Is a day-of coordinator worth it?

It depends on your wedding itself. Are there a lot of vendors? Are there any special instructions from the venue? Have the vendors worked at that venue before? Etc.

If your wedding is a relatively simple one with minimum vendors and a straight forward venue, you don't HAVE to have one. If your venue is a little more complex or you're dealing with a variety of vendors that might need instruction, or you are just worried that you'll have a total meltdown if you're not 100% sure everything is going as planned, then you might think about getting one.

The venue I'm going with requires a DOC. So I have to get one. But when I think about it, it will be nice for me to be able to have fun getting ready and enjoy the fun instead of making sure that the flowers are on the right tables and the venue set up the guest book table where I wanted it.

If you do decide to go with one, be sure to shop around. I've seen DOCs charge insane prices. Make sure you're getting a good deal.

We didn't have one. Our reasons included:

* Our wedding and our at-home reception were on different days in different cities. Thus, we really would have had to have two DOCs to get the job done.

* At the ceremony, the only vendors were a) the hair and make-up person who did the two of us, b) the florist who delivered the bouquets/bout, and c) the photographer. Coordinating them was not a big deal.

* The luncheon reception immediately after the ceremony was extremely simple. It was just a luncheon for 14 people in the private dining room of a restaurant. We didn't add any decor or bring in a formal wedding cake. Thus, we were really dealing with only one vendor.

* At the at-home reception, almost everything was handled either by friendors, or by friends who volunteered. The only outside vendor was our hair and make-up person. We felt like we knew our friends, and what we could expect of them, much better than any outside DOC could.

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* Neither of us was going to go ballistic if things didn't go perfectly. We were both so thrilled to be able to get married after nine years together that a bomb could have gone off during our reception, and it still wouldn't have eliminated our euphoria.

My venue provided one. She was wonderful. I didnt have to worry about anything. She kept us on schedule and everything kept flowing just as it was suppose to. It was great having her.

A DOC can be helpful if you are juggling a lot of vendors, or if you have a bunch of things that need to happen in your reception venue while you are getting ready and/or having your ceremony. So you really need to look at your own situation to decide if one is worthwhile.

My recp hall supplies one and our ceremony is at the gardens so i don't have to worry about that. i'd say if you are having a big wedding with tons of people and different people go head and get one, but with a small one not at all. if you do decide to get one, be really careful cause some of them can be really expensive for just a few hours. i'd do a match vendors on here, so you can set how much your willing to spend and they'll match you with people in your budget. i've used it and it worked magic

It is completely worth it, if you get a good one with great recommendations and reviews and experience. Do your hw when researching experience and references.

The decision of hiring a day-of coordinator is dependent on many factors.

First, do you feel like you're well-organized and you have everything in its place ahead of time?

Second, do you feel comfortable "imposing" on family and friends to handle some of the details instead of enjoying themselves during your reception?

Third, do you feel comfortable "Letting go" of the control?

Fourth, although an on-site coordinator is often provided by venues, s/he will not be able to assist you with all the "before" details.. before you get to the venue.

In my opinion... if you want peace of mind, you're better off hiring a day-of coordinator.

I had to go ahead and hire one for myself even though I do wedding planning for other people sometimes lol. People keep asking me if I am going to do my own wedding and I was like I am planning the wedding but a DOC is a must!!! I have like 11 vendors involved. I need a ton of decorating help and I don't want to be the one running around looking for people and items, nor do I want my friends and family worrying about those things either. I want the day to run smoothly so I found someone who's is a great professional and gets along great with my personality so we can mesh well. I agree with the ladies in that is depends on the sort of wedding you are having. And not all good DOC's have to break the bank either...I think mine with everything I need her to do was only $550 which is a steal around here lol. I love her! Do some research and go for it if you need it and can afford it! :-)

SOOOOOO Worth it! Unless your wedding is closer to 2nd Bride's - you will have a TON of things to do and not enough dedicated hands. You'll regret not doing it.

If your venue doesn't have anyone there to help, I'd say it's definately worth it! You shouldn't have to worry about anything the day of and neither should anyone at or in your wedding. Put all of the pressure on someone else :o)

MCDJ Carlos.....You hit the nail on the head for me....I know I would have issues giving up control.

We should probably have one as this is only the third wedding done at our venue, and we are completely re-vamping a keeping room....but.....both the FH and I are control freaks. : )

If it will make your life easier, and it is in the budget, than go for it. But, you have to really think if in fact it will make your life easier.

Good luck!

Mine was invaluable! When I was first engaged, one of my recently married friend's said the one piece of advice she would highly recommend was a DOC. I wasn't sure about it but after looking into it my fiance and I decided to hire someone. It was one of the best decisions we made.

Depends on size of wedding and complexity. I'm having a small and simple wedding. There is one vendor to deal with the day of and that's the venue (which is a B&B). And I have a friend who volunteered to run around and handle problems and help with anything, so I'm giving her a list and letting her have at it. She's runs a lab for a living, so she's used to keeping everything running smoothly. And if anyone attempted to get between and controlling the food, my mother might kill them. So no DOC for me. But if there were going to be 10 vendors and over 100 guests, I would have.

A DOC can do one big thing for you that no one else can do...take the stress off of you and your family. I have done DOC for a wedding with only 35 people and 3 vendors. But the bride and groom and their family didn't worry about a thing. We made sure that the day ran smoothly and on schedule. We made sure that the dinner was served at the right time, that the cake cutting was done to the correct music. We made sure that the bride and groom got to eat, get a few private moments in the reception room before everyone came in. We made sure that the bride's parents didn't have to worry about making payments or tipping anyone...she handed us the envelopes and we delivered them.

So a DOC is peace of mind that you and your family will be able to enjoy your day and not worry. Also, most planners that provide DOC service actually start working with you a month ahead of time. They will help you make sure that all of your contract payments are made, items are delivered to the ceremony

(continued) site and reception site, any favors are distributed, etc.

If you can find the room in your budget try to hire a DOC. But definitely do your homework and read reviews, call references and find somone who makes you feel comofortable.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you. Good luck!

JenH.

www.simplysignificantevents.com

If your venue doesn't include one then you should probably consider having one.

As a Day-of Coordinator I offer to direct the entire wedding party through the rehearsal, and be behind the scenes on wedding day to make sure that everything gets done per the bride and groom's wishes.

I think that it's def. worth the money so neither you nor your family or BP have to worry about your personal items, the timeline, vendor management etc.

To get a better idea of what we do, take a look at everything I offer which is pretty standard for any DOC:

http://jensweddingblog.wordpress.com/day-of-coordinator/

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

-Jen

Mine was absolutely, 100% worth it.

I plan on havng one because that day you don't want to be stressing over anything.

We hired one (it was two of them) and I would do it again if I had to. They took care of EVERYTHING on that day so that we weren't bothered with little things, they set up all the favors, lined us all us and told us when to walk to the "chapel" at our venue, catered to my hubby and I (they were always checking on us to see if we needed more wine, appetizers etc.) and afterward they packed everything up that was on the tables (my centerpieces, stones, vases, candles, mirrors) and other personal belongings and the next day they returned my chair linens/table linens/tuxes. They were so worth it , I knew whatever came up that day they would be able to handle it without bothering me and they did. When I fiirst hired them FH kept telling me that it was a big waste of money but after the wedding day came and went he was glad that I hired them.