Full Wedding Planner vs. Month of / Day of Coordination

I think it depends on what your end game is. A full service planner will bring you vendor recommendations, attend meetings, help you plan your wedding from the very beginning. A DOC takes the vendors you have chosen and works with them and you to make sure everything that you have planned comes together in one coherent day. A DOC typically will not meet 3-5 times over a few months, they will meet 2-3 times max about 6-8 weeks before your wedding. An MOC will, as will a partial planner.

Thanks Brandy that is helpful. I've spent the last hour looking at a lot of websites and do see that there are a ton of options, full planner, partial, month off, day of... I am to far along to need the full planner, but the month of seems to be the best fit.

Hi Jana, I see your photo is on Baker Beach I hired a full service wedding planner because I am having a destination wedding and needed a lot of suggestions or advice on local vendors from someone who was based there. She has been very helpful and organized. So glad I hired her.

I already had the major things booked and picked out so there was no need for a full planner. I hired a DOC to take care of the timeline and set up the decor the day of.

We had a site coordinator. She was great and did more than a lot of site coordinators would do. She, however, did little to help with overall vision, help with decor, help with anything that happened outside of our venue. So, what do you feel comfortable doing? What do you want help with? What do you want someone to do for you? And what can you afford?

I am doing a day of coordinator. She comes with unlimited emails, 1 site visit before, and 2 in person meetings. I love planning so I didn't need a full planner. My DOC has been amazing thus far and I'm also confident in my abilities to get everything lined up for her to execute. I do keep her in the loop by emailing her atleast once a month. She gets a copy of all of my contracts so she knows what vendors she will be working with!

@thejadecoast Yes Baker Beach was our photographers suggestion. Glad he chose it. Are you having your wedding in San Francisco?

I'm looking to do the same thing as you @FutureMrs.C having someone who can assist with setting up all my decor and possibly taking it all down and removing it from the venue for me too.

I hired a day of coordinator because I wanted to do most of the planning myself with my fiancé, but still want the day of coordinator there to help take care of things and make it less stressful. She's already helped me so much and my wedding isn't till June, I think it's worth it.

Like you, I didn't want my family to have to take care of anything.

You could do what I did - I found a wedding planner who does bespoke ("made to order") planning. In essence, she sat down with me for a consult and asked me what kind of services I was looking for and gave me a custom quote on the spot. I had planned the majority of my wedding and only needed help in the design aspect (colors, themes, decor, florals, etc). In the end I hired her for this, and also for set up and tear down of the decor.

My venue comes with a DOC but it can really vary on how helpful that is. Ultimately they are working for the venue, not you and in my case I think she is more there to keep timelines for the ceremony and dinner, as well as coordinate the vendors coming in. I like having someone whose sole job is to make me/us happy.

Remember, the venue's coordinator is usually there to make sure everything the venue needs to do runs smoothly.

In 27 years in the wedding business, I have had only ONE venue planner ever reach out to me as a wedding florist or officiant (The Landing Resort & Spa, South Lake Tahoe) to check in with me on delivery/set-up times, how many centerpieces, where to park, etc.

On the day of, the venue planner is usually overseeing the venue staff getting things set-up. They are making sure that the tables and linens are set up, the tableware is on the table correctly, checking with the kitchen for serving timelines, etc. A very important job, but they are not attending to YOUR details. Don't assume that they - or your floral designer - will set up your escort cards, favors, and other details. That is what your DOC does.

The venue planner is different than the DOC that you hire for yourself. Don't assume that DOC will do tear-down unless it is in the contract. And tear-down could be different than clean-up. Check the contract. If you are renting a private facility, you may need to leave it "broom clean." That means everything needs to be taken out: floral decor (petals, centerpieces, arch sprays, etc), trash, everything. Did I remind you to check the contract??

No, our DW will be in Maui and I live in the Bay Area. Where are you planning on getting married?

I think it is important to have someone who is a outside party working for you to make your details flow together. I usually meet with clients several times and then also over the phone and email to make sure all the wedding day details are covered. I also reach out to vendors and field any of their concerns to timeline and venue prior to day of. My DOC packages are never just DOC, they always extend well beyond.