Wedding Coordinator Tips
Wedding coordinators help to relieve the bride and groom of much of the stress associated with wedding planning. Brides and grooms consult with a coordinator to communicate their desires for the wedding and to outline the wedding budget. Wedding coordinators can provide the couple with resources, make suggestions or handle every detail of planning. Hiring the right wedding coordinator is essential to ensuring that you get the wedding you want at a price within your budget.
Other People Are Reading
-
Finding a Wedding Coordinator
-
After you get engaged, the first step is to find a wedding coordinator to help you plan your dream wedding. Ask your friends or family members for referrals of coordinators who have helped with weddings that impressed them. You can sometimes find wedding coordinators in the business listings of the phone book. Before agreeing to meet with a wedding coordinator, do a phone interview to get a feel for her personality and level of experience. Don't be shy about asking questions relating to her expertise. A professional coordinator should be certified by a professional wedding planning organization. Certification is offered through groups like the International Institute of Weddings, the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants or the California State Polytechnic University at Pomona's Extension. Asking potential coordinators how long they have been helping with weddings and the type of events they have planned will clue you in to how knowledgeable they are. It also doesn't hurt to ask for references before scheduling a consultation.
Types of Services
-
The level of assistance you get from a wedding coordinator is entirely up to you. You could pay for a consultation only, which is like a crash course in wedding planning to help those who want to organize the wedding themselves. You can hire a coordinator to help you make appointments with vendors and venues, organize a wedding portfolio to keep track of the details and make the schedule for the wedding. Depending on the level of independence you seek, the coordinator may go to vendor appointments with you, help you to secure a dress designer or fitting appointment and guide you through your budgeting process. Some brides like to have the wedding coordinator present on the wedding day to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The coordinator maintains the day's schedule, organizes the vendors and steps in to fix any emergencies that may arise.
-
Payment Arrangements
-
Your wedding coordinator may charge for his services in one of three ways. Some coordinators charge a percentage of the total cost of the wedding. Because the coordinator makes more money if the wedding is more expensive, you may not get the best prices on wedding services arranged by the coordinator. An hourly rate charge is ideal if you are only using the coordinator as a consultant to advise you on choices or give you a crash course in wedding planning. This rate can become quite expensive if the coordinator takes over stages of the wedding planning. The other option is to pay a flat fee for the coordinator's services. The coordinator will quote you a price, after meeting with you, to determine your service expectations. Make sure that the coordinator works his flat fee into your budget so you don't end up spending more than you planned.
Contract
-
Review the wedding coordinator's contract carefully, before you sign it, to make sure you are getting all the services promised in the coordinator's price quote. Never hire a wedding coordinator who doesn't produce a contract for you to sign -- if she doesn't follow through on the agreement, you will have no written proof of the services you were promised. The contract should include the wedding date, your names, signatures, contact information, cancellation policy and a no-show policy for the consultant. Be sure it includes details, such as a description of the services you hire her to provide, how many meetings you will have with the consultant and whether she is expected to visit vendors with you. Finally, the contract should outline the total cost, how the cost is charged, the amount of deposit, amount owed and due date for the last payment. After signing the contract, the bride and groom will be expected to produce a deposit for a portion of the service charges.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
