Do you think I need a wedding planner?

stellaella

I'm not sure where to post this. Sorry if it's in the wrong section.

My wedding is 120 people. We're doing everything standard, nothing over the top. 

Do you think most people should hire a day of wedding coordinator? My mom is on the ball and has offered to help, as has my FSMIL.  

Is a day of coordinator necessary or a waste of money? 

shortee426

I think a DOC is very important.  You don't want to bothered with the little things on your wedding day, and neither would your mother.  I want to be able to focus on getting married, not if the florist is there yet.

Talk to your venue to see if they have someone.  Sometimes venues have someone they provide (either already included in the price you paid for for an additional fee).

Summer2011Bride

I would highly suggest it, for reasons the PP mentioned. Our reception venue is about 30 min. away from our ceremony, so logistically it would be fairly impossible for me or my mother to be present there and make sure everything runs smoothly. I think it will alleviae a lot of stress for you to have a DOC.

mica178

You don't, but if you have it in your budget, I'd do it.

My venue provided mine.  She was great.  I didn't have to worry about the cake delivery or about any set up.  I spent the whole wedding morning with my BMs drinking champagne and getting our hair done.  For all the work leading up to my wedding, the last couple days were relatively stress-free.

GeauxTigers17

I think the day-of deal is a good idea as well. I didn't really realize how much stuff has to happen on the actual day until my mom bought one of those binders, and looking at their mock up "schedule" made me nervous just to think about it. 

Our church has a woman who runs things at the ceremony, but I think we're going to have to find someone to do it for the reception for the same reasons Summer mentioned. 

ootmother2

nah, you've got a mom, what more do you need?

squirrly

The biggest question for me in this is:  how is your decorating getting done?  There's no way I could have put our reception decor together the day of.  The events manager at our venue put the tables together.  Other than that, I really didn't need help.  I put together a very detailed schedule and shared with all the vendors, the event manager, etc., and everybody ran based on that. 

If you're not super detail oriented, it might be worthwhile.  If you are and want to save the money, it's feasible. 

smokeybailey

Depends on your venue. 

Maybe your venue includes someone to make sure that the buffet is set up, the DJ is let in and the cake makes it.  I am SURE there was someone at the hotel doing those things but we never saw him/her the day of my sister's wedding.

I mean there was someone who started the music at the ceremony and asked us to sign the license or whatever but that's all she did....

tidetravel

It wasn't in our budget, so we didn't have a DOC.  My SIL offered to help with the setup and act as our DOC.  If I could have done it all over again, I would have found the money to hire someone professionally.  My SIL did the best that she could, but was from OOT, was unfamiliar with the venue and much of the little details that I had planned.  Everything was fine, of course, it's just that there were little things that weren't done the way that they should have been; of course those were things that only I noticed. 

The thing with relying on family/friends is that in the event that something goes drastically wrong, you really don't have any way to pursue restitution.  Making any sort of fuss over something not done correctly, even if justified, could affect your relationship for years to come.

stellaella

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_think-need-wedding-planner?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:f20ddf75-bda4-4c4a-bbed-6e5be4fdd41ePost:a2c342da-6377-48ca-8185-41a2899bbc22">Re: Do you think I need a wedding planner?</a>:
[QUOTE]The biggest question for me in this is:  how is your decorating getting done?  There's no way I could have put our reception decor together the day of.  The events manager at our venue put the tables together.  Other than that, I really didn't need help.  I put together a very detailed schedule and shared with all the vendors, the event manager, etc., and everybody ran based on that.  If you're not super detail oriented, it might be worthwhile.  If you are and want to save the money, it's feasible. 
Posted by squirrly[/QUOTE]

