New Here! :)

Re: New Here! :)

• rmontpas

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  Hi Trisquit,
  
  Congratulations. 
  
  I am eloping to Maui in less than 2 months.  I hired a small wedding co-ordination company.  As we are eloping my situation is completely different so I really don't have much for advice except to suggest you narrow your choice down and then speak to your choices by telephone.  I narrowed my choices down to 2 and then spoke to both of them and emailed back a forth quite a bit before I finally choose I that I feel complete confident in.
  
  Good luck in your search!

  

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• kimmykupcakes member

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  Congratulations and welcome.
  
  I didn't hire a coordinator.  I've done everything myself and haven't had any problem doing so.

  Tikilife Blog* Tiki Wedding Extravaganza Website* Maui Wedding Planning Site Updated 07.17.12
  

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• Sara4242

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  Congratulations!!

  
  

  I agree that if you decide you want a coordinator, you should talk with several before choosing one. On a much, much smaller scale than what you're planning, I pretty much planned out everything with two coordinators (to gauge things like responsiveness, consistency, flexibility, etc.) before I signed a contract with either of them (which was only about two weeks later). I started by emailing several with a rough idea of what I wanted, narrowed it down based on their responses, then worked out the details with my two 'finalists' over the phone and through email until I chose the one I went with.

  
  

  That said, looking back I kind of wish I'd done it without a coordinator. It really wasn't necessary in our case and I don't feel like what I paid was worth it for our very small, simple ceremony. Still, if you're reasonably organized, I think you could do it on your own with no problems, even with a larger event. 

  
  

  I can see why you'd want to set your date as soon as possible, but you should still absolutely take the next few weeks to enjoy being newly engaged!!

  

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• jtoly member

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  Welcome and congrats! I'm pretty sure I posted before but I guess TK ate it. I'm eloping as well so I have one person doing it all. It was a package deal. Good luck!

  ~jenn~

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• Tanq&Tonic

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  WELCOME!  And congrats!  The ladies above have some good advice.  I'm definitely an email gal, so to me, someone who could handle frequent email exchanges (as opposed to phone calls) was really important. 
  
  Here are the types of questions I'd ask in an introductory email:
  - Are you available for date XYZ (or range of dates)
  - Wedding group size (20, 50, 200) at location of choice
  - Interested in services a, b, and c
  - If available, could you recommend some times you are available for an introductory phone call?
  - Also, can you please provide a ballpark price structure?
  
  If you get a reply, and in a timeframe you can accept, schedule the first call.  The most important thing is really the vibe.  Get a feel for their style.
  - Do they over communicate?  Under communicate?  What should you expect, and what does it mean if you don't hear from them for a while?
  - Expected response time.  1 week until < 2 weeks before the wedding, then same day?  (for example)
  - Preferred method of communication -- phone?  email?  text?
  - Payment -- any nuances you should be aware of (eg, money order only)
  - Cost structure - flat fee?  % of total services booked?  Other?
  - Do you have full discretion to veto vendors if you don't like them, or bring your own if you find ones you really like? 
  - Does he/she manage all vendor relationships, or do you get to work with vendors directly?
  - Can he/she share sample invoices from events with services similar to yours so you can get a feel for comprehensive planning coverage?
  - Can he/she also share photos that correspond to those events so you can tie the execution to the price?
  - Once you sign a contract, are you free to add / remove things as needed, or are you fully locked in to the package?
  
  I think that's it.  From there, I'd say 80% of the coordinators got weeded out from there, and we ended up with 2 we were debating between.  The one we ultimately chose was just much more responsive over 2-3 emails & calls.

  

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• Triscuit14 member

  

  December 2011 edited December 2011

  Thanks, everyone! You all have some great ideas. Tanq, I wouldn't have even thought of half of those things, so thank you thank you thank you!
  
  I would love to plan the whole thing by myself, but I'm also going to be out of the country for a few months this spring with limited and extremely slow internet so I'm more comfortable having someone else coordinating.
  
  Thanks again and I'm really excited to be here with you guys!

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• jodiejulybride member

  

  December 2011

  Congrats!  It looks like Tanq pretty much covered all the practical stuff.  What I would add is to make sure that you click with the person.  That they can see your vision for your wedding and that you get a feeling that it is going to be almost as important to them as it is to you.  I hired a full package coordinator and what made the person that I choose stand apart from the other coordinators that I met with is that I could tell she genuinly cared.  And for me, that was something that was really important.  I didn't need someone that was super organized and anal (I'm that type of person!) I just needed someone who would listen to me talk about the details and understand the stresses and calm me down as I had my mini-meltdowns.  So, figure out what you need, and find the person that is going to compliment you because really I feel like your coordinator is going to be your partner in this crazy journey!  Good Luck and we're all here for you!  Aloha!

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