I hate to touch on such an important topic before I gain more followers, but I’m sure I will touch on this again, so here goes. It is pertinent that every bride/client understand exactly what the difference is between a coordinator and planner, especially before they decide to hire or deny one of the two!
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, the word coordinate (or coordinating) means to place into proper order or relation; adjust. I define the word as taking something that someone else has done and shuffling it around until you reach a sensible end result!
On the other hand, Webster’s definition of plan (or planning) is to devise a scheme for doing, making or arranging – to make plans. According to this untitled professional, a planner is exactly that – someone who plans and executes the plan that brings the project to life and completes the goal.
The difference between these two words is essential when considering who to work with for your special day. As an example, majority of my clients who request “day of” services are essentially asking me for help coordinating (although my package offers more than that). They have already made the plans and they simply need someone to come in at the end of the project to sort through the details, finalize the process and tie it up in nice pretty bow!
My full service brides typically need a lot more than that; something more like a planner.
They have ideas of what they want, but no time to gather the information, collect the data, make final decisions and execute the actions to get us to the main event. Planning requires more action and research rather than organizing and confirming.
My reason for wanting to define the terms is because there are many venues that provide a coordinator which is very helpful to the bride on the day of her wedding. However, nine times out of ten, this luxury is not always a helpful addition throughout the actual planning process. Checking up on the arrival times of your vendors is very helpful, but sometimes additional help is needed and brides are not aware that the help they need is in fact available to them and not included in the package once they see the words “On Site Event Coordinator.”
In most cases, those coordinators are managing and perhaps even planning the details that are directly related to their venue, staff, contracted vendors, etc. Most on site coordinators are not coming with you to pick flowers or sitting down to discuss your budget and pricing the different vendors that you are interested in working with. Task lists, financial confirmations and finalizing orders with additional vendors are not typically involved in their title of coordinator either.
Whether your needs require a coordinator, a planner or even a consultant (which is a topic for a different day), make sure you know what the title involves before you dismiss the thought of digging deeper to find what works for you. Having a coordinator included in a package seems like a great perk, but finding out their limitations is essential in order to know how sweet of a deal the venue/vendor is offering!
To clarify, and make sure my definitions are not taken out of context, a coordinator is very helpful and necessary, especially an on site coordinator. But in any case, even in the case of hiring an independent planner, it is still important to look at the full picture and have the facts before deciding whether you need more to accomplish what you want! Just because something is included in a package does not always mean it is something that fulfills all of your needs!
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