<div>Good question. I didn't think about that.  The only decor we're having is centrepieces and the florist is delivering / setting them up.</div><div>
</div><div>The night before after the rehearsal, fiance and I are setting everything else up (candles, place tags, pictures, money box etc.) </div>

tidetravel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_think-need-wedding-planner?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:f20ddf75-bda4-4c4a-bbed-6e5be4fdd41ePost:9ada0f20-29c7-4fa9-847c-caf71a094620">Re: Do you think I need a wedding planner?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Do you think I need a wedding planner? : Good question. I didn't think about that.  The only decor we're having is centrepieces and the florist is delivering / setting them up. The night before after the rehearsal, fiance and I are setting everything else up (candles, place tags, pictures, money box etc.) 
Posted by stellaella[/QUOTE]
Who's cleaning up after?

squirrly

Make a master list, as best you can, of every single thing that needs to be done the day of.  Every thing.  No matter how big or small.  Now, put names on that.  Got stuff that doesn't have a name?  That's what you need to sort out.  If it's 1 thing, it's probably easy to get that taken care of.  10 things?  Eh, maybe you need a coordinator. 

ootmother2

Serious note.  The venue had a DOC so she took care of everything I didn't.  And that was a good deal

MissOwl

Do it! I have been a bridesmaid or guest TOO MANY TIMES at a wedding where the bride and groom didn't plan for cleanup. Cleaning up while other people drink and party sucks!

smokeybailey

But does a DOC clean up?  Don't you need a clean up crew for that?

When we wrapped up the reception at the hotel, waitstaff came in and cleaned up, not a DOC-type person.

tidetravel

Smokey - I was thinking the reception decorations; candles, centerpieces, etc.  Maybe the venue takes care of that.

smokeybailey

Tide, I should have quoted.  That was more pointed at MissOwl.

I still don't know if a DOC would pick up centerpieces, but what do I know.  I haven't gotten married yet.

That's what all you old married hags are around for.

tenofcups4me

Depnds on the venue and the other vendors you've got. For my first wedding, the site had an on-site coordinator and what they called a maitre d' for the reception portion. Florist did most of the decor, site did the rest. Site did the tear-down and florist picked up the next day. I coordinated with band leader and photographer and the site on the schedule and everything went smoothly. A separate day-of-coordinator would have been superfluous and a waste of money for me. But I guess it could be worthwhile if you don't have other vendors who will be handling all the coordination.

tidetravel

We had a ton of DIY stuff, and set up/broke down the wedding ourselves.  We could leave the tables and chairs where they were, and the caterer took the linens and their stuff, but everything else had to be boxed up and taken home.  DH and I stayed to clean up, along with our parents and the WP, and then we all went out to shoot pool

[Deleted User]

We did not have a DOC coordinator, however, the guy at the venue was sort of like our everything. He was the chef and he also helped us (even though we did the majority of it) helped us set up and decorate a few days before the wedding. He also helped us clear and pack up all of the centerpieces and mirrors for us to take home.

This is something you may get mixed suggestions on around here, but IMO, I really didn't see it necessary, but just a waste of money. I feel like as long as you are really organized and have help from family and friends (if needed) they day/night of the wedding, you can manange without one and save the money.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

DOC was the best decision I ever made. I had no idea what time it was most of the night. Not only did she set up our whole reception (so my family, who was visiting from OOT, didn't have the help), but she kept us on schedule - dinner, announcement, speeches, first dance, cake cutting. She had everything packed up at the end of the night in about 10 minutes, too.

Edit: my reception was in the restaurant part of a country club, so they had people to clear plates, take the linens, break down tables and the dance floor. The basically provided the catering and the basic "rentals." The DOC just handled my stuff/stuff not owned by the venue.

squirrly

On tear down for us, the venue did it.  We were their first wedding ever, so we actually gave them some of the stuff (vases, candle holders, cake stand I made, etc.).  The rest they boxed up and my dad picked it up for us while we were on our HM.  (He golfs out there a couple times a week.) 

Make that list. 

zantster

I hired one simply because I am a total worry wart and the last thing I want to have to worry about is being politically correct if I need to firmly state my dissatisfaction with something.  I would not be able to truly say what is on my mind to a close family member of friend.  I of course do not expect anything to go awry, but if I just feel like bugging or nagging someone ad nauseum on that day in order to stay reassured of things going smoothly I don't want to have to think twice about it.