When I meet with my couples, we go over a ton of information.  Sometimes I feel like I give them an overwhelming amount of information.  The truth is, as a photographer, I wear a lot of hats at a wedding.  I am a bonified errand running, dress zipping, timeline adhering, photographing kind of girl.  And I do love every minute of it.  But if I can make one suggestion to my brides, it is always to hire a great coordinator.

So, what are some of the benefits of having a Wedding Coordinator?  First and foremost, they become your main point of contact on your wedding day.  A good wedding coordinator is extremely organized, providing a detailed timeline of your day.  They ensure that everyone in the wedding party is lined up accordingly and prepared to walk down the isle.  They ensure that you and your groom don’t run in to each other when entering the venue, or help to organize a first look (where you see each other before the wedding for photographs).  The truth is, they do so incredibly much on your wedding day, that I can’t even begin to list it here. These detailed timelines are a huge bonus for me!  I can take a look at the timeline and know exactly where I am supposed to be – where the bride is supposed to be – and do my job to the absolute best of my ability.  It means more time of me photographing your wedding day!

I get asked a lot of questions about the cost of a wedding coordinator and what their job entails.  Coordinators have different levels of packages, much like photographers do, so that is a hard question to answer; however, Coordinators have experience with different venues and vendors throughout the area.  They are experts at this!  And while if you choose to hire a Coordinator, you will have to pay their package for their time and work, chances are that you could actually save money on your wedding.  They have negotiated contracts with a wide variety of people and can recommend experts for your wedding day (because let’s be honest, this day happens only once).  I also strongly believe that Hollywood over exaggerates the role of Coordinators.  We always see them running around and planning every last detail of a wedding in the movies.  While this can absolutely be done, many coordinators have a package available for just the day of your wedding.  In other words, you can plan your wedding, do it yourself projects and or details, and they can ensure that everything goes as planned on the wedding day and that everything runs smoothly. And if you are looking to plan your wedding with suggestions – they have a package for this too!  You can do most of the planning and they will help you find vendors that are perfect for your day, style, and needs.

Wedding Coordinators should not be confused with venue coordinators.  I get this one a lot.  ”Our venue provides us with a coordinator”.  Venue coordinators are fantastic; however, they are there to support the venue.  They want to make sure that you begin and stop using the venue on the allotted time slot and do exactly what you are supposed to be doing (with the venue in mind).

The really cool part of working with a coordinator is that they are there to help you!  They have great ideas, they are extremely well organized, and they have these awesome ideas that can make your wedding the wedding of your dreams.  If you are looking for a Coordinator for your wedding day, I can certainly make some suggestions. And don’t forget to check out StudioWed Denver for expert wedding vendors in a wide variety of categories.