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Anyone here not having a coordinator? I've been planning the wedding myself. I don't think I need a coordinator to plan it. It will save me money also. My venue is providing their own coordinator on the day itself but will that be enough to make sure everything is going to run smoothly? OR must I hire a day of coordinator. I don't really want to spend if I don't really have but at the same time, Im just scared that something will go wrong.

I wasn't thinking of hiring a day of coordinator but the closer we get to the big day the more I realize the amount of little details there are involved. I don't want to have to be worried about all the details coming together, so we decided to hire one. I think that more than anything it's for peace of mind, which is well worth it to me.

The problem with relying on the venue coordinator is that he or she wroks for the venue, not for you.  The coordinator at our venue will be overseeing two receptions on the same night.  That is why we hired our own coordinator. If you really want to make sure someone is completely focused on your needs without relying on family and friends, then I think a DOC is the way to go.

We have a catering coordinator and a venue coordinator so hopefully they'll be able to figure it out between the two of them.

I have however written out an extremely detailed timeline, and created diagrams and actual photos of how I would like everything set up.  All the different set-up pieces will be packaged together with a duplicate set of instructions.  If something is slightly off noone will notice and it's not worth $500 to me.

Thank you guys for all your recommendations!

Vyeta7 - I think I'm going to so what you are doing and write a detailed description AND provide pictures of how I want the venue set-upf. That way it will be executed according to what I want. 

Thank god our venue only allows one Reception per day so i'm sure they will be focusing on mine only for that day.

I'm glad there's such thing as Day of coordinator becaus if worse comes to worse and  there's still money left in our budget, I can always hire one a month before the wedding.

I just got married to two weeks ago and spent the last year planning the wedding on my own. The days before the wedding were rushed trying to get things finished. The rehearsal and wedding days were the two most stressful days I had and would definitely have hired someone to do all that for me if we had the money to do it. Even if its a friend or family member that is organized enough to handle everything I would suggest letting someone else do it. I burst out crying at the rehearsal because the stress was so great. We did a rehearsal/decorating party and it was a madhouse with everyone bombarding me with questions and waiting for me to tell them what to do next. I had detailed charts and timelines of everything but accidentally left them at home which was in another city. I had to deal with a reverend that didn't even show up to the rehearsal and who showed up at the ceremony five minutes before it was supposed to start and did the worst job ever of performing the ceremony. The cake was destroyed in a near car accident on the way to the reception and had to be taken back to be fixed as best as could. The guys were running late and had to get dressed in a bathroom. The flowers were messed up and I didn't get them until the day before the wedding. I was so stressed out by the time of the ceremony that I had to hold back the tears. As much as I enjoyed planning our wedding, I would definitely suggest putting someone else in charge of overseeing the rehearsal and ceremony day. If you can't afford a DOC then definitely have someone you can entrust with the big task to handle it all.

I relied on family members to set up our ceremony decor (which was minimal), and had my brother's girlfriend (who works for an event planning company) be our last-minute DOC.  She was incredibly helpful, but I think you can get by without a professional.  Maybe try mapping out on paper exactly what needs to be done the day of, and see if it's something your family/friends can help out with, or if you need a professional.  The good thing about having my bro's girlfriend do it was that she was comfortable with 'working' that day... I wouldn't have asked someone who would've rather laid back and just experienced the day (like a best friend or close family member).

We were thinking about hiring a DOC but decided not to. I was worried about all the details that needed to be done, but our caterer's party manager was GREAT! I spoke with him for about 5 minutes before doing my hair and make-up to give him all the instructions for:

- guest book table
- votives (168 of them)
- torches
- menus
- place cards
- chair numbers
- betting voucher that needs to be placed in the correct seat (bc it has the guest's names)
- pillar candles and hurricane vases
- floating candles (150 of them)
- cake, how to decorate with the flowers that the florist left
- set up the tables
- favors
- etc. etc.

I was worried that he won't be able to finish everything in time but miraculously he did. Everything went well and I did not regret not having a DOC.

2nd Janna19.

Had our September 6 event. Convinced DH to hire one (prior to knowing that our venue required one) and was he ever relieved after the fact.

If it is within your budget or you can squeeze it, go for it.

She and her assistants helped me arrange details and specifics before, during, and after the wedding.

She ensured that the right favors got to the right people, the right things such as guestbooks, props, decor, got set up correctly. She contacted vendors and took over everything a month out from the wedding. I didn't have to worry about a thing. She created timelines and logistics for everything and was the complete liason. I woke up on the morning of the wedding and all I had to worry about was what my bridesmaids and I were going to goof off about. 

I didn't hear about any hiccups the entire wedding day although I know there were some. If I needed something or wanted something, all I needed to do was call them over and they would get things done.

Everything from last minute song changes, request to the caterer, etc. She managed loading-in and loading-out of all vendors.

There is a misconception that an event manager at a venue or a catering manager/director is a replacement or sufficient of a coordinator. This is NOT the case. They will not go out as far to do the things I described above (especially taking over and handling all the details). With that said, I also had a catering manager (AND director, AND the owner came and they all closed shop that day for our event), AND a venue event manager as well as venue electricians, etc..

With that said, we had a really complicated government venue (the 27 page contract was a hint), so it may not be really necessary for everyone. I want to reiterate if you have the luxury or the budget to fit it in, go for it.

I have to agree with some of the other posts - having a day of coordinator was the best money we spent also. It gave me total peace of mind and I can honestly say that I got really enjoy myself at my wedding and didn't feel as though I was "hosting" the entire night. She made sure all of our guests were happy and handled the little things that came up throughout the night. Looking back I do wish that I had hired her to help me full time but I think that is more because I planned my Colorado wedding from NYC, where I live which was difficult. I don't think a full time planner is necessary for everyone but I highly reccomend getting a DOC.