The Difference Between Wedding Planners, Designers and Coordinators
You know you want help from a professional wedding planner, but how do you know what type of service is right for you? The biggest distinction is between full-service wedding planners, wedding designers and wedding coordinators. Not every wedding planner offers a full range of services and what’s included in each package differs between planners, and that's important to know when hiring your planning companion.
The Wedding Planner
A full-service Wedding Planner provides the most comprehensive service. Your wedding planner can be hired as early as the moment you are engaged and will always include full assistance throughout your wedding day. Consider your wedding planner as your coach and advocate through the entire planning process.
Some planners offer in-house design services as well (hey! 👋🏼) while others choose to focus on logistics.
A full-service wedding planner’s duties may include, but are not limited to:
Personalized budget creation and management
Complete management of planning timeline and checklist
A custom wedding design
Guidance in selecting every vendor and attending meetings with you or on your behalf
Vendor contract negotiation and booking
Outlining a detailed wedding day timeline for VIPs and vendor production team
Styling of ceremony and reception spaces on wedding day
Overseeing all wedding day activities
Providing personal assistance on wedding day
Hire a full service planner if:
You have the budget for it
You don’t have time to plan your wedding
You have no idea where to start, what to do, or your organizational skills are lacking
You want to keep the wedding planning process and wedding day as stress-free as possible
You have a short engagement
The Wedding Designer
A Wedding Designer is focused is on making your wedding beautiful and completely unique to you. You may book a designer as little as six months in advance of your wedding, but you will probably benefit from some planning assistance and vendor recommendations by booking early in your engagement.
Designers provide visual detail sourcing and guest experience planning while you take the lead on much of the budget management, planning timeline and completion of the to-do list.
A wedding designer’s duties may include, but are not limited to:
A custom design plan and colour palette
Sourcing of special design details
Guidance in selecting all design related vendors, including working closely with the florist, cake artist, lighting, rentals and stationer
Creating detailed floor plans
Styling of the ceremony and reception spaces on wedding day
Hire a wedding designer IF:
You have too many ideas and can’t narrow down a clear vision
Decor and visual experience is a priority for you
You are confident in your organization and planning skills
The Wedding Coordinator
A Wedding Coordinator is logistically focused but assumes all the planning and design details have been taken care of. They’ll review details, make any necessary tweaks and follow up on loose ends. Book this service any time and know they’ll jump in closer to your wedding day to confirm details and lead you, your guests, and vendors as you get closer to and on the wedding day. A coordinator ensures everything runs as planned so you and your loved ones are free to enjoy your wedding day.
A Wedding Coordinator’s duties may include, but are not limited to:
Meeting with you to get caught up on your vision and plans
Checking in with vendors to review contracts and event day scheduling so nothing is missed
Creating a detailed wedding day timeline for your VIPs and vendor production team
Being a point of contact for vendors, wedding party, and VIPs
Providing personal assistance on wedding day
Basic styling of ceremony and reception spaces
Direction of all scheduled events
Diffusion of any issues that arise
Hire a Wedding Coordinator if:
You don’t have the budget for a full-service planner
You are extremely organized and confident in planning all the details
You want someone to take over handling last minute details so you can relax on your wedding day
As a full-service wedding planner offering in-house design services and wedding day management, we are thrilled to guide you through the wedding planning process in any way we are needed most. Our favourite projects include working with fun-loving couples who want a truly personalized wedding.
Still not sure what the right kind of service is for you? Let's chat! There are so many more details included in each of the services to review. Let’s look at where you might want help the most and determine the best way forward.