Have you finally decided on a wedding date after months/years of planning? Are you confused about which professional to hire to help plan your big day? Should you go for a wedding planner, month-of coordinator or day-of coordinator? We’ve got the answers you need in this article. In it, we describe what each professional does, which will help you decide on who is suitable for you.

Who is a Wedding Planner?

This individual (or group) is involved in every part of the wedding process. They are in touch with you every step of the way, right from the moment you decide to tie the knot with your beloved to the very point when you conclude the act in the presence of God, family and friends. Wedding planners go all
the way out, sourcing materials, getting the professional help of vendors that sell the goods or services needed to make your big day a memorable one and more. Wedding planners do the following:

  • After due consultations with a wedding planner about your big day and your desire as to how you want it to turn out, a wedding planner helps you to create a budget. We have no doubt that you know how important a budget is as far as achieving set goals are concerned. This is one of the functions of a wedding planner. Even when you decide to adjust your budget along the line, they are there to guide you and help make it work.
  • Sourcing for vendors and other service providers like the florists, caterers, photographers, etc., is made easy via the help of wedding planners. Planners contact the service providers and vendors ahead of time to know whether they have the materials you need for your big day, get the pricelist and help you make suitable adjustments ahead of time.
  • The job of a planner goes on till the whole ceremony is done. They liaise with vendors, making adjustments where necessary thereby relieving you of so much unnecessary stress and affording you more time for other valuable parts of your big day.
  • They create a timeline of activities leading up to the wedding day and for the day itself.
  • They oversee design and décor, coming up with setup and main décor ideas.

A day-of/month-of coordinator, on the other hand, takes up the job of executing your already drafted plan for your wedding day. Day-of/month-of coordination is not as expensive as a wedding planner as the former does not do the groundwork listed above for a wedding planner. If you are thinking of hiring a day-of/month-of coordinator, it means that you must have done all the necessary planning and you only need someone to oversee final executions on the wedding day.

Unlike their names though, day-of/month-of coordinators do not start work on the day of or a month to your wedding. Most of them get involved at least six weeks to your wedding. This gives them enough time to familiarise themselves with the couple, their wedding plans, speak with vendors and point out any omission in the plan.

If you are the type who likes to be in charge of every little detail of your event and you feel more comfortable doing all the groundwork, then hiring a day of/month of coordinator is perfect.

To summarise, the key differences between wedding planners and day of/month-of coordinators is that while wedding planners work with you from the minute you start planning your wedding till all pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding activities have been carried out; day-of/month-of coordinators only come on board some weeks to your wedding to help execute an already put together wedding plan.

Now you know what each professional does, you may be wondering how do I hire one? We’ve got you. Coco Cabana is your one-stop-shop for top notch wedding planning services. We draw from our wealth of experience in wedding and events planning to give you a day that will be truly memorable for you and your guests. We pride ourselves on our communication skills which enables us to hear, understand and give you what you want. You can start by sending us an email at inquiries@cococabana.us or sending us a DM on Instagram at Coco Cabana. We look forward to helping you birth the wedding day you have always dreamed of!