Wedding Planner vs Day of Coordinator: Which One Do You Need?

A wedding planner helps you decide what your wedding will be. A day of coordinator runs it the way you decided. That is the wedding planner vs day of coordinator question in two sentences, and the rest of this post fills in the details so you can tell which one fits your wedding, or whether you want both.

What does a wedding planner do?

Planners differ in what they offer, so always ask for the scope in writing. In general, full planning means one person works with you from early on, setting the budget, helping you find a venue, recommending and booking vendors, shaping the design and keeping the checklist moving for months. It is a long relationship built around decisions.

We are not that, and we say so up front. At Augusta Day of Coordination we do not choose your venue, design your decor or book your vendors for you.

What does a day of coordinator do?

A day of coordinator picks up a plan that already exists and makes it run. With our team, the work begins two to four weeks before the wedding. We build your wedding day timeline, confirm and follow up with your vendors, make sure everyone knows where to be and when, and run the rehearsal lineup and the ceremony cues. On the wedding day we are the point of contact for vendors, we handle the problems that come up, and we carry and move things, so you and your families do not have to. You can read the longer version in our post on what a day of wedding coordinator is and is not.

Wedding planner vs day of coordinator: who does what?

Here is the split as a wedding moves from engagement to the last dance.

• Choosing the venue and setting the date: planner yes, day of coordinator no

• Building the budget and booking vendors: planner yes, day of coordinator no

• Designing the look and the decor: planner yes, day of coordinator no

• Building the wedding day timeline: day of coordinator, and a planner may help too

• Confirming vendors in the last weeks: day of coordinator

• Running the rehearsal lineup and the ceremony cues: day of coordinator

• Being the point of contact for vendors on the wedding day: whoever you hire to run the day, which is often the planner if you have one

Which one does your wedding need?

The wedding planner vs day of coordinator choice mostly comes down to what is still undecided. A planner makes sense if:

• You have no venue and no vendors yet and do not know where to begin

• You want someone to suggest vendors and keep a checklist moving for you

• The design and decor are undecided and you want an experienced eye

• Your schedule leaves no room for months of research and phone calls

A day of coordinator fits if:

• Your venue and main vendors are booked and the plan is mostly set

• You are making the decisions yourselves and enjoying it, but you do not want to run the day

• The day has a lot of moving parts, such as two locations, DIY pieces or a big family

• You want your families to be guests all day

Couples in Augusta, Evans, Grovetown and Martinez can land in either group, and so can military couples planning around leave and orders. Neither one is the better choice. They are different jobs.

Can you hire both?

Yes, and some couples settle the wedding planner vs day of coordinator debate by hiring both. A planner builds the wedding and a day of coordinator runs the final stretch. But if your planner already runs the wedding day as part of the package, you may not need a second person. Read the contract and ask exactly who is at the wedding, from what time, and who your vendors will call. If the answer is the planner, all day, you are covered. If the planner stops at the ceremony, or the answer is vague, that is where we fit.

Our coordination team is Nick and Jasmine, a male and a female coordinator working together. That gives you two sets of hands on a day that usually needs them, and it is why we say couples get the best of both worlds.

Common questions about planners and coordinators

How do I choose between a wedding planner vs day of coordinator?

Count what is still undecided. If you have a venue to find and vendors to book, you need a planner, or a lot of free evenings. If those choices are made and your worry is the day itself, you need a day of coordinator. If you are somewhere in between, tell us where you are and we will say honestly whether we fit.

Is a venue coordinator the same as a day of coordinator?

Not usually. A venue coordinator works for the venue and looks after the venue's space and rules. Ask what theirs does on your wedding day. Do they run your ceremony lineup, contact your vendors and direct your guests? Whatever they do not do is the gap a coordinator fills.

Will you help me plan if I hire you?

Our service is day of coordination, which means our work begins in the two to four weeks before the wedding. We do not choose your venue, design your decor or book your vendors. If you have a planning question, ask us, and for anything beyond our service we will tell you so.

Talk it through with us

If you are still deciding between a wedding planner vs day of coordinator, look at the calendar. Several months out with nothing booked, a planner can save you a great deal of legwork. A few weeks out with the plan made, a day of coordinator is the better fit. Day of coordination with us starts at $800 and goes up from there depending on what your wedding needs and how many staff we bring, and you can see what moves the number in our post on what day of coordination costs.

When you are ready, read about our day of coordination service or tell us about your wedding on the contact page. We will give you a straight answer, even if the answer is that you need a planner.