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hi beachbride,
check out this wiki article on day of coordinators:
http://wiki.weddingbee.com/Day_of_coordinator
we paid $1500 4 years ago in manhattan (i believe our planners now charge $2500... things are pricier here), and it was worth every penny! i didn't worry about a thing because they were so on top of things. all the little things you mention -- our planners took care of it.
i see that you're in florida... mrs. petunia hired a doc in florida, but i'm not sure if you're in the same area...
what part of florida are you in?
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Well, we have an coordinator and she is wonderful. We got a really good deal for $1200 but she is helping us with everything. I went to one of the events that she was hosting. And since I went to her event she gave us a major discount. Maybe you can do some research for some up coming wedding coordinator events in your area and then go from there. I hope this helps
Hi! I'm also planning a lot of my wedding before and DIYing many things (such as some centerpieces, candy buffet, etc). We decided to have a DOC simply because we didn't want to have to worry about setting things up and picking up the vases, linens, and stuff afterwards. She's $900 for the day, but she's also really good about going to vendor meetings with us, and she's attending/directing the rehearsal. We're in Boston, wedding in Newport, RI. HTH!
a DOC is definitely worth it! that way all the things that can go wrong and all the details are taken care of so you don't have to stress about it on your big day! even if you take care of everything before the big day, there needs to be a point person because things always come up.
to be honest, my husband and i just asked good friends to be our coordinators. we had one friend for the ceremony, another for the reception and another to be my "bridal attendant/coordinator" all day. if you ask good friends, it's nice to split the responsibilities between a few people so they can enjoy at least some part of the wedding. i was afraid that my friends wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the day but the people i asked were honestly so willing to help. we met with them each a few times before the wedding day so they knew what was going on. just be careful to ask friends that have either done this before or are generally responsible/on-task people. our wedding went off without a hitch pretty much. and we got them each a gift card so it was less than $300.
Mrs Bee, I'm in South Florida & I'm getting married in the Keys.
You guys all make really good points-- thanks! I don't really have any friends that I could ask to help the day of. Actually, I do, but they are all IN the wedding party, so I think it would be a little hard for them to do it. I can't expect them to be getting their hair and makeup done, be ready early for pictures, AND go set up the stuff! :)
So I guess I'll do some reasearch and see what options are out there. Perhaps I can find someone a little more reasonable within my budget.
Does anyone know of a good wedding coordinator in the Miami/South Florida area?
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I know everyone says that day of coordinators were with every penny, but we did not get one and everything went just as smoothly. We had an on-site coordinator (mostly a catering manager) who we met with the week of the wedding. Her team did all of the set up including placecards, card box, items for the ceremony, etc... She also handled checking in all of the vendors, telling everyone when to walk for the ceremony, and making sure things ran smoothly. I did have bridesmaids going to find items before the ceremony (like an extra bout when my brother's broke 5 minutes before the ceremony) but they weren't running around like crazy and were usually standing around just hanging out. The only other assigned job was for my mom to give final checks to vendors - she forgot 1, but we just mailed it later. I think if you have a good on-site coordinator then you don't necessarily need a day of coordinator. I know several friends haven't had coordinators either and everything has gone well. Just my two cents.
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I was wondering the same thing, so thanks for asking about this.
Everyone insists that the catering manager should be able to handle everything, but with lots of little details it can be scary to just leave it up to him/her, especially as they have to also take care of the food and drinks and such.
I would ask your catering manager if he or she will be able to do all these little things you need. you WILL, however, need to assign someone to collect everything up at the end of the night, as far as I understand. For example, my brother and sister in law bought the vases for their wedding and the morning after we all had to go and wrap and pack them up. Also they had a friend gather the toasting flutes and such at the end of the night. Anyway I say just ask your venue!
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i have a full coordinator for an AMAZING price... but from what i am told - you need AT LEAST a day of... so that you can truly enjoy your day - hassle free!
I would check with your on-site coordinator to see what they actually provide. Our on-site coordinator did all of this type of stuff for us. As for the ceremony rehersal, you could appoint a non-wedding party family member of friend to walk through it. Good luck and happy planning! Mrs. Pinot Noir
You all make a great point. At my next on-site meeting, I will ask the coordinator/Catering Manager <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold">exactly what she will handle the day of the wedding. If she (or another staff member) is able to set up the notecards, put out the napkins at the cocktail hour, assign a kitchen staff member to set up the candy bar if we need one, etc, then I think I'll be fine with her.
If she doesn't handle those types of things, then I'll probably hire a DOC. I am also going to research DOCs in my area to get an idea of price range.
Thanks ladies!
