About Wedding Planners, Wedding Consultants, and Full-Service Coordinators

A full-service wedding planner provides a much more profound level of service than does a day-of coordinator or wedding coordinator, and thus your interactions with your planner will be much more complex. A day-of coordinator will be able to give you an exact quote in advance of the wedding, and a wedding coordinator who simply helps you manage the vendors and rentals you yourself have chosen may be able to do the same. But a full-service wedding planner is working side-by-side with you to create the wedding of your dreams – he or she may be involved in planning almost every element of your ceremony and reception making it initially difficult to draw up a list of exactly what he or she will do.

Wedding planners are no longer the darlings only of the rich and famous. Nowadays, it’s considered perfectly reasonable for a bride to utilize the services of an expert event planner who may bill him- or herself as a planner, consultant, or coordinator. These party professionals can handle as much or as little of the wedding planning as you prefer, though it’s common for planners to take on everything from designing a wedding color scheme to choosing wedding favors to finding wedding vendors to helping the bride and groom write personalized wedding vows.

It may seem like hiring a wedding planner is an expense that can be safely avoided, and it’s true that almost any bride should be capable of planning a wedding. But before you go on a wild DIY spree, consider carefully whether you truly have the time, energy, and resources necessary to plan not just a wedding, but the wedding of your dreams. You may think you can’t afford to hire someone to help you plan your wedding, but a wedding planner, with extensive industry connections, can actually save you money by finding discounts you’d never have gotten yourself.

There are three ways wedding planners are paid. Some offer their services for “free” – in reality they are paid percentage-based kick-backs by vendors for driving business their way. While this can seem like a great deal from the bride’s perspective, the kick-backs could offer the planner an incentive to choose vendors or venues that will pay up instead of the best possible ones. A second group of wedding planners are paid via percentage fees (usually 10-20%) based on the total wedding budget. This is the most common form of payment when the planner is creating a wedding costing $30,000 or more. Finally, a third set of planners charge flat-rate fees that pay for a specific number of hours of work. Many wedding planners will have both percentage-based and flat-fee packages.

Your planner’s role can evolve as time passes and your wedding vision solidifies, which means that your contract should be somewhat more flexible than the usual wedding vendor contract. And because a wedding planner will be so instrumental in planning all the details of your ceremony and reception, you should be given plenty of time to review your contract so you understand it in its entirety. The overall importance of this one wedding service provider is such that some brides and grooms will ask someone with legal experience to review the subsequent contract.

When you describe your wedding vision to your wedding planner, pay attention to his or her facial expressions and body language. Your chosen planner needs to be confident that he or she can deliver exactly what it is you ask for and forward enough to feel comfortable telling you that some of your wishes are impossible to fulfill (e.g., won’t work with budget, out-of-season items, etc.).

Oftentimes, brides treat the wedding officiant as an afterthought, choosing him or her only after buying the perfect wedding dress, designing a showstopper wedding cake, and finding foolproof wedding favor kits. And yet without an officiant, a legal wedding ceremony cannot take place*. That makes the wedding officiant one of the most important participants in the entire wedding!

If you’re a longtime member of a house of worship, you may feel driven to ask a minister, rabbi, marriage officer, or other religious leader to officiate at your wedding ceremony. But if choosing the familiar simply because it’s familiar doesn’t feel right or there are roadblocks because you are half of an interfaith couple, there are thousands of wonderful interfaith ministers, spiritual non-denominational officiants, and humanist celebrants with a passion for uniting people in the bonds of love.

In other words, finding wedding officiants and marriage celebrants isn’t the hard part. The task that can become dismayingly difficult – particularly if a bride and groom have waited until the last minute – is choosing an officiant who actually understands the breadth of a couple’s commitment to one another. Your wedding will be one of the landmark days of your life… you’ve chosen your other wedding vendors with great care and you should devote as much, if not more time, to choosing the person who will guide you through your wedding vows.

You should also be as diligent about protecting yourself from harm when partnering with a marriage celebrant as you are when working with a caterer or reception venue. The bride and groom who will be married by the very pastor who baptized them both may forgo a contract, but those couples whose weddings will be officiated by independent celebrants should always insist upon there being one in place. In a perfect world, all people who feel called to become wedding officiants would be honest and dedicated, but this profession, like every other, attracts the bad as well as the good.

