YES!!!! Wedding planning is stressful and takes a lot of time! You NEED a wedding coordinator, you DESERVE a coordinator, and you should have a coordinator. Every engaged couple NEEDS a wedding coordinator or planner for their day.
Wedding planners or wedding coordinators are not just a luxury anymore. More and more couples are hiring a planner or coordinator for their wedding.
Why?
To plan a wedding without a planner or coordinator can take a couple 250-300 hours. This includes the time spent researching vendors and venues. Planners and coordinators have already done the research and know many of the vendors and venues in the area and are constantly learning about new locations or new services. This saves couples lots of time with recommendations and referrals.
Time is valuable
You can absolutely do the work yourself and spend the time doing the research and leg work of visiting venues, but each hour you spent doing research is an hour you could be spending doing something else, including enjoying your engagement.
My mom/aunt/sister/cousin can be my planner
Unless these people are actual planners and have a team that can help them, on the day of your wedding, these people should be enjoying your day with you, not running to the local flower shop to grab extra flowers or standing in the pouring rain to hold umbrellas over your guest that are arriving.
While these people mean well and can absolutely be a resource, you do not want to have them miss out on important moments because they are setting up cocktail hour while you are saying your vows or not being there while you step into your dress because a vendor is calling them looking for details about where to set up.
My venue has a coordinator
We hear this one a lot! Many venue or catering companies have in- house coordinators. We personally love working with venue and catering coordinators, they are a valuable asset.
While they are a valuable asset, there is a HUGE difference between venue/catering coordinators and a coordinator/planner you hire yourself. Venue/catering coordinators are hired by their employer and their main priority is making sure everything runs smooth for them. They will not come to your hotel room in the morning to make sure you are running on time and your dress is looking perfect. They might briefly speak to your vendors prior to your wedding, but they will not work with them to create a cohesive timeline which will reflect all of the pieces you are looking to include. While a coordinator/planner you hire will reach out to each vendor and make sure everyone is working on one timeline and each vendor does not have their own timeframe or order of events.