The most asked questions for Wedding Coordinators, and their answers
Have you ever wanted to pick the brains of a Wedding Coordinator, as a Bride planning her Wedding Day? Have you thought about the possibility of having a Wedding Planner?
Here at RDP we are BIG believers in having, at the very least, a Day of Coordinator. The fires these ladies (and gents!) put out will save you time, money… and heartache!
They know the order in which to do things, and they can provide you with valuable advice on how to create a smooth Wedding Day. You will have access to a wealth of information, including all the best vendors that they know will be best for your specific Wedding Day.
They take into consideration your style, your hopes, and your wishes for all the things that you’ve been dreaming of since you were a little girl.
We truly believe Wedding Coordinators are the unsung heroes of Wedding Days!
Get yourself a good one and I promise you won’t regret a single penny you spend on them.
Over the years we have had the absolute pleasure of working with some truly amazing and talented Wedding Coordinators. So we decided to see if a few of our local favorites would tell us their most asked questions and give us the answers we’ve been dying to get…and they came thru big time!
Amy with All Things Planned
Q: How many guests can you expect will actually attend the wedding from the overall guest list?
A: We use the 75-80% rule and it’s generally pretty accurate! That is, you can expect that 75-80% of your total guests invited will actually come to the wedding. So, for example, if you’re inviting 200 total guests to the wedding, you can count on 150-160 actually coming. If the wedding is close to a holiday or other significant time of year {spring break, for example} that number can certainly be lower as guests are traveling or have other things going on. The 150-160 guests count is what you would use to get quotes from vendors like caterers, alcohol vendors, cake bakers, etc. – those vendors who need a guest count to provide an accurate quote.
Q: What should be done first when the wedding planning begins?
A: We like to tell folks to take a little time and bask in it! Don’t dive right into the Pinterest board or start contacting vendors right away. Take a little time and let it sink in! Enjoy the excitement of the upcoming marriage and life you’ll share together. Once you’ve come down from Cloud 9 a bit, then the planning can begin. Start with a budget, a real defined number that you, and/or your families are comfortable spending on the wedding. You should then start working on the guest list and getting an idea of how many folks you’ll be inviting so that you can start looking for venues that work for your guest count {remembering the 75-80% rule!}. Once a venue has been secured, you can start to work on booking vendors who can only do one wedding a day – photographers, videographers, officiants, bands/DJs, etc. You can then start looking at vendors for things like catering, bar, cake bakers, floral, rentals, etc. – those vendors who can generally do more than one wedding in a day.
**RDP note…photographers can be in high demand, so I would actually recommend that whatever is most important to you ie vendor/photographer, you should secure the most important one to you FIRST. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to turn a sweet bride away because she chose her venue first and we were both heartbroken that I wasn’t available for her big day! HOWEVER, if the venue is most important to you, then by all means, book that thing quick!
Q: Does the couple {or their parents} take on the costs of attire, hair/makeup for the bridal party.
A: The answer is – if it’s in the budget to do so and you’d like to – go for it! It is not expected that the couple should pay for the attire purchase or rentals for their bridal party but we do see that sometimes they are paid for or at least a portion paid for. If you are expecting the bridesmaids to have professional hair + makeup services done, it is generally a rule that those services will be paid for by the bride or parents of the bride. We often see that professional hair services are paid for by the bride but makeup is not, for example. The rule is, if you are expecting your girls to have professional services done on your wedding day, you should expect to pay for them. If you want to offer it but not require it, you can certainly let your girls know how much the hair + makeup artists charges to come do hair + makeup for them and they can decide if they would like to pay for it or do their own hair + makeup for your wedding day.
Ashley and Company
Q: We have selected our date and venue but don’t know where to go from here! I’m feeling so stressed about everything that needs to get done, what’s next?
A: Each year the process of planning a wedding is becoming more muddled, and knowing what to do when is a larger burden on brides than ever before. Friends and family are pressing about details and your vendors are already asking questions, all while you’re still working through who’s even invited to the wedding. It’s a frustrating process to navigate alone, and this is the time when I strongly suggest any bride not already working with a planner/coordinator to book one. We are here to help guide you through the many tasks of wedding planning in the most stress free way possible. My answer is different for every bride and customized to fit their needs and what’s most important to them on their wedding day. So if you are asking yourself, “What’s next?”, the answer is to find a planner you connect with and let them help guide you.
Q: Everyone is giving me advice about the wedding. Do we have to do ____________?
A: The answer is almost always “No!”. Your wedding day is a reflection of you and your fiancé and the start of this amazing new life together. It isn’t bound by any rules or guidelines. Now, this does not mean that all bets are off the table and you should not be mindful of accommodating your guests. It does mean, however, that if you are torn between food stations versus a buffet, or announcing your full wedding party versus just you and the hubby, the answer is always, “what do you want most!”.
Q: We want to stay within budget. Where should I focus the majority of my cost?
A: I love to ask my brides, “What are your top three?” What are the three most important things to you on your wedding day? Is it having beautiful photos that you will put up in your new home? Is it an upbeat party that allows you to dance the night away? It may even be as simple as having those 5 minutes alone with your now husband before you’re announced into the reception. Whatever your top three are, those are the areas you should focus your budget on, because those are the memories that last a lifetime.
We hope these help you as you begin to plan your big day!
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