Why your Wedding Decorator Believes you Need a Day of Wedding Coordinator for your Wedding Day.
After 9 years of decorating and participating in countless weddings, we have started to notice very common situations that arise during the planning process and during set up and execution of the decor (we have started calling these situations “gaps”). Gaps where your decorator’s job ends and another companies job doesn’t quite begin, so couples are left with these voids to fill in services which could very easily be filled by a Day of Wedding Coordinator. Some examples to consider:
Who will place favours and any stationery?
Often the venue will supply a form of a day of coordinator to place favours, name tags, menus etc. Some venue’s do not offer this service and typically your decorator doesn’t provide this service either. Sometimes we see family and friends come in to place these items. Sometimes it’s not possible for family and friends to help, a Day of Coordinator would be able to fill this “gap”.
Who lights the candles or turns on battery operated candles?
Often the venue staff will do this service, typically your decorator does not light candles or turn on battery operated candles even though they likely supplied these items, this may come as a surprise that the decorator doesn’t do this service, but this comes down to logistics, typically your decorator is one of the very first professionals on site, if candles were lit they would likely be left unattended until the next professional arrived which is a safetly concern and they would likely be burnt out by the time the wedding started which defeats the purpose of having candles, same can be said for battery operated candles. We have come across situations where the venue does not have the staff available to provide these services which leaves a “gap” that a Day of Coordinator could easily fill.
Who will set out and place personal and DIY items?
Again, most often a venue will supply these services (possibly only to a certain degree) many will set up receiving table decor, but not place DIY centrepieces etc. some will, but every venue is different and then there comes the worry of “will it be done correctly”. Typically your decorator does not supply this service and if they do they likely charge an additional fee. Many Day of Coordinators include this type of service in their packages.
Who will move items from ceremony to reception?
Sometimes the venue will supply this service, sometimes not. A decorator will, but you will likely be charged extra for this service because their team has to stay on site for the duration of the ceremony to move items which prevents them from decorating another wedding. If you have a Day of Coordinator they likely provide this service in their package.
Sometimes the items that are supplied are supplied in a less than “perfect” condition, for example, maybe a linen was put on a table was crooked, or maybe a chair in a row of chairs isn’t quite lined up with the rest, maybe a hired professional is running a little behind and could use some extra hands, maybe a delivery was made to the table on the right and was supposed to be on the table to the left, it is beneficial in countless ways to have a Day of Coordinator overseeing all the details, now they can’t quite promise perfection, but it goes a long way to have an extra set of eyes, ears and hands available to help your day run smoothly and stress free.
Keep in mind this is the perspective from ONLY what a decorator encounters, I am willing to bet that other wedding professionals like the officiant, DJ, florist, etc. Have their own versions of how valuable a Day of Coordinator can be on your wedding day and it doesn’t stop there, reach out to local wedding planners to hear their take on the benefits of having a Day of Coordinator.