Day-of Coordinator

View quoted message This is a great idea. Unfortunately, our wedding won't be able to tell us if we can get in early or tear down the next day until 1-2 weeks before our wedding.

I didn't hire a DOC for the reason of everything was done by us since it was organized and easy to do with the help of family as it went smooth. The day before we got to set up as guests were checking in and got to see them providing them with welcome bags and envelope. Your vendors may be able to help with the break down if they include it in their services charge. If not, ask about the charges if its feasible to add onto your budget. The venue may be able to help by letting you go back to tear down the next day.

My fiance and I are having one regardless. That way we can relax the morning of our big day and not stress. She'll be putting all of our centerpieces together, our walk in table, cake table and our ceremony accessories. She will also be helping with any questions that the vendors have or need help with since we won't be at the venue until about half hour before the ceremony. She's also going to be with us during the ceremony to help with timing of walking down the aisle for all of us as well as the reception of when to enter our reception area

View quoted message This is the action I have a hard time describing, all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into "just a party". Great points Hank, thanks!

View quoted message Thanks so much for your reply! I love hearing from other mini wedding folk. I'm glad to hear it was worth it even with the smaller guest list. It's been hard to sell my fiance on all the services they provide that we might not even use but running the show in itself I think would be worth the expense.

I hired a day of coordinator (pre covid) but used her for both my mini ceremony and reception (34 guests). I think it's very worthwhile to have one. She created our entire timeline from getting ready to the end of the evening and all I needed to do was look over it and give my input. She setup everything for us and worked with the venue/vendors/caterers leading up to the day. She also ran the flow of events on the day so that I could relax and actually enjoy my day! Which is definitely important!

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One important thing the coordinator will do is time the kitchen based on what's happening on the floor so that meals are coming out at the right time. Basically you don't want the kitchen to make 25 steaks ahead of time when you're running 30 minutes late and have the food get cold.

Same goes with timing your ceremony. If you choose to delay the start time because guests are late, the coordinator will essentially stage manage the crew and give the start time when it's good. With the bridal party not being able to see the ceremony area prior to your entrance, the coordinator is pretty much your eyes and ears until it's go time.

View quoted message We are only having the caterers, photographer, and officiant as the only vendors. It would be nice to have someone run the ipod Playlist during the ceremony for us. We are doing silk florals that will be done ahead of time other than attaching some to the arch. Setup would just be setting up the chairs and tables with tablecloths and centrepieces. I do like the idea of an experienced hand looking over the timeline though.

What are you putting into your venue and what vendors do you have? Just having someone on-site coordinating the DJ, florist, decorator, and the venue staff is already something that will make your life easier. The last thing you want while getting ready doing makeup and hair etc is to field calls from all your vendors.

You'll also want a coordinator to give input to your timeline. They've seen how weddings are done and if something is too short or long, they'll advise you. Also, they will be the one ensuring the timeline is adhered to because you will not want to worry about making sure you're on time or not late for the next event.