Your wedding day is one of the biggest milestones in your life. It’s also an event that requires meticulous planning and attention to detail when it comes to the vendors to book, design elements to consider, and timelines to create.
That’s why many couples choose to work with a wedding planner.
Wedding planners – not to be confused with venue coordinators (whose primary focus is the venue) – offer varied levels of service, from simply providing guidance and support to overseeing every detail of your wedding. In the world of wedding planning, you typically find that planners offer a variation of three types of core planning services: full-service, partial, and wedding coordination.
In this blog post, we’ll help you determine the right type of wedding planning service for you and demystify the difference between the three.
Before we dive in, we’d like to note that the two most important factors to consider are timing and overall budget.
To put it simply, the earlier you hire a planner, the more time and energy you’ll save. Once you’ve decided on a date, it’s best to start working with a wedding planner as soon as possible to help guide you from the beginning as they can assist you with your venue search and full budget creation.
Now, onto the service distinctions…
NO. 1 – FULL SERVICE PLANNING:
Full-service wedding planning is the best option for those who are starting early and want comprehensive assistance all the way through their wedding day.
This type of assistance is provided starting 12+ months out.
Within our own service, this allows us to foster a strong relationship with our couples, and to develop a thorough understanding of your personalities, styles, and preferences, ensuring a wedding that is tailored to your needs.
From creating a detailed budget, to the conception of your wedding day design, to the orchestration of each logistical detail on wedding day, a full-service wedding planner will be there every step of the way, providing invaluable guidance, expertise, and peace of mind.
Being present from the beginning also means we’re able to oversee any possible complications, such as ensuring our couples have secured all the necessary services for a smooth wedding day.
On the day-of, we’re managing the entirety of your wedding day – think first one in and last one out, and acting as the main point of contact between you, your vendors, your wedding party, wedding guests, and the venue.
With our knowledge and hands-on experience, we are equipped to handle all aspects of your special day, ensuring a seamless and stress-free experience.
Reasons we love our Full-Service Planning offering:
- Comprehensive budget creation and vendor prioritization to guide your expenses and where to scale back, if needed
- Full wedding day design conception, including our extensive design questionnaire, custom crafted design collections to serve as vendor inspiration, 3D floorplan visualization that allows you to see what your wedding spaces will look like, and our attendance at each vendor consultation
- Intentional vendor partner research, curation, and management of communication
NO. 2 – PARTIAL PLANNING:
Partial wedding planning is great for those who need an expert to assess where they are in the planning process, fill in the gaps, and finalize all the remaining details.
A partial wedding planner will begin working with you no later than six months prior to your wedding day.
In our partial planning service, we begin by assessing where you are in the process, immersing ourselves in the planning and design details you’ve already secured. This gives us insight as we curate the remainder of your creative vendor partners, and provide expertise on how to take your design direction to the next level efficiently with your remaining budget.
This six month collaboration builds the foundation for our flawless day-of execution, so that you can be a guest at your own wedding, and focus all your energy on being in the moment with your loved ones.
Reasons we love our Partial Planning offering:
- Thoughtful design refinement, guided by your vision and remaining budget
- Transitioning of all vendor partner communication to allow you more time to enjoy your engagement
- Access to our trusted vendor partner document from the time of signing, giving you a selection of skilled vendors to consider without starting your research from scratch
NO. 3 – WEDDING COORDINATION:
Lastly, we have wedding coordination, or Wedding Management, as we like to call it. This service is best for those who have completed a majority of their planning and design arrangements, but wish to enjoy the leisure of having a professional guide the remainder of the process, account for unforeseen challenges, and handle the logistics on the big day, making sure all vendor partners and guests are taken care of!
Most planners begin around a month before your designated date.
However, our priority is making sure we have ample time to form a genuine relationship with our couples, and that the time leading up to your day is filled with excitement and ease.
Did you secure enough vendor meals through your caterer? Allot enough time for your hair and makeup team to complete services so that your photographer has ample time to take photos before the ceremony? Is your caterer or your venue contracted to cut and serve your cake? With so many smaller decisions to make, we don’t expect you to know the answer, much less know to ask all the right questions.
Because of this, we begin our wedding management service two months in advance so that we’re able to act as an added layer of support as you near your big day!
These two months also cover everything from visiting the venue to walking through the space as an attendee, reading and reviewing all contracts, syncing with each of your vendor partners 1:1 to review their secured services and setup/timing needs, and liaising with vendors (especially your photographer and videographer) on the day-of to make sure that all guests are taken care of!
Reasons we love our Wedding Management offering:
- 1:1 review with your vendor partners to ensure no stone is left unturned, and all service and logistical details are accounted for
- Ceremony & reception floorplan review, and provided suggestions on how to enhance the space based on your vision
- Ability to communicate with us from the time of signing, so that you feel supported throughout the planning process, not just at the end
- Access to our trusted vendor partner document from the time of signing, giving you a selection of skilled vendors to consider without starting your research from scratch
Understanding the differences between full-service, partial and coordination can help you determine what type of planner and service will best meet your needs. While some planners offer all three, others may specialize in one of the services alone.
If you are ever wondering what differentiates one planner’s particular service offering from another, ask away!
Whether you want to delegate all aspects of planning to a full-service planner, or need someone to assume management of the day-of logistics, there is an option out there that will cater to your specific needs.
Hiring a wedding planner is a fantastic investment in creating the wedding of your dreams. They will save you time, money, and energy. What matters most is that you enjoy your wedding day and the journey leading up to it. Fill out our inquiry form to get started!
All our best,
Kylen & Cynthia
