Don’t worry: I didn’t know what this job was either. That story aside, here’s what I’ll do for you if you hire me to be your wedding coordinator or planner. I will:
Make a timeline. I’ll get you a final timeline two weeks before your wedding. You review it, let me know of any red flags, and then I send a customized version to all of your vendors and your VIPs. See what my timelines look like.
Create a vendor and VIPs contact list. This is a directory of names, pronouns, phone numbers, and emails of any wedding vendors and VIPs. See what this looks like.
Review all contracts. You are welcome to send me any and all wedding-related contracts. I’ll review these and let you know of anything that catches my eye.
Talk budget. I’ve seen a lot of quotes for a lot of wedding stuff. I’ll offer my insight on pricing and help you brainstorm solutions that serve you — often pulling from past notes from previous clients to give you real numbers.
Correspond with vendors. You’re responsible for booking and working with your vendors; however, as soon as we finalize the timeline, I send a customized version of everyone on the vendor team. See examples of these emails.
Send a monthly check-in. Every month, we’ll have a regular check-in. This is typically an email where I note, in order of priority, what’s on my radar in relation to your wedding. It’s a time for us to check-in with each other and make sure we’re on track. It’s also the big difference between me and other coordinators.
Coordinate any rental order(s). I’ll start and manage any rental order(s) — including any tents you may or may not want. This saves you on time and also on any “rental coordination fees” that might be charged by a caterer.
Make any floor plan(s). I do this as part of my work as your coordinator and will collaborate alongside any venue(s), caterer(s), or other vendors who need access to this information. Here are examples of floor plans I’ve made for my clients.
Attend your final walkthrough or, to use a less ableist phrase, your final tour. If you’re getting married in the Portland metro area, I’ll come along to this meeting. If you’re not, I’ll be sure to prep you and the venue to make that meeting the most efficient possible. Get an idea of the questions to ask at this meeting.
Run your rehearsal. If you’re having a rehearsal, I will be there to “cruise direct.” Here’s what I typically do at a rehearsal. This is also when I’ll coordinate any items that you need to get from Point A to Point B on the wedding day.
Handle all things wedding day. Think of me as a stage manager for the event that is your wedding. I also don’t cap my hours; I’m with you all day.
Serve as a sounding board. I’ve been to a lot of weddings. Whenever helpful and wherever asked, I will offer you my opinion and advice. My goal is to help people have the weddings they want. Many of my clients also CC me on emails they send to vendors to help them keep track of answers they need.
Provide an excuse. A bonus to hiring me? I’m the perfect neutral party to act as an excuse when wedding planning gets challenging. My only caveat: Just tell me so we can keep our stories straight.
Offer a few wedding-specific things so you don’t have to buy them: a black metal easel, a clear umbrella, a steamer.
Be a back-up officiant. I am, in fact, ordained, thanks to the internet. I figured not having someone to legally marry you is the one way for a wedding day to really go wrong.
Carry business insurance. This one doesn’t really matter to you but I note it as sometimes, venues require this.
What’s this going to cost me?
One of the things I hate most about my industry is that nobody ever talks about what things cost. That’s why I publicly post my prices. Here’s how they break down:
50 percent deposit (due upon booking): $2,000 to $2,250
25 percent payment (due 60 days out): $1,000 to $1,125
25 percent payment (due 14 days out): $1,000 to $1,125
Total: $4,000 to $4,500 (depending on the location(s), season, and complexity of the wedding)
Do you offer anything less expensive?
I do. The “rent my brain” service costs $195.
It’s a one-hour consulting call and, among other things, you get a detailed post-call plan for what to do when including vendor referrals, timeline mock-ups, and other wedding planning templates and tools.
I’ll also save you some googling by reaching out to coordinators and planners I know and recommend to see if they’re available for your wedding day, if my services aren’t a good fit for your budget or other wedding details.
The fee reflects the one hour we talk and the one hour it usually takes me to create the post-call plan.
Why do you charge what you charge?
I base my coordinating fee on a rate of $100 an hour. When someone hires me to coordinate their wedding in-person I work for them for an average of 40 hours so 40 hours x $100 per hour = a starting rate of $4,000 for in-person coordinating.
Wow! That’s a lot!
You’re not wrong. Also please keep in mind that because I run a small business, that hourly rate is before I take out taxes, operating expenses, and other costs for running my business.
One of the other reasons my rates are what they are is because I only book one wedding a weekend. This means that, on average, I take on 10 to 15 weddings in a year so I have the energy and brainpower to give the level of quality service I want to provide this smaller group.
When do you start working on our wedding?
As soon as you hire me. This is one of the main differences between my scale of service and many other month-of or day-of coordinators who, as the name implies, start working on your wedding much closer to the event (usually between 30 to 60 days before).
My clients have me throughout the planning process to keep us on track, review vendor contracts, and offer referrals and other advice. I also attend a final tour at the wedding venue(s).
Does your in-person coordinating fee include an assistant?
Yes, it does, if I choose to bring an assistant on for your wedding (i.e. I won’t charge you extra later if I make this call).
Does your in-person coordinating fee include travel?
Partially. If I’m traveling more than an hour’s drive outside of the Portland metro area, the price above does not include accommodations for the night before the wedding and the night of the wedding. If I’m hopping on a plane, it also doesn’t include that ticket price.
If I’m not traveling more than an hour’s drive outside of the Portland metro area, you don’t pay for travel.
If this all seems like a lot of money, I understand.
Maybe you just need a gut check (which I’m happy to provide for a much lower fee) or maybe you don’t need a coordinator at all (not everyone does). I also make all of the tools I use as a coordinator available for free and wrote a book that allows people to do a lot of this work for themselves.
That said, if the above tasks sound like things that you’d rather not worry about — or have a loved one end up doing — than hire me. I’ll make sure that you actually get to enjoy your own wedding.
Remind me: How can I hire you?
You can always email me for free. My contact form is best.
You can rent my brain for an hour. To date, I’ve consulted on more than 90 weddings, happening around the U.S. and, sometimes, multiple years in the future.
You can hire me to work a wedding in-person. Please visit my contact form.