Wedding planner or no wedding planner that is the question?!

I will be hiring a day of coordinator because it's required at my venue.

I also considered maybe hiring someone for partial planning but I've already done a lot of the planning myself and booked some vendors already. So just going to do the day of coordinator to make sure the day of will run smoothly!

I’m just hiring a doc. I’ve already done all the other work. I needed a doc to decorate and keep the timing together for the day!

I did everything myself ... that’s money that can be spent elsewhere ... my venue offers a DOC included in the price so I won’t have much to worry about on the day.

We have a day of coordinator which I hear is highly recommended. I’m really glad the venue provides that!

Prices will depend on location, but a full-service wedding planner for only $5700 would be an absolute heck of a great deal where I am. In my city, wedding planners generally start at a minimum of $10k. But we certainly didn't want to pay that, so we went with a DOC instead. I would recommend going the DOC route in your case.

No wedding planner for me I have a go to person / people I may run things by. But I do have a wedding director for the day of.

If you have most of your vendors already, just go with a day of coordinator to help you set up and make sure everything flows as it should.

I recommend a day of... it should be cheaper? Unless that was a quote for a day of! Eeks. I would never have friends or family be in charge of anything. But if you have someone who is volunteering, then go for it!

Do you want someone to plan the event and you show up akin to a guest or plan the majority yourself, pick what you want and let them tie up the loose ends during the last month? There are two levels of service. Most brides go for the latter and get a month-of coordinator who ties up loose ends, keeps the day running smoothly behind the scenes. They make sure that all vendors are on the same page and take care of last minute hiccups so no one notices. Your family/friends are not able to do that.


Also many venues require a month of coordinator at minimum. While they have a venue coordinator, the venue coordinator is only concerned with venue-specific details such as people arriving on time, cleanup/leaving on time. They won't do squat if your vendors have issues or anything else that a month-of coordinator is skilled at and focuses on.
Price depends on your location so check Instagram for your city and Yelp.

A good wedding planner is always a yes!

I personally wouldn't pay that much for a wedding planner. I would search for a DOC instead.

I wouldn't pay that much for a wedding planner, especially when I can do everything myself. I agree with pp, I would look for a DOC instead.

I didn't hire a wedding planner because I prefer to do everything myself and have a hand in it all. I also like to do things on my timeline, rather than someone else's. We do have a DOC which is a MUST in my opinion. They help with everything the day-off and will coordinate with your vendors and the venue to make sure everything runs smoothly. This is the person that will handle any mishaps, and direct everyone to make sure you wedding and timeline run smoothly.

I hired a Wedding Coordinator/Planner, but the pricing is closer to $1000. I recommend looking around to find someone more in your price range! I actually found my Wedding Coordinator/Planner here on Wedding Wire and I love her

View Quoted Comment Unfortunately the planner I connected with most still wants $2500 for “month of coordination” because she won’t do day of.

View Quoted Comment For full service I could maybe justify the cost. But I’ve already secured all my vendors etc. She wouldn’t be doing much between now and my wedding date. Her day of or month of services are still $2500

View Quoted Comment I’m pretty happy coordinating on my own. It’s mainly the day of I want to ensure everything is set up correctly! I’m just mind blown at the cost of things

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I would continue searching honestly, but that's only because in my area DOCs don't cost that much.

Ours isn't a month-of coordinator, she just does day-of, but will be meeting with us a few times before our wedding to make sure everything is in order. I don't really think a MOC is necessary either. I'd keep searching for someone with a lower cost!

At the very least, get a day off coordinator. You NEED one

I skipped the planner and just hired a day-of coordinator!

Our venue has a day of coordinator so we’re working with family for other planning. A friend of mine is planning a wedding a few days after mine and has found it really helpful having a planner, especially with tackling covid precautions etc but the planner gave her a deal (not sure how much but we’re in CA) because of covid and her having a DOC already