As a venue, Mainspace has a clause that every group over 30 guests must have a professional day-of coordinator. Our primary focus as a venue is ensuring the operations between each vendor is seamless, and overseeing the safety and security of your guests. Your day-of coordinator will be responsible for getting you to the venue on time (whether pre- or post ceremony), communicating with every other vendor involved on the day, and ensuring your guest’s happiness throughout the entire event. With them there, yourself and your fiancé can enjoy every second of your wedding and give guests your complete and undivided attention.
You might think that hiring another vendor on top of your chosen caterer, photographer, videographer, officiant and DJ might be overkill. It might seem like an unnecessary expense in an already-expensive plan. However, that is the exact reason you NEED this person to help your day run smoothly.
Having someone at the helm right from the very beginning of your special day alleviates the stress of problem solving, directing logistics between both guests and vendors, and ensuring the order of events for the day stays on track from start to finish. A wedding timeline is usually planned down to the tee, and something such as a delayed ceremony start can mean a knock-on effect for everything else that happens thereafter. A day-of coordinator becomes your real life ‘Fairy Godmother’, often preventing or solving issues before they are even raised.
A day-of wedding coordinator is the glue that holds all the other vendors and the logistics between them together
Typically, you will begin your client relationship with a day-of coordinator about one month from your wedding date. They will work to understand your ideas and vision for the wedding day, and begin to liaise with your chosen vendors on your behalf leading right up until the day itself. Typically your day-of coordinator will lead your ceremony rehearsal a day or two out from the actual wedding, and direct each member of the wedding party as to where they should be and at what time. Most people (even if they are married themselves!), will not know the order of when to walk, read, stand or taking care of the rings and Bride’s bouquet.
From the moment the day starts, there will be set times that need to be monitored to ensure the order runs smoothly. Your coordinator will communicate with all vendors involved, and have all their information gathered on the timeline. From this, each person will know their tasks and place. For example, the photographer will know when the photo moments are impending for speeches and first dances. The DJ or venue will know when to cue/cut music in between toasts during dinner. The caterer will know when dinner begins and at what point late night snacks are planned to go out. The timeline is the entire view of the day, and without it, there is a great chance of guesswork from vendors who may not be familiar with each other or your wishes.
A day-of coordinator will make a timeline for the day which will become the blueprint for your wedding
On the morning of your wedding, your coordinator will be there calming nerves and meeting you during your ‘getting ready’ session. They will help keep hair and make up running on-time, ensure there is an emergency-kit on hand with essentials such as safety pins, scissors, tissues and deodorant, and assist with any wardrobe needs such as dress steaming and stain removals. Whilst everyone else is focused on getting ready, staying sober (!!) and leaving for the venue at the right time, your coordinator will be focused upon you and providing emotional and physical support in any way it is needed.
With so many components involved in each wedding, the coordinator will take responsibility for collecting and gathering all of your items such as bridal party florals, photos, guest book, extra decor, card boxes, name cards for the tables and favors. Along with setting these things up, they will ensure at the end of the evening that everything is gathered again and delivered back to your hotel or car, leaving you stress-free to enjoy the whole event.
The coordinator will be the main point of contact with any important family members and the bridal party to ensure they don’t miss any formalities such as photographs, cutting of the cake and the first dances. Any information such as dietary requirements or special requests during dinner will be overseen by your coordinator who will directly liaise with the caterer.
To summarise, this person will become your ultimate best friend and liaison for one day. You will reach the end of your wedding night, feeling content that you got to mingle, hug and dance with everyone who attended, and remained blissfully unaware of any minor hiccups that probably occurred at some point. The chances are, you’ll never know about these things! Your day-of coordinator was there to give you the happiest day of your life, and they will be 100% worth the investment.
Photo Credit: Nicole Fields Photography, Rocky Mountain Photo Co.