Insisting upon a contract does not guarantee a faultless wedding ceremony, but will go a long way toward ensuring that you’re not left standing at the altar without anyone to lead you in your vows.

*There are two notable exceptions to this rule. In Colorado, the bride and groom can legally perform their own wedding ceremony, speaking their vows in front of witnesses without any prompting from an officiant. This is also the case in certain Pennsylvania counties, where reciting marriage vows without an officiant looking on is known as self-uniting.

If your goal is to have a truly unique and original wedding ceremony, choose a marriage celebrant that will help you write custom vows. This is by no means a service all officiants offer. Many wedding officiants have a script they work from, and some will not deviate from it.

Obtaining the marriage license prior to the wedding is the responsibility of the bride and groom, not the officiant. Don’t make the mistake of applying for yours too early or too late – in most states, the license will expire after a certain number of days, and some states require that the couple wait for some period of time before actually getting married.

Once upon a time, the wedding cake was merely a sweet treat; now the wedding cake is a showpiece, as much décor as dessert. Cutting the cake is, for many, the pinnacle of the reception and the event that signals that guests can party without interruption until the night’s end. Consequently, the wedding cake now has a persona all its own, one that harmonizes with the wedding itself. A wedding cake may be elegant and demure, classically simple in shades of white butter cream, or jazzy and modern, swathed in folds of brightly colored fondant that envelop it like the draping on a Greek statue.

Wedding cakes are priced by the slice, but the price list on prospective bakers’ web sites will only tell you part of the story. The cost of a wedding cake will depend on so many factors: how many people it will serve, how many tiers it has, the flavors you choose, the types of frostings and fillings, the difficulty of rendering the embellishments you’ve requested, structural supports (e.g., dowels, cake stands), and add-ons like wedding cake toppers. The cake designers you meet with will be able to give you a much more accurate price quote if you have a basic design in mind, even if you haven’t fleshed out the details yet.

A bride might, for example, tell the cake designers she is considering that she wants a traditional white tiered cake, with square tiers decorated with edible pearls and some sort of floral embellishment. Or she might want a themed wedding cake that reflects her and her groom’s love of climbing… perhaps a cake in the shape of a mountain with a miniature mountaineering bride and groom scaling the face. It isn’t difficult to see why the second cake would cost more, possibly even a lot more depending on how realistic the bride wanted the mountain to look. Keep the complexity of your desired wedding cake in mind when deciding on a cake budget – the more complex the cake, the higher the cost.

Don’t just flip through wedding cake designer’s portfolios, really look. Is the frosting smeared? Are tiers uneven? Are the cakes mundane? Your baker needs to have the skills to do specialty work if you want a specialty cake, but even a simple wedding cake needs to be crafted with talent and care to look truly beautiful. Whether your design is custom or straight out of a catalog, a contract that lists every last detail of your cake is a must-have. And if you want a certain degree of flexibility in terms of flavors or colors, your contract should spell that out, too. Link to our contract purchase page.

Given that there are so many options for brides to choose from, it’s lucky that finding the right wedding cake is a tasty business – one that can involve sampling flavor upon flavor of gorgeous sponge cake and delectable frostings. While she or he may now be called a wedding cake designer, the individual who will create your amazing cake is still a baker at heart, and even a beautiful wedding cake should be utterly delicious.

How soon you find your cake designer depends on how elaborate your dreamed-of wedding cake design. For a simple cake, you can look for a baker six months before the wedding. If, however, you want an intricate and complicated design, your goal should be to find the kind of cake designer that’s more often than not booked a year or more in advance.

Wedding videography has come so far since the days of grainy, spot lit VHS tapes featuring in-your-face interviews of guests and shaky footage of the cake cutting. Today’s wedding videography is as polished and as beautiful as a professional documentary, with expert special effects and music that is seamlessly integrated into the events of the day. Though you can certainly ask your wedding videographer for a copy of the raw footage, most brides prefer to see their big day captured through the lens of creativity. The best wedding videographers tell a story through the editing process, distilling the essence of you and your spouse’s bond and the excitement your loved ones feel on your wedding day.

