Best decision we made
The BEST decision we made when planning our wedding was hiring Rebecca of RMP. I don't want to get cheesy or dramatic here, but I tear up when I think about how amazing she made our day and the weeks leading up to it. If you read nothing else from this review, read this: HIRE REBECCA.
My husband and I did a more-or-less DIY wedding and made efforts to keep costs low for our daytime, all-in-one venue brunch wedding. However, in the month before the wedding, we realized how difficult it was going to be to execute our ideas with just the catering team and ourselves. With less than a month left before our wedding, we began contacting day-of coordinators and spoke with a few in email and phone before deciding that Rebecca was 'the one.' She was by far the most professional and prepared one we spoke to, with a proposal of how she would be able to join the team so late and make it happen.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Rebecca solved so many problems we didn't even know we had. Turns out, you should really read those contracts! She went to bat for us on a few things that we had in contracts with vendors when they tried to change things. There were several problems that we didn't know we had simply because wedding planning isn't our full time job. The week before the date, she offered to relieve us of the vendor communication so we could (try to) relax and enjoy the days leading up to the event--I couldn't have thanked her more for that. It was non-stop wedding for so long that detaching right at the end was exactly what I needed.
Rebecca used a wedding planning website for all communication, which made it so easy to track where we were in the planning process, coordinate with the vendors, design layouts, make lists for things like specific pictures we wanted to photographer to get, etc. She was so organized!
The day of the wedding, Rebecca was our everything. She decorated our tables, arranged the ceremony materials, coordinated with all the vendors, and directed guests, and us, through the whole event. Things you don't think about, like where you go after you exit the ceremony or when to tell the DJ that we're ready to enter the reception--she thought of it and directed us and worked with the whole team. Rebecca did it all seamlessly. If there were problems, I didn't know about them. She made sure that we just enjoyed the day without a concern.
I wish we had had the foresight to hire her from the start because the month leading up to the event would have been so much less stressful--she would have seen these problems and solved them many months before. But, if you are reading this last minute, get her for day-of coordination! She does so much more than just day-of work. If you are reading this months out, hire her. Seriously. Just stop reading the countless pages of reviews for all these other planners.
Hire Rebecca.