"DOC"...do I need one? Pros/Cons

I'm in the exact same position, but hesitant to to hire one because while my ceremony is in a park/garden, my reception venue has an on-site coordinator who will perform that role. I definitely wouldn't have all the responsibility fall on your family, especially since it sounds like you're looking to organize the entire wedding at the park and not just the ceremony. Maybe try using the vendor search on here to reach out to a few and see if it's in your budget?

Yeah, I didn't particularly want my family to have to do much of anything other than be there for me on that day.

I have a very good friend who has organized 2 weddings in the past 2 years, and has offered her assistance, but I that's just so much to put on someone.

I think I will take a look and see if there is someone in our budget that we can hire...I just want everyone (family and friends) to have a stress free day.

I LOVED having a DOC. Besides obviously the officiant, she was the best money I spent. I worried abut nothing all day. I say do it if it's in your budget.

I've found a couple in my area that have really good, high ratings and good reviews.

I can't wait to talk to them and see if its something we can afford.

Thanks for the recommendation!

On-site coordinators are there to make sure everything at the venue is running smoothly - but they don't care about the details of your wedding. They make sure the food is right, the staff is in order, etc. But a DOC has only one priority - YOU and your day. She will deal with set up, watching the card table, fielding questions, direct vendors, etc. In a public park, vendors will have a LOT of questions about power sources, locations, etc. and likely your family will not be able to help. I'd get a DOC.

If you have multiple (I'd say 3 or more) vendors, people who need to be paid, a strict timeline, OR specific decor details that need to be set up on the day of, I would absolutely get a DOC. Otherwise, I would say no. I'm not 100% sure from your OP which side you would fall on.

I was in a wedding a while back without a DOC, and I will say that I spent the entire night (and several hours after the wedding was over) working. My boyfriend barely saw me all night. If you don't hire someone to do the work, someone from your friends or family will step up - you may never even know that it happened - but that's not really a fair position to put them in.

Some weddings don't need it though. If all your stuff is being taken care of by the venue, or if you have a day before and after the wedding to do the setup/breakdown yourself, or if it's super casual, it's really not needed.

In my case, my venue wasn't sure if a DOC would be available since they were making some staff changes. at the time I didn't get it much thought since our wedding was to be small, and as simple as I could get away with. I wanted no nonsense.

fast forward some months, my MOH texted me telling me she couldn't get off work, so she wasn't coming. she was to be the one to help me get ready. a friend of my grooms who was doing a reading was to help a bit with the few things we had to do, so wasn't too worried about all that, but I was all stressed out afraid that getting ready alone was going to be hard, take longer and be a big let down.

a few weeks before the wedding I get a email from a gentleman telling me that he was to be the DOC for my wedding day, the venue was tossing him in for free, and he was so excited! the day of the wedding, he introduced himself and told me that he was my fairy god father!

and he was! he helped me get ready, gave the ok on my make up questions when i wanted a second opinon, dabbed my eyes when I had a unplanned bawling session, and fussed over me within a inch of my life.

he also went and pulled out all the linens I wanted that I didn't think I was getting fromt he church, helped set some things, up, it was great!

that is the one thing I can name where I had to eat crow on the wedding planning. since I was just to be at the wedding venue for a few hours, not much decorating or set up, I always thought 'I don't need a DOC'

looking back, I dont' know what I would have done without him!

even if he'd just been there to dab my eyes and tell me I looked amazing when i felt insecure, that alone would have been worth it.

here's a pic of him helping me out with my veil and checking my make up after I was done crying my eyes out. I was so happy to have his help!

I would definitely get a DOC! You will be SO much less stressed on the day of than you would be if you didn't have one. You, your family, and your bridal party will all be much more relaxed and since its YOUR day, you definitely want to enjoy it as much as you can!

Yes!!! The only CON I can think of is if she or he is out of your budget!

I just emailed one here in town with the details. I'm pretty sure my mom will be ok with paying for it, since everything else has been inexpensive.

The more I think about it, the more I just want for everything to be stress free, and it sounds like an amazing way to ensure that I won't have to worry about a thing.

Thanks guys. I'll keep you posted on if we end up booking!

My DOC comes with my venue and is my main contact for the big day. I'm so excited to have her. Her and her team are taking care of everything so that I have nothing to worry about the day of the wedding. I highly recommend getting one. It's nice knowing that all of the small details are being taken care of.

Our venue also comes with a DOC. I really want our families to be able to enjoy the day with us with as little stress as possible. The day will be hectic enough without having to oversee everything.

My venue comes with a bridal attendant which will be there to make sure I am okay and eat and etc. and my florist informed me she would set the tables up for me. I am still unsure if I am getting a DOC. If it is in the budget closer to the wedding I just may.

There are no cons to having a DOC! Think of having a DOC being as important as wearing a wedding dress, every wedding will benefit from having one. Ours did every little thing imaginable from making sure we remembered to sign the marriage license to having safety pins when my bustle broke, to fixing my bouquet flowers, to putting our champagne glasses on the table to coordinating our grand entrance, etc etc etc. Even my guests commented how amazing it was that if they needed anything she was always right there to help!! Throw your money at a good one and don't look back!!!

Yeah, I'm definitely liking the idea more and more.

I'm going to talk to mom about the budget tonight...

I had two friends offer to help, but you know...I just don't want to rely on someone and have them NOT come through for me. At least I feel like if I'm paying someone for their services, I should be able to count on them to get me through...plus the reviews the company has on here are great.