What is a Wedding Coordinator?

Wedding coordinators perform a series of duties designed to alleviate the stress and work involved in planning a wedding. They can acquire clients through word-of-mouth, vendor referrals or through advertisements. Appointments are usually set with the couple before the coordinator is hired to determine if the coordinator-couple partnership is a good match.

At the very least, a wedding coordinator helps create a basic blueprint of a wedding. Details like theme, music and venue are discussed and decided upon. However, budgeting can be a main duty of the wedding coordinator. A coordinator should have a good understanding of the financial resources devoted to the wedding and will have to use her skills to maintain and stick to a budget by drawing up budget sheets. Many clients find budgeting to be an important part of the wedding coordinator's duties, as financial details are often a large stressor.

A coordinator's job may also involve creating and maintaining schedules. Schedules can be used during the wedding planning process to make sure that certain tasks are done with adequate time before the wedding. A wedding coordinator may also create schedules for the wedding itself.

When deciding on a wedding coordinator to hire, couples may make their decision based on the coordinator's ties to the wedding industry. Often, coordinators can broker deals that would be hard for the average person to do. For example, if a coordinator has connections to vendors, the connections can save the hiring couple a significant amount of money.

One of the most valued aspects of having a wedding coordinator on board for a wedding is that she can be delegated to take care of last-minute emergencies. When a coordinator is hired and paid to do this, it means that a couple is free to worry about more pressing issues. The coordinator's experience with common wedding mishaps can help guarantee a smooth transition to the wedding day.

Though a wedding coordinator can do any of the jobs mentioned above, some may only be interested in doing a few or may charge separately for each duty. It's not uncommon to find a wedding coordinator that offers "packages" of services. For example, a coordinator may offer pre-wedding consultations in which she trains couples to plan their own weddings, "planning" packages in which the coordinator does all of the planning herself or a full-service package in which she is present through the whole process, including the actual wedding day.