading up to the wedding, I think).

Madisonpenny

Nope, I'm not hiring one cause it's not in my budget ad to be honest I'm to much of a control freak that I would probably be doing their job anyways,...

BrightFirefly

My venue comes with one and she's a doll.

julyxoxo

I hired one and we are in love with her!! She's great. I know she charges about $1000, possibly like $800, but since I know her sister she's charging me a little less. To me, it's worth it to have her there that day so I can relax. I started bringing her in on plans at the 8 month mark or so. She's not really in touch with my vendors (actually, she has befriended my photographer which is great) but I stay in touch with my vendors and take care of the payment plans, etc. She doesn't know anything about what I'm spending. The day-of, the whole thing will get handed over to her and I think we're both comfortable with that because she's been so intimately involved now for months, so she'll be prepared.

michelle11988

I have a DOC that comes with the venue.  She has been amazing to work with so far and I'm glad you posted this I talked to her back around Christmas and she said she wanted to meet in February and I guess I should get back to her on it since its already here.  If my venue didn't come with a DOC I would probably hire one just to make sure everything gets set up and smoothly the day of my wedding.

bookworm78

We are hiring one since we have a TON of set up that needs to be done for both the ceremony and reception. There is no way I want to be up on a ladder stringing lights in trees the day of my wedding. They are going to take care of all the set up and tear down which in itself is worth the money. Ours is going to be $1500 for the entire day, which is like 14 hours. And again, we have a ton of set up and tear down. 

They will also coordinate all of the vendors and deliveries. 

And make sure everything runs smoothly during the ceremony and reception. 

littlemoments324

Ours comes with one.  he'll stay until dinner is served and things will be good to go.

MeaganR12

Our venue comes with one. We have a 3 hour planning session in April and then she'll be at our rehearsal to help and the day of the wedding from 4-11.

BmoreBride311

Well, our venue comes with a coordinator, but I don't think she really is supposed to do all that the independent DOCs and WPs do. Like I have a lot of DIY crap to set-up, and I don't want the venue coordinator to be caught up in that when she really needs to be coordinating with the caterer and showing the DJ where the different equipment is, etc.... So I am hiring one of my mom's friends and her teenage daughter to help set-up. We haven't worked out the cost yet, but I am thinking about $200 for both of them (plus we will feed them, etc.). I think once the reception starts, their roles will pretty much be done.

Fabi&Nita

Our venue comes with one... well 2 her and her husband will set up and tear down. She is such a nice lady we like her a lot