If you have any more suggestions, send them my way!
I have a week of coordinator becuase it was a unanimous response from almost every bride i talked to about what they would or wouldnt do again :"HAVE A COORDINATOR AT LEAST FOR THE DAY!!" It was such an overwhelming response from a variety of women that we figured it out how to have a week of coordinator.
We are having a day of and she will cost us about $500.
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Totally worth it and no regrets at all. Even the Mr. agreed that it was the best decision ever.
YEs, hands down, best money I spent. LOVED my DOC. Amazing, totally worth it. Not that things would have been a disaster without her, but SOOO much better the last few weeks having had her. And the day of I didn't worry about a single thing. I think it was $1200 or so - a deal for the NYC area. DEF do your research - otherwise you could pay a lot and not get much....its more about how organized and on top of things the person is and less about the laundry list of stuff they give you that they will do....
EDIT: FYI, our ceremony and reception were on site and there was nothing especially complicated about our 150 guest wedding, its just a lot goes on for ANY wedding, stuff you don't even think about, and the DOC made sure it all went smoothly (vendors knew when/where to be, photographer knew all the days events, wedding party knew when/where to be places, she got the security tag off my aunt's dress with her trusty pliers, made last minute changes to plans to accomodate the horrific 96 degree heat, set everything up, brought me apps to try while taking pics, made sure the buses had everyone on them, etc etc)
Definitely a regret of mine not having one! The wedding day went smoothly, but I regret making my friends and family work as hard as they ended up working. Someone to take charge and lead the way would have been wonderful peace of mind!
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it totally depends on how many people you are having at your wedding and how complicated you think it will be. if there's a lot going on and there are a lot of people, then it would help to have a DOC to let guests know what's going on and where to be and when. if you're having a smallish wedding with a fairly straightforward wedding day (not a lot of culture specific ceremonies that will require coordination or decor and little personal touches that take a long time to coordinate properly) then you should be okay.
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I can't say enough in favor of a good coordinator. A good coordinator is experienced, organized & detailed oriented. As a bride, you can't possibly know all the behind the scene intracies, nor should you have to. As a vendor, good coordinators makes my job easier because the day runs smoothly & I can focus on taking photographs.
I keep emphasizing good because I've seen so many bad ones. At one wedding, the couple got to the cake table, ready to cut their cake, guests looking on and I'm ready for the shot. No knife. Bad coordinator.
Another coordinator created a timeline where reception events such as cake cutting & bouquet/garter toss were scheduled to happen after my time was over.
At another, a friend acting as the coordinator was emceeing the event. Wedding party & guests were out on the dance floor having a great time. She interrupted the music to start toasts. She killed the mood & the guests never started dancing again. This is actually the biggest problem with lack of coordinators or inexperienced. They don't know how to create a good flow to the event.
I didn't have one either & I had no clue to to organize the rehearsal & ceremony. And worse, me & close family had to clean up the event.
I agree with Janna19, a good coordinator is worth their weight in gold for organization & crisis management, not necessarily the things you see. As with photography, they're not just working that day. One of my preferred wedding planners as written some helpful info about day of services.
Good luck!
I found my DOC for $150 on the WB boards, since she was just starting out and looking to do some weddings to build her portfolio. Have you tried looking for someone like that. I would do it again because it allowed my mom to enjoy the day instead of worrying about the little details.
I would also say sign up for a bridal expo...and go to it...people are trying to get your business there...don't sign any contracts or anything...but wait until they start e-mailing you...I got a great deal for a day-before/DOC for $600 in the DC area...
Very much worth it, though my DOC was my brother's girlfriend, and she refused payment (I got her a thank you gift instead and made sure to thank her over the mic at the reception).
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Hi everyone! I wanted to see if any of you have had "Day Of" coordinators at your wedding. If so, would you mind sharing the cost, what they did and whether you thought they were worth it?
I am planning on managing a lot of things myself BEFORE the wedding, such as developing a day-of timeline, calling and confirming with all of the vendors etc.
A local DOC recently quoted me about $1200 for the day and she didn't seem to do much. So that seemed pricey too me. However, I'm worried about the little things-- like who sets up all of the placecards? Who sets out the toasting flutes and the cake knife?
We have an on-site coordinator, but I'm not sure that she does not handle all of the details. I think she works more with the kitchen and the bartenders, etc etc. She's the "catering director" and handles all of the weddings.
Also, who helps coordinate the wedding rehearsal? We are having my FI's uncle do the ceremony, so if we hired a DOC, she would be able to help us with that.
Any advice would be great. A DOC seems like a good idea, but $1200, just for handling the details, seems like a lot to me!
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