Wedding day helpers !

That's so amazing Kait! It's such a great idea! It's so nice of your mom to get involved in your wedding planning! Is she also going dress shopping with you?

That is a totally sweet deal, and I dont believe I have heard from you before Welcome Kait!!!

Thank you for the awesome advice!

My mom's childhood friend's son is getting married a few months before me. Basically my mom and her friend have agreed to take vacation days the Friday before each wedding and be available to help at the other wedding on the Friday and Saturday. That way both couples get reliable help without putting too much pressure on family members or other guests and we don't have to pay them. It's an amazing trade-off that they came up with themselves, so I'm pretty excited!

I definitely wish that we had had room in our budget for a day of coordinator. I had to just trust that my vendors were doing what they were supposed to and were running on time! I tried to get my bridesmaids to help but it just never seemed to work out so my groom and I pretty much did everything ourselves and since we weren't able to be together on the wedding day until the ceremony, it was nerve wracking!

If you plan on leaning on family members or friends, just make sure to be very clear about what you want them to do and give them all the information they'll need so they can do it the way you want. Spreadsheets, Google docs and timelines are great! Even though I tried to keep everyone in the loop, they really didn't "get it" until we were actually at the wedding and then it all fell into place. (I am the first one in my family to get married so I'm guessing my sisters will have an easier time since we've all been through it now!)

ha ha yup I figure I cant only control so much so I will do my part on the friday night and set everything I possibly can up .. and then the rest is up to fate

I am trying to keep my inner control freak under control so I don't make everyone else too crazy! I just keep repeating to myself that things will go wrong and it will still be okay as long as we are married and everyone has a good time no one will care...but yeah it always seems easier to just do it myself so I know it is done correctly.

I plan on setting up and doing alot myself the night before... thats the control freak in me lol

I initially wanted a full on wedding coordinator...and then I decided that wedding coordinator budget would be more fun if spent on the honeymoon. I may get one closer to the date depends on how panicked I get. Our vendor does a lot of the coordinating duties such as setting up all the tables and decor. We just have to drop things off and they set it all up. I am also trying to keep things fairly simple so hopefully we will be okay without one.

Everything shoudl already be done the night before , and I have vendors to do decor and such it is more for flow i think .... everything is all happening at one location .. it is more to make sure the guys keep it together lol and simple things like putting out some water in my barrels or directing the dj where to go as everyone else already knows and will be done the day of !

Hi Natasha! I think it's a good idea to have a family member helping you on the day of to save costs, but just make sure that's it's not too much for her to take on. Here are a few things to think about, for example

How many locations will you have? Will everything be in one place?

Are you on a tight schedule?

Are your vendors (catering, cake, band/DJ) used to your venue or will they need help to set up?

Who is going to decorate and when?

Depending on how complicated these things are, your day-of coordinator might have many things to think about. Just make sure that's ok with your FMIL and that she will also be able to enjoy herself too! What do you think?

I have access to my venue the entire day before also so I will be setting almost everything up the night before, its mostly just the last little touches ... and ensuring everything is perfect and running as close to schedule as it can that I was worried about .. thats why my FH brought up asking my FMIL and step mom to help on this aspect, so they feel involved because my mom will be with me and unable to

I definatly will let you know if I come up with anything !! its so hard to hand it over ... but once I have the timeline for the day done I think it wont be too bad and hopefully my helpers stick to my wishes

I won't be having a wedding planner or a day of co-ordinator! We lucked out as our venue owner will take care of everything on site, they do most of the set up and we get to set up the day before the wedding so we wont have to do it the day off! This way we will be less stressed the day of! Our dj also co-ordinates with all of our vendors and gives them a timeline of how the day will be played out and everyone knows where to be and what time! With the help of these two and my bridal party I think we will be just fine without the day of co-ordinator! I also found a wedding planner to not be part of my budget and I have always enjoyed planning things and so I felt like it wouldn't be necessary to have one for my wedding!

Thankfully my venue has an on-site coordinator that handles a lot of DOC duties, and I'm allowed to set up my reception space 2 days before the wedding, so I can do a bunch of it myself (since I don't have any fresh flowers). But I think I would have really tried to fit a DOC into my budget if not because as much as my mom would say that she's happy to help, I just know she's also going to want to be there for me getting ready and everything that morning. It's almost as big a day for her as it is for me and I would just hate to take that away, no matter how much she argued, because I know deep down she really doesn't want to miss a moment.

Hey Natasha,

I am working within a thight budget- so I am passing on the wedding planner or Day-Of-Coordinator.....I do kind of wish I could have a DOC. I will be leaning on my mom and sister the help with things, and I do also hve a really helpful site coordinator at my reception venue.

I'm pretty nervous about the details too- but we have time! I think communication and even written timelines for your helpers will be important....so far that is my plan. if you think of tips, please let me know, so we can both handle the crazy!