This story was originally published on March 22, 2019, and last updated on September 22, 2023.
Before starting my business, I only knew the term “wedding planner” and I couldn’t tell you the difference between a “planner” versus a “coordinator” versus a “day-of coordinator.” Are those even real jobs?
Turns out, they are and everybody who does them does them a little bit differently.
I find the wedding industry an unnecessarily confusing place so to help, below are my working definitions of wedding planner, wedding coordinator, and wedding day-of coordinator. I’ve also included the typical fees for each “tier” of wedding planning professional based on what I’ve seen in the industry.
If you’re curious about what I specifically offer in my business, please visit this page.
Want a list of interview questions to help you figure out what level of coordinator you’re talking to? Read this.
Wedding planner
This is someone who handles your whole wedding. I call them the “J.Lo” level of service, as in the 2001 rom-com starring Jennifer Lopez.
This tier of planner is a person who will mock up different tablescapes, make a budget, arrange rentals, and recruit a team of vendors (many of whom they’ve previously worked with and may have discounts or deals with).
A wedding planner quite literally plans your wedding, with as much or as little help from you and your partner as you two want to give. Your role is to hand them your credit card and approve the choices they provide you.
How many hours do they work for you? At least 50 and often closer to 60 or 70.
Typical cost: minimum $4,500+ and I’ve seen wedding planners quote up to $10,000
Terms to look for: “full-service planning” or “full-scale planning”
Will they attend any walkthrough/final tour that I might have at my venue? Oh yeah.
Will they attend my rehearsal? Yep! They might also plan your post-rehearsal meal, welcome dinner, post-wedding brunch, etc. I once met a wedding planner who even attended her clients’ clothing fittings.
Will they make me a timeline? You bet.
Wedding coordinator
This is someone who’s more of a project manager than a designer.
A wedding coordinator — or, as this tier is sometimes referred to, “partial planner” — will still set up your decorations but they’re not going to make you a mood board, likely won’t arrange any kind of rental order, or send you three different photographers to consider (though, personally, I do always offer to review any rental orders or contracts that my clients may have).
There are two big differences to consider when considering this tier of service:
When does the coordinator start working with you and your partner?
How many hours will the coordinator work on the wedding day?
For the first question, it depends on the coordinator. Many start closer to the wedding (two or so months before the wedding). In my coordinating business, I start as soon as a couple hires me, no matter how far in the future their wedding is. I do this because previous clients have told me that my monthly check-ins were one of the most helpful parts of their wedding planning as it kept them on track and allowed them access to my brain throughout the planning process.
As for how many hours the coordinator will work on the wedding day, again, this varies by the coordinator. Many coordinators of this tier offer a specific shift of between six to 10 hours on the wedding day. Any hours that exceed that cost an additional hourly rate. In my work, I don’t cap my hours on the wedding day as I’ve yet to find a way to do this that allows me to give the level of service I want to in my business.
How many hours do they work for you? I work an average of 40 hours with more than half of that happening before the wedding day.
Typical cost: My rate is here. I’ve yet to find one who does what I do and charges less than $1,500.
Terms to look for: “Partial planning” is a popular one though, honestly, the term means different things to different vendors so be sure to clarify.
Will they attend any walkthrough/final tour that I might have at my venue? It depends. For my clients in the Portland metro area, I attend this meeting, which typically happens four to six weeks out from the wedding. Other coordinators charge extra if they attend. Check out “What Do I Ask During a Venue Walkthrough or Tour?” to learn more about this meeting.
Will they attend my rehearsal? Again, it depends. I do because I find the rehearsal is a great place to answer last-minute questions and meet the couple’s VIPs but not all coordinators attend rehearsals (or if they do, they will charge extra for the service).
Will they make me a timeline? Yes, they should. A benefit of hiring this tier of coordinator vs. a day-of coordinator is that they handle this so you and your partner don’t have to.
Day-of wedding coordinator
This is kind of like a more professional version of that friend you’re thinking of asking to help.
A “true” day-of coordinator is a person whom, after you’ve booked them, won’t be involved in your wedding at all until — you guessed it — the month of, week of, or sometimes day of your wedding.
I don’t know many people who do this type of work because, honestly, it’s really hard to show up on a wedding day and learn all at once who’s doing what when but it does exist and can be a useful tool for a couple that, understandably, have more time than money to put toward this particular part of wedding planning.
How many hours do they work for you? Usually, 8 to 10 with that nearly always being exclusive to the wedding day (so very little if any hours before the wedding day to create a timeline, talk to vendors, attend any rehearsal, etc.).
Typical cost: $1,000 to $1,500
Terms to look for: “month-of” or “day-of”
Will they attend any walkthrough/final tour that I might have at my venue? Nope.
Will they attend my rehearsal? You can always ask (and then pay them for their time) but usually, no.
Will they make me a timeline? From what I’ve seen, no. Typically, a couple who works with a month-of or day-of coordinator is responsible for creating all resources — namely, a timeline and a “directory” of all vendors — that they then give to the month-of or day-of coordinator to then execute. To help, check out my “Timeline” and “Vendor and Wedding VIPs List” templates.
What about a venue coordinator?
The words “venue coordinator” or “wedding coordinator” may be used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
The first is the person on-site who is responsible for the venue (think: turning on the lights and locking up). The second is a person you might hire in addition tot he venue who is responsible for the flow of the wedding day.
To complicate matters further, very few venues offer venue coordinators who also do wedding coordinating, often for an additional fee. One way to suss out the scale of work we’re talking about is to use the planner-specific interview questions available here.
Do I even need a wedding planner or wedding coordinator?
I’m not the kind of wedding planner or the kind of person who’s going to tell you “If you don’t hire a wedding planner, your wedding will be ruined.”
I hate when people say this because I think it’s mean and it’s gross. It’s also not true. Your wedding will not be ruined if you don’t have a wedding planner.
That doesn’t mean certain things won’t be harder. Of course they will be, and if you need some help assessing just what might be harder and if you need a planner at all, I get it. Folks often hire my brain for an hour to help them answer those very questions. Or they buy my book. Or they use this gallery of free wedding planning resources.
It’s all there for you. Please: Use it! And when in doubt, contact me. I’m here to help.