blog, Sacramento Wedding Planner, Wedding Planning Tips & Advice

Photo by Allison Stahl

We often get inquiries from brides {and sometimes grooms} for “Day Of” Services for weddings. This usually means that the couple feels that the pre-planning is pretty much handled and they just need someone there on the day of the wedding to ensure that things go smoothly. Totally understood! “Day Of Coordination” is one of the many services that we happily offer.  But I do have to say that I personally feel that the term “Day Of” is a little bit confusing. So, I just thought I would take a brief moment today to talk about exactly how “Day Of” services work and what we provide when someone comes to us asking for this particular service.  The fact is that it would be very risky for us to step in on the day of, or even a few days before a wedding, and promise our clients that we will do an amazing job. There is definitely a good bit pre-work and interaction with our clients that is required before we can say with confidence: “We’ve got it! You can relax now!”

I asked my good friend Alison Ulshoffer of Alison Ulshoffer Events & Design for her take on “Day Of” Planning and here’s what she had to say: “We decided at the beginning of 2009 that “day of coordination” was in theory, not practice, a great service for brides + grooms. I quickly learned it’s actually a disservice to our clients to try and step in the “day of” their wedding. There is simply too much communication that needs be done prior to a wedding. We feel that a “month of” coordination is much more reasonable to really get a handle on all of the many details that need to be taken care of. There are so many savvy brides who have done an incredible job planning their wedding. We don’t feel that it can be carried out with a couple days of phone calls and emails. Building a relationship with clients is so important and the more time to build that relationship the better”.

Like Alison and her team, we typically begin to work with our clients 4-6 weeks in advance of your wedding when providing “Day Of” services {which, for most planners, truly is more of a “Month Of” service}. We begin with an initial consultation where we gather more detailed information than most people probably even know exist about the details of a wedding. This takes time. It takes interaction between us and our clients. It takes us getting to know you and your every want, need and desire for your wedding day {all the way down to the comfy shoes that you want us to set next to your chair for you for when you’re ready to dance the night away}. It’s all of these little details that we gather from you and your vendors before the wedding day that are the keys to making your wedding everything you had hoped for. And you’ll find that knowing that we are aware of, and in tune with, your every desire will allow you to truly relax and enjoy every moment of  your wedding day. All you’ll have to do is focus on looking fabulous as you prepare to walk down the aisle to meet the love of your life at the altar!

Bottom Line: The more time in advance of your wedding that you spend with your Wedding Planner, the more fabulous your wedding will be! If you are unable to fit “Full Service Planning” into your budget , or you simply feel that you’ve got the pre-planning handled, it is absolutely a great idea to hire a “Day Of” planner at the very least. Just remember when you are planning and budgeting for this service that you should take into consideration that your planner will begin providing their services to you several weeks in advance of your wedding day. This might mean that there are more hours required for this service than you had anticipated having to pay for when hiring a “Day Of” planner but it will be well worth it in the end!