What Does a Wedding Planner Do?

Photo by No Rules Photography

Hey there, I'm a wedding planner! Whenever I tell people that, especially people who actually need a wedding planner, I sometimes get the curious looks that make me think, "You don't actually know what I do, do you?" I figured it couldn't hurt to share a quick guide to my role in your wedding, so here's the rundown of what a wedding planner does and doesn't do.

Let me preface this by saying that each wedding planner may have a slightly different job description or scope of offering. Some offer specialties that others might not, so what I'll go over here is what I specifically offer and in general what you can usually expect when you're hunting for someone to help plan your big day.

First, let's go over what wedding planners aren't. We're not the ones officiating the weddings (usually). We're not a babysitter for adults (usually). We're not your hired-on best friend (usually). We're also not the all-in-one solution to every aspect of the day, however we are generally the point of contact for everyone who is.

To be clear, here's a shortlist of vendor specialties we don't usually offer:

• Hair and makeup

• Floral

• DJing and emceeing

• Childcare 

• Photography or videography (though personally I do share some in-the-moment pics snapped on my phone)

• Content creation

• Officiation (though some planners are ordained for emergency situations)

• AV services

• Lighting design

• Catering/bartending (including busing tables)

• DIY décor creation (some planners who provide rentals may do this but it is rare)

Do I handle the catering? No, but I certainly know some great caterers that I'd love to refer! In fact, that's one big part of what wedding planners do, being the glue that holds every aspect of the wedding together. While I'm not advertising as being able to do all the things listed above, I have plenty of contacts who do and I'm excited to make those referrals and collaborate with them on your wedding.

So, you know what I'm not specializing in, so what is my primary role? A wedding planner's primary role is to help you create a plan for your wedding, including offering advice and suggestions to make your dream ceremony become a reality, do the planning labor, and execute the big day. We're also on site during the day of the event to ensure everything is running as smoothly as possible and to resolve any issues as they come up.

It's important to make a clear distinction between a few similar roles, those being planners, coordinators, and venue coordinators.

Planner: Does the most back-end labor, depending on vendor and the contracted package scope. Their role typically includes but is not limited to:

• Budget planning and management

• Sourcing venue and vendors, and gathering proposals

• Contract review

• Accommodation and transportation coordination (I personally work with a free service that handles room blocks as well)

• Rental coordination

• Event styling and design

• Creation of the wedding day timeline and floorplan

• Managing the planning timeline

• Onsite wedding rehearsal and wedding day management

• Handling personal décor and gifts

• Handing out cash tips

Planners also sometime handle (but not me specifically):

• Stationary and other media creation and distribution

• RSVP tracking

• Signing contracts/handle passthrough payments

  • As a note, most planners will not sign contracts (also know as subcontracting) or handle passthrough payments due to the inherent liability. If this is something you're looking for, be sure to ask your planner directly to confirm.

Coordinator: This will vary by vendor, but a coordinator typically comes in several months before the wedding to do the following:

• Often creates the wedding day timeline

• Sometimes creates the floorplan

• Executes the wedding rehearsal and wedding day, including coordinating vendors, venue, timeline, etc.

• Usually has a wedding day kit to handle most emergent issues

• Will hand out cash tips

• In most cases handles décor and gifts

  • A note on day-of coordination: I don't believe day-of coordination is a feasible option for most weddings, largely because success comes from being proactive rather than reactive, and if you're inheriting another's plans it will lead to stress over control. See my blog on the topic for more details

Venue Coordinator: Lastly, an important distinction, a venue coordinator works for the venue, not the couple. This means their responsibilities are limited to only venue-related tasks.

• Coordinates all aspects relating to the venue contract and related labor

  • Be sure to check your contract to confirm exactly what this includes

Venue coordinators typically DO NOT handle:

• Personal décor, cash tips, or gifts

• Managing the timeline

A big part of what a wedding planner does is act as forward momentum for important planned milestones. We're there to gently (and sometimes not-so-gently) push you to complete important tasks, such as defining a guestlist, selecting a venue and locking in a date, making a decision on the catering, or having you pick a DJ. It's my job to remove roadblocks and reduce decision fatigue, letting you keep swimming instead of just treading water.

I also act as that expert advice and guide to tell you what is and isn't going to work. I've been in this game for a few seasons, let me tell you, so if you have an idea, I can tell you how to make it work and where you'll need to pivot or compromise to make parts of it happen. My job is to answer questions for you when you get stuck, or to correct misunderstandings as they come up. I'm not all-knowing, but I'm pretty good at this whole wedding business, so I'm a great resource to listen to now and then (or always).

As you might have noticed in my blog, I like to share some venue tours of places where I'm a preferred vendor, which is another big aspect of what a wedding planner does. As a preferred vendor, I'm often able to access special deals for my clients, meaning selecting the right planner for the right venue can save you some expenses in the long run, possibly leaving just enough left over in the budget for that pony ride you were hoping for.

If you'd like help planning your wedding, I'd love to be your wedding planner! Contact me and let's chat about how we can make your ideal wedding happen.

Happy Wedding Planning,

Andy <3