Finding a wedding videographer takes a certain degree of imagination on your part because there is more than one way to shoot a wedding, and it is up to you to decide how you ultimately want to remember your day. Would you prefer a documentary style wedding video that captures your ceremony and reception candidly creating a moving emotional narrative? Or perhaps you are intrigued by the ideas of a faster-paced MTV style wedding video with quick cuts and montages? Some wedding videographers will fade into the background, documenting your wedding stealthily from the sidelines, while others will step in and ask the wedding party to do or say certain things. It is up to you when choosing a videographer to select one who shoots and edits in your preferred style and will be as unobtrusive as you need him or her to be.

While most wedding videographers will happily give you a demo video to watch when you are shopping around, ask for a full-length video. A demo reel will include the videographer’s best shots and is edited for maximum emotional impact, so as you watch it you may find you concentrate more on the drama of the couples rather than things like how shots are framed (are guests’ heads cut off, for example) and whether those shots look grainy (which suggests that the videographer used ambient light in low-lighting conditions).

It is vital to remember that unlike wedding photographs, which may not be processed at all, your wedding video will undergo significant editing before you ever see it. In your wedding videographer contract, be sure that your expectations are outlined in no uncertain terms. You and the wedding videographer you ultimately choose should discuss elements of style such as titles, music, still photo montages, images of invitations and programs; as well as specifics like how many camera operators will shoot for how long, whether footage of the rehearsal dinner is included in the package price, and how long it will take to finalize your wedding video.

Be prepared to pay at least as much for your wedding videographer as you are paying for your wedding photographer. For many couples, a videographer is seen as a secondary photographer, but a videographer’s talents are unique, and the finished product she or he provides is worth every penny.

For the bride and groom who want a little something extra, same day editing can give wedding guests a chance to relive the highlights of the ceremony during the reception. With up-to-date equipment, wedding videographers can quickly edit footage of the pre-ceremony happenings and the vows themselves into a vignette that can be played on a projection screen during the reception banquet.

While most wedding videographers will use inconspicuous supplemental lighting at the reception – especially at evening weddings – many will not use additional lighting when shooting the ceremony. This is because some wedding officiants forbid the use of supplemental lighting in the ceremony venue. It never hurts to ask if your videographer can use additional lighting, and this can mean the difference between a great wedding video and no ceremony footage at all.

Menswear is an afterthought in the minds of many brides. After all, the wedding dress is the showpiece of the ceremony while the wedding cake usually plays a starring role at the reception. One might ask how much attention do guests really give the men’s wear. And yet perhaps if couples did devote more attention to the wedding day garb worn by the groom and his groomsmen, the men would also find a place in the nuptial limelight.

You may be surprised to learn that there are a great many options for the groom to choose between when it comes to what he and his attendants will wear. From the basic suit – whether a European or American silhouette – to the classic tuxedo and its many variations to morning dress and full dress, there are numerous sartorial avenues open to the men in the wedding party. Even the classic black tie ensemble, which is the gold standard of wedding day menswear, comes in countless incarnations. The hallmarks of the basic tuxedo are peaked lapels in satin or grosgrain with a single braid along the trouser seams to match lapel facings, and unlike a suit, a tuxedo is worn with a cummerbund or waistcoat and matching tie.

From there, you see alternatives like mandarin collars, velvet jackets, formal long coats for daytime, silk faced lapels, and tuxedos in every color under the sun. Not to mention a great number of shirt and shoe styles! While many brides-to-be automatically assume that they will be responsible for choosing tuxedos for the groom’s side, do give the groom a chance to delve into the wide world of wedding menswear. Grooms-to-be often discover that it is a lot more interesting than they would have suspected and that they have definite opinions on what they do and don’t like.

When you are renting tuxedos, morning dress ensembles, or full dress ensembles, keep in mind that rental menswear is made to accommodate a wide range of sizes and thus will not fit like a custom suit. The typical boilerplate contract the groom and his attendants will be asked to sign includes standard discount and deposit details; measurement and pick-up conditions; cancellation, correction, and damage fees; and how and when the rentals must be returned. It can all seem like a bit much for a garment as simple as the humble tuxedo, but remember that the groom and his groomsmen can only truly guarantee they will look dashing if they have seen to the details!

