Who is responsible for the decor/ details?

You're responsible for decor, but, for example, if you want floral decor, your florist is responsible. I made all of decor and we didn't have (or need) a ton. Our DOC/venue staff set everything up, though, if that's what you mean. You CAN hire decor people, though, we just didn't as we focused budget on what our guests care about (booze, food, DJ).

Yes that's what I mean...I just saw so many unique details and decor (not just florals) in those photos that it made me wonder if brides hired special decor people or if it was the florist or DOC. I'm now worried that my decor might be boring!

Most contracts say you have to leave the place as you find it. Event coordinators and vendors will coordinate delivery and pick up. If not, you have to hire someone to remove it.

The DOC, wedding coordinator for the church and florists did ours.

I just didn't have any. I would have been totally overwhelmed, stressed, and they would have come out terribly, almost guaranteed. And, you know what-- even with no centerpieces, table runners, chair bows, etc, we were still married at the end of the day, and are still happily so 17 years later!

I didn't have a doc, so I worked with my vendors that I did have to make sure my decor was taken care of. My caterer put out the table runners, candles and table numbers that I bought. My florist did the centerpieces and also put out my tissue pompoms I made for aisle decor. My cake baker did the cake topper. My dh arrived at the venue early with my dad, and they both made sure everything was set up.

I also worked to make sure everything was very organized. I had everything packed in plastic bins, ready to be put out.

For clean up my dj and caterer both helped a ton. We packed everything back in the plastic bins to take home.

Decor gets a lot of press--magazines, Pinterest, etc.--because it's something easy to photograph. And while for you personally, it's the photos of friends and relatives you're likely to treasure in future years, those are not going to be of interest to readers of magazines or Pinterest. So decor is a lot less important than you might suspect from what you read.

On the other hand, if you want decor, you'll need to figure out who will be responsible both for decorating in advance, and for cleaning it up when the night is over. That could be you, someone else who volunteers, or someone you hire (florist, decorator, DOC, etc.). Just remember to figure it out in advance. I see a lot of brides trying to save money by doing a ton of DIY projects. But if you have to hire someone to put out the decorations and then clean them up later, the decorations may not be as inexpensive as they seem.

Our venue does set up and take down including decor for a $200 fee, and that's an expense I'm happy to pay! I just need to meet with the wedding coordinator in advance and tell her what we want / give her the raw materials.

FH and I will be doing all of our decorating and un-decorating. Our venue only comes with tables and chairs, we will need to bring all other services in. We do however have our venue for a total of 3 days, Friday we will be setting up and decorating, Saturday the wedding and Sunday is for cleanup. We both have the entire week off after the wedding and we are not taking a honeymoon so we will have that entire time to enjoy each other. And like Natalie, FH and I are very organized. We have everything in plastic totes, already marked so when we get to the venue we will know what is inside and where it goes.

We have a florist doing centerpieces, event coordinator at the venue does the tables/linens and set up, and I will be giving her just a few items that need to be put out for cake cutting or the sweetheart table. You could have a DOC do this as well, but we opted to have our DOC with our guests on the shuttle to make sure there are no problems, and that there are seats saved for our grandparents in the front. The DOC will stay behind at the end of the night and clean up for us

Don't make yourself crazy over details. And do keep in mind that much of what you see on Pinterest and in mags is from styled shoots; arranged by vendors to make themselves look wonderful. Often no budget and no timeframe.

I did 90% of my decorating myself. My mom and FMIL helped with ironing table linens and a few other things, but many of my decorations were DIY. My in-laws had recently opened a farm wedding venue in the mountains of Western PA, and since they owned it, I was able to come a few days early and decorate which made a huge difference. My parents, in-laws, and a few friends helped us take down the decorations after the wedding.

www.lindsayeileenphotography.shootproof.com/spanglervarnerwedding

We hired someone to do the decor and the floral for our wedding. She was great!! I knew that decor was not something I would excel at and I didn't want to stress out my family with trying to set things up on the day of and try to get themselves ready. I found the company through my DOC. It was completely worth the expense and everyone told me how beautiful it was. She did up lighting, floral decor, linens, helped with rentals, signage, cake tables, escort cards, etc. She had a team to help set up and also did tear down at the end of the night. If you have the budget, I say go for it. My fiancé and I did save up for our wedding for two years and spent a fair bit, but it was worth every penny!

Thanks all! Great advice as usual!

Ditto to what Kara said. I have a friend who does event design (including floral), who will be handling everything. All bouquets, ceremony decor & reception decor is his responsibility. He brings in a team to do setup & tear down (I've helped him with a few weddings in the past) & always does a terrific job.

He's probably slightly more expensive than just a florist, but to not have to worry about sourcing most rentals & not do any dyi stuff (not my forte), it's totally worth the money. Plus my family & bp won't have to worry about doing any of those things the day of.