To hire a day-of-coordinator or not?

Oh girl! Hire the day of coordinator. No matter the size of the wedding, you need someone to take over. We will have about 60-65 guests, and I am thrilled our venue offered this. It is an additional $500, and honestly I would have paid more just for the peace of mind.

We think we're going to have about 50 people. 100000% hire one. They're not just there for day of. They're there if you have any questions about anything as well. I just emailed mine and asked her how many cupcakes and donuts she thinks I should order based on the amount of guests we think we'll have. They also will handle all of your vendors the month of. You give your coordinator your timeline and they will deal with the vendors and what time to show up and where to set up when they arrive and dealing with making sure your day stays on time. They will also help you set up day of and most I believe will do your 30 day walk through with you. I do say never book a vendor without a zoom or phone call. You want to make sure you vibe with them. Especially someone like your coordinator. Making sure you guys mesh well is super important! We're paying ours $750. She's not affiliated with our venue

Our venue requires it. Though I wasn’t thrilled about having to pay for one, I think it’ll be really helpful. We’re paying her $900, which was the cheapest I could find in the area (Florida Keys).

I would recommend it if it’s within the budget. Having a day of coordinator will take a huge weight of your shoulders, help guide everyone and events throughout the day. They will think of things you missed or won’t have thought about. And if there’s any questions or issues, they will be the person of contact for that.

A DoC is an absolute must in my book. Ours: made sure vendors were organized, made sure the chairs were lined up nicely (and then moved for the reception), made sure H and I didn't see each other, directed guests to the right places, did some basic errands around the property while we were getting ready, and 1000 other tiny things that made our day run smoothly.

A month of coordinator is a life saver and a must have. They tie up all the loose ends after you get the majority done and make sure the day runs smoothly behind the scenes. That keeps your guests from having to work and you don’t have to deal with anything beyond having a great time.



I’ve worked at many weddings as an emergency day of coordinator where I went in thinking I would only be a guest and didn’t get to enjoy anything because I barely saw it outside of a worker’s perspective. That cemented the idea that it’s a non negotiable must.

I wasn't going to hire one and then I realized I had so much to stuff to do that day because we have to decorate both spaces and get ready and worry about vendors, etc... that I was like NOPE, I need to have someone who's entire job was execution day of... I want to enjoy my wedding, not get pulled in 1500 directions because the DJ and the photo booth guys are late and where are they and someone call them!! There's enough of that anyway... So i found someone for $600 for the day who had worked at my venue before... wasn't originally part of my plan, but I needed to bite the bullet for my sanity.

I wasn't going to hire one either until i realized the status of my logistics and the stress it was bringing me lol

basically my reception is 15 minutes [2 miles ish] away from my ceremony - so it made no sense to have a gap. a lot of people have a gap so that they can take photos, prepare for the reception, etc. makes a lot of sense for some to have a gap. it didn't for me though. i also liked the flow of the schedule without a gap.

basically my ceremony was at 5pm to end at 5:30pm. the reception didn't allow anyone to come in til 4:30p because that was just their hours. my reception i wanted to start at 6pm. so i hired a day of coordinator to do the decorating and set up of the reception and to handle the vendors [dj/photobooth/cake delivery]

Personally, I think if you can afford it, it's a must. They'll deal with hearding your vendors, making sure everything gets set up/ torn down, keeping to the schedule, getting guests where they need to be, act as a point of contact for anyone who has a last-minute question, handle all of the things you want to hang onto at the end of the night (veil, cake topper, etc.), and handle any unplanned emergencies. All the while you, your new spouse, and all of your guests can enjoy themselves.

Thank you, everyone! I think this is something I could really benefit from. I’ve reached out to some day-of-coordinators already, so hopefully it’ll work out for us!

Day of coordinator was included as part of my venue’s package. Honestly I don’t think it would have made a difference if they weren’t there. I would just coordinate: have your MOH coordinate with the vendors. The one benefit I had was that they knew the venue so they took us to where we were taking photos. Other than that I don’t then it would have been worth it to hire someone outside. A wedding planner however could be different if you were thinking about that. I planned my wedding in 3 months by myself so I can’t speak from any experience but I’ve heard they can take a lot of stress away. Hope this helps!

Hire one! They are so helpful and really take a lot of stress off of your shoulders. They are worth every penny. I don't remember how much I paid, but I know that without her on my wedding day, I would have been lost.

100% suggest getting a day of coordinator. I was the MOH in a wedding that didn't (around 70 people maybe?) and without meaning to, all of that responsibility fell on me. While everyone was getting ready with my best friend in the whole world, I was running around drenched in sweat trying to coordinate with all the vendors. I missed so much and felt super unappreciated and undervalued. If you don't think your family will step in for that, it's likely that YOU will! Even with a small wedding, coordination is needed and the vendors will need some direction!