Choosing the ideal wedding photographer isn’t easy because the photographic style (e.g., traditional, photojournalistic, natural, artistically retouched) that appeals to one bride may not appeal to another. That means that there is no perfect formula you can follow to find a wedding photographer you’ll love. But you can make the process of finding your photog that much easier by learning a little bit about photography equipment, styles of shooting, and how photographers charge for their services.

None of those things will matter, however, if the wedding photographer you choose can’t find a balance between business and art. Photography is unlike any other service provided by wedding vendors because it is an art form rather than a science, and there are so many different ways to produce beautiful wedding photographs. For example, film photography and digital photography both have their charms. Traditional posed wedding photos are stunning when framed, but the photojournalistic pics of the reception will be so much more compelling in a few years.

That said, no matter what style of wedding photography matches your matrimonial personality, you have the right to expect certain things from your wedding photographer. Barring unforeseen emergencies, they need to show up – or an agreed upon substitute needs to show up on time, with equipment and back-up equipment, and frequently at least one assistant. Your wedding photographer needs to deliver proofs within an agreed upon period of weeks and then deliver your prints and albums within an agreed upon period of months. And that means proofs, prints, and albums that look like what you asked for, whether that was heavily retouched artistic images or natural, gritty true-to-life ones.

It may not be immediately obvious that there’s a lot riding on the line when it comes to your wedding photography, but think about it. Five, ten, or fifty years from now, the only lasting piece of your wedding (other than your memories) that you will possess will be the photographs taken and given to you by your photog. Thus, it is immensely important that you cover your contract bases when it comes to your wedding photography, even up to discussing the possibility of a free reshoot in the event that the photographer loses or inadvertently deletes or destroys your files or negatives before giving them to you along with your prints and albums.

This is one area where it is very important to get referrals – even satisfied clients may let slip that the photographer was kind of in the way during the ceremony or stealthily sat down to a leisurely meal during the buffet reception. And look beyond the usual portfolio of perfect images filled with gorgeous brides and grooms. Many wedding photographers will let you look at the online albums of previous clients (which are often public anyway) so you can see what a real wedding, with real people, looks like as shot by them. These will give you a much better idea of what your wedding photos will ultimately look like.

No amount of talent can compensate for a photographer who disregards your list of must-have shots, is distracted during important moments like the first dance and cake cutting, or worse, simply ignores the fact that they are shooting what is one of the most important events in the lives of multiple people and instead treats your wedding like a personal art project.

The bride-to-be is often so wrapped up in ensuring that her wedding dress, bridal veil, and accessories are faultless down to the tiniest detail that she forgets that her beautiful, smiling face will be the very first thing people see. With so many other details to take care of, makeup can seem like an inconsequential extra until you remember that you are the most important part of your wedding day ensemble! Your wedding guests may not notice whether your gown is white or ivory and what kind of earrings you wear, but they will most certainly take note of your rosy cheeks, you’re dewy lips, and your striking eyes.

Some brides-to-be are tempted to DIY their bridal makeup (and their bridesmaids’ makeup)  or ask a friend or relative to do the honors, but the ability to apply cosmetics that look flawless and gorgeous in person, on video, and in photographs is a talent that can take years to perfect. So while there are certainly some makeup artists born to add shimmer and shine to eyes, cheeks, and lips, you can make certain that your wedding day makeup artist has experience doing more than simply selling cosmetics by opting for a state-licensed makeup artist with fantastic references and a portfolio of bridal snapshots to match.

A professional wielder of the mascara wand will have schooling behind a sophisticated set of skills and will be able to design a wedding day look that enhances your every asset. Applying a little color here and there might be fine on an ordinary day, but on your wedding day – when you are the center of attention and the target of the photographer’s lens – it pays to hire someone who can smooth your face’s contours and shape your eyes just so.

Ask for recommendations from friends who were themselves brides and from your wedding vendors, in particular your hair stylist because he or she will have industry contacts. The initial consultation with any makeup artist should always be free – this is where you will browse portfolios, discuss how you want your wedding day makeup to look, bring up any concerns like allergies to certain cosmetics, and talk about prices and contracts. Your needs will, in part, determine which makeup artist you choose. Some will travel longer distances, many will come to the bride’s hotel or the wedding venue, and others require that brides, bridesmaids, and moms come to a salon.

