Throughout my years of experience as a Chicago wedding photographer, I’ve picked up quite a few tips and tricks for what makes for a successful and stress-free wedding day. One of the most important lessons has been what type of support couples need most on their wedding day. Hiring a wedding coordinator is not something at the forefront of most couples’ minds but I’m hoping to change that by the end of this blog post.
Next to your wedding photographer, a wedding coordinator can be highly influential and helpful on your wedding day. Not only to alleviate stress but to reallocate your energy to other things that need your attention on your wedding day.
While many of you may not believe you “need” a wedding coordinator, let me tell you this. A wedding coordinator is one of those wedding expenses that at the moment you feel may not be “worth it”, but you are wrong. Wedding coordinators can hands-down save the day and I will tell you why you need a wedding coordinator.
Difference Between A Venue Coordinator Vs. Wedding Coordinator
First things first, many couples tend to skip over investing in a wedding coordinator. This is because when they are touring venues, they see this sneaky term “venue coordinator” as a part of their wedding package. To many couples, this is the ultimate bang for your buck. However, there is a vast difference between a venue coordinator and a wedding coordinator. Let me explain!
A venue coordinator is there to make sure that the venue is taken care of, not you. They are not there to help with coordinating the day itself outside the setup of the actual wedding venue. You want to make sure to check with your wedding venue as to what roles their coordinators provide during a wedding day. This will help determine the responsibilities between the coordinator and you!
The role of a wedding coordinator is to be there for YOU on the day of your wedding. They ensure that everything is going according to plan, alleviating stress, and helping focus on all of the logistics. A wedding coordinator is there to help make sure your wedding day is executed properly across the board. That includes vendor communication, timelines, decor setup, etc.
Reasons To Invest In A Wedding Coordinator
So maybe at this point, you’re intrigued. I’ve caught your attention… now what? Well rather than just tell you this is what you *have* to do, let me back it up with some facts. Below are just some of the reasons why investing in a wedding coordinator for your wedding day can be life-changing.
Have Peace Of Mind
I am a big believer in maintaining your mental health and sanity at all times, but especially during your wedding day. You already have so many things to deal with and emotions to handle. The last thing you want to do is worry about all of the logistics on your wedding day. A wedding coordinator is there to help you with your peace of mind, which in my mind is priceless.
Some wedding coordinators not only offer day-of support, but month-of services as well leading up to your wedding. They’ll likely be in contact with your wedding vendors to help manage the streamlined timeline. As well as handle the tiny details so that you don’t have to do as much scrambling before the wedding!
Your Wedding Coordinator Is Your Point Of Contact
One of the most helpful aspects of hiring a wedding coordinator for your wedding day is that they will be the point of contact for everyone on the day of your wedding. This essentially means that any issues that come up, they can handle them rather than you.
They take care of all the issues that come up on your wedding day so that you can kick back, relax and know that all of the details are being taken care of. This role that they play can majorly affect how stressed you are leading up to the wedding as well as the day of. This day is all about celebration, not worry. So do yourself a favor, and let the wedding coordinator handle it!
Finalizing Your Creative Wedding Vision
Wedding coordinators are there to help make your life easier on your wedding day. This can include helping finalize your creative wedding vision. Your wedding coordinator is there to work with your wedding vendors and venue to ensure everything is exactly how you want it. If not, they are there to help fix any issues to make it as exact as possible! Wedding coordinators can help bring your vision to life and ensure your wedding venue is up-to-par with your wedding day vision. This can include helping with your wedding decor, placements, signage, etc.
In some cases, wedding coordinators can also be there to help clean up at the end of the night. Rather than having your friends and family take on this responsibility, this is why you hire a wedding coordinator. So let’s be honest, your friends and family will most likely be drunk from celebrating and don’t have the capacity to make sure everything gets in the right place. Instead, by hiring a wedding coordinator you are allowing you and your wedding guests to have a good time, while simultaneously knowing that everyone will get taken care of on the backend.
Your Wedding Coordinator WILL Be Your Photographers BFF
Most importantly, hiring a wedding coordinator for your wedding day will almost *always* guarantee to be your wedding photographer’s BFF. Why you may ask? When there is a coordinator to help run the day and keep up with the schedule, your wedding photographer can focus more on documenting the day.
As a documentary-style wedding photographer, I focus on capturing those in-between “off-camera” type moments. Read more about documentary-style wedding photography here. Essentially if I have to be the one leading the charge to fix all the problems that come up, I can’t effectively capture those fly-on-the-wall type of images.
It is important to be present and focused on documenting these candid and undirected moments. If this specific type of wedding photography style is important to you, in my eyes having a wedding coordinator can be non-negotiable.
Without a wedding coordinator, that role is often taken over by your wedding photographer. Which in this specific case, can distract from capturing authentic and candid moments within documentary-style wedding photography. I can’t document the small moments if I’m focused on coordinating the big moments, you feel me?
Wedding Planning Tips: if you value documentary-style wedding photography, hire the wedding coordinator.
Wedding Planning Tips | Why You Need A Wedding Coordinator
If you’re a couple that is looking for a true story of your day with as many small moments as possible, don’t make your wedding photographer fill both roles.
Your wedding photographer is there to capture the day, not help run it! There are many amazing wedding professionals/wedding coordinators who fill this role perfectly and can help make your wedding day run smoothly.
Below are some of my favorite Chicago wedding coordinators that I have personally worked with and highly recommend!
Chicago Wedding Coordinators
- Bridget Mary Weddings
- Sustainable Soirées
- Designed and Detailed
- Paris Events
- Simply Elegant Group
- Naturally Yours Events
- An Event Less Ordinary
- Cygnet Events & Design
Below are some other wedding coordinator recommendations from close colleagues of mine in the Chicago area!
If you liked these wedding planning tips, check out more helpful wedding planning tips and resources here!