Once you have chosen, and contracted, an amazing makeup artist, schedule a trial run two or three months before the wedding. Never be afraid to say what you like and what you are not so fond of because your reactions give your makeup artist the keys she or he needs to make you look magical on your wedding day.

You need to feel absolutely comfortable with your makeup artist because she or he needs to touch you to bring forth the most beautiful you. If you are interviewing a potential bridal makeup artist and feel you may flinch away from his or her touch, say thank you and move on. It is absolutely essential that you be able to close your eyes and relax while your makeup artist works.

The bride’s hairstyle is often the element of her wedding day ensemble that is chosen last, and for good reason. More often than not, her coiffure is selected to harmonize with her wedding dress and her bridal veil. Even the bride’s earrings can play a part in determining whether her hair will be up or down, elaborate or simple. Because a bride looks her best when her gown, accessories, hair, and makeup complement one another, an experienced stylist is almost always a must-have wedding vendor. She or he will treat the bride’s hair as a creative medium equal in its artistic value to the silk in her wedding dress or the hint of lace in her veil.

You should aim to find the right hair stylist three to four months before your wedding. Choose carefully – the lovely woman who cuts your hair every few weeks may be a wizard with a pair of shears yet have little experience with elaborate wedding hairstyles. The person you select to shape your locks should ideally have a strong background in bridal beauty; many stylists are multi-talented and can handle both cosmetics and curlers. But perhaps most importantly, your chosen hair stylist should make you feel comfortable and confident. You need to be sure that they will take your hair, be it straight or curly or coarse or smooth, and create a masterpiece.

With that in mind, be sure that your hair stylist contract includes a preview appointment. Sometimes this trial run is free, but more often than not the cost of the preview appointment is included in the overall price. At this appointment, your wedding hair stylist will study any photos you have of wedding hairstyles you absolutely love as well as pictures of your wedding dress. Together, you will discuss what you envision yourself looking like on your wedding day. He or she will then create a hairstyle designed to meet your expectations and complement your gown and accessories. It is up to you to be frank with your hairstylist – if you don’t love the look she or he has created, say as much so you can work together to find a style you absolutely adore.

Most brides will ask that their maid of honor and bridesmaids utilize the services of their chosen stylist or salon. It is astounding to think that the same man or woman who has consulted with the bride numerous times to choose the hairstyle that will enhance her wedding day ensemble can also create marvelous ‘dos for her wedding attendants without having even seen them prior to the big day. But a stylist who understands the ins and outs of weddings will be able to please both the bride and her bridesmaids. Most will ask the bride what she wants – perhaps updos for everyone – and then consult with the bridesmaids themselves to create a wedding party look that is not identical, but rather brings out the best in everyone.

Be practical when you choose your wedding day hairstyle because you will wear your hair in that style for hours upon hours. Opt for a ‘do that will be as comfortable when you are dancing as it is when you are sitting in the salon. And if you simply cannot stand hair in your face, ask your stylist not to leave any wispy tendrils hanging.

Your wedding flowers should make your ceremony and reception more beautiful, not detract from your day. Admittedly, there’s so much to think about when choosing wedding flowers – the type of bloom, what’s in season, different arrangements, the bouquets, etc. – but taking the time to work with your floral designer to create a comprehensive wedding florist contract is worth the time it takes.

Ensuring that your bouquets and centerpieces are as breathtaking as can be is more often than not a matter of whittling down a large list of wedding flower designers and asking the ones you truly adore writing a proposal based on the arrangements you’ve discussed. These proposals should read a lot like the contract you’ll eventually put together, with all flora itemized by cost; the date and time of the wedding; delivery, set-up, and break down details; and any additional fees listed.

Once you choose your wedding florist, he or she will meet with you to finalize details and perhaps show you a sample bouquet or centerpiece. You may want to look through your florist’s portfolio to point out other designs you like. But as floral design is an art form, it may be that your designer will be unable to provide you with an exact description of your future arrangements. What they can provide (both in conversation and in your contract) is the exact numbers of stems that will be used in each arrangement, the types of blooms and colors, and descriptions and prices of any auxiliary items like vases, candles, and ribbon.

In short, working with a wedding florist is different than working with other wedding vendors. While a cake designer, for example, can make the exact same wedding cake hundreds of times, each bouquet and boutonnière and centerpiece made a floral designer will be unique because every flower is unique. A simple red rose may be large or small, deeply hued or bright and vibrant, depending on the weather conditions and the soil in which it was grown. However, you can maximize your chances of getting precisely the colors, sizes, and shapes you want by learning and using specific flower names. A Love rose and an Olympiad rose are both beautiful red roses, but can look quite different.

Some wedding florists will ask that they be allowed to make color or even breed substitutions in cases of necessity – make sure your floral designer knows if this is absolutely unacceptable, though realize that Mother Nature may have other ideas. You’ll be able to rest more easily in advance of your wedding day if you give your florist color swatches so he or she knows what you mean by “red” and provide a list of acceptable substitutions. You can also specify ratios of flowers. Perhaps you’d like a half-and-half mix of yellow roses and green hydrangeas. Make that clear so you don’t end up with a big bouquet of hydrangeas studded with a few choice roses.

With as many variables as there are when it comes to choosing wedding flowers, a professional wedding florist will always be realistic and honest when it comes to your arrangements. They won’t promise anything they can’t deliver or refuse to give you a quote. A good florist should consider working on a budget as a creative challenge — not a professional nightmare.

Many brides, picturing the perfect wedding day, never imagine that they’ll be finalizing details with wedding vendors, putting last-minute touches on reception table centerpieces and favors, or calling to remind the venue manager that the cocktail hour should begin at 5 p.m. even though the wedding party will not be arriving until six. When, after all, will she have time to do all that? Perhaps before the ceremony, while she’s having her bridal makeup applied or being buttoned into her wedding dress? Certainly not between the ceremony and reception when the entire wedding party is posing for photographs!

Though couples can and do delegate eleventh-hour wedding planning to-dos to relatives and the MOH or best man, many brides hire a day-of wedding coordinator to handle the day-of details so their loved ones don’t have to “work the wedding.” Unlike friends or family, a day-of coordinator can focus the entirety of their attention on making sure your wedding day unfolds smoothly. Plus, a great day-of coordinator will have internalized just how you want your wedding to unfold – she or he will spend between 15 to 20 hours prepping for your big day.

Day-of wedding coordinators are on-the-spot troubleshooters, experienced stress relievers, and unfailingly calm in a crisis. Your day-of coordinator works for you, not your ceremony venue or reception site. She or he has no emotional attachment to your wedding day, which can be a boon. When things don’t go as planned, your day-of coordinator will look for solutions instead of reacting to problems.

This means, of course, that you can’t anticipate everything she or he will do for you on your big day. You can give your day-of wedding coordinator your wedding day timeline, copies of your vendor contracts, and a detailed set-up to-do list for every venue, so she or he can create a master plan, but there are so many unknowns that make it impossible to include every possible contingency in your day-of wedding coordinator contract. That said, every contingency that can be planned for and every expectation you have should be spelled out in the contract.

The important things to remember about your day-of coordinator are that she or he isn’t responsible for helping you plan your wedding and, on the big day, can’t be in two places at once. If your day-of-wedding coordinator has just left to pick up the marriage license the groom forgot in his hotel room or has gone ahead to your reception venue to double check that the place cards are set up, having a back-up helper like a bridesmaid or your sister pre-selected can make your coordinator’s temporary absence less stressful.

The price of a day-of coordinator can vary widely depending on where you’re getting married – for example, a day-of coordinator in a major urban area may charge four times more than one in an out-of-the way rural town.

Ask all your wedding vendors to filter their questions through your day-of coordinator so you can focus on preparing yourself for your wedding ceremony and enjoying your wedding reception.

Note how long it takes the wedding coordinator to respond to your inquiries by e-mail and telephone. This may be indicative of how hard, or easy, it will be to communicate with the coordinator in the future should you hire him/her. Your goal here is to gather general information and ascertain responsiveness. Also, notate helpfulness and professionalism.