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Well, hopefully my coordinator isn’t going to run off with my groom… but I’m very excited that we decided to hire an event designer/wedding coordinator!

Early in the process, we knew that we at least wanted “day of” coordinating services. My parents did not want to be worrying about the processional, paying the DJ, or putting out favors while their guests were left to fend for themselves. Deciding on the right company and the right package was much harder than I thought, though.

I began my search with these considerations in mind:

1. I would most likely be an out of town bride.
2. I work full time, am getting my master’s part time, and am very involved at my church.
3. The future Mr. Lamb is starting graduate work in the fall.
4. My mom and I need an objective 3rd party to steer us right.

I looked through Wedding Wire to find planners located near my hometown. I chose several that seemed to match my philosophy and aesthetic. I also scoured local web-boards at The Knot and Craigslist. I contacted a total of 5 coordinators after my initial research. Out of the 5, only 1 contacted me within 24 hours. Then 3 more contacted me within 4 days and the last one never contacted me.

My decision on which coordinator to hire basically came down to the person that I liked talking to on the phone the most. If I’m going to be working with someone for a year on an event, I want to be comfortable with the person and feel like they really listen to me. As a professional consultant, I know that my clients look for these attributes. I love the fact that I get to be the client this time! Our event designer immediately returned phone calls and emails. I also knew that the persistence she showed in booking my account would be the same persistence that she would use to keep all of the vendors in check! At that point, we got the event planner, but which package would we choose?

The coordinators that I researched all basically showed three basic packages (with a la carte additions, of course!).

1. “Day of” - Usually complete wedding day coordination with a limited number of hours to consult with the bride and be present at the rehearsal.
2. “Partial” - “Day of” coordination with some understanding of a limited number of hours or responsibilities.
3. “Full” - the soup to nuts of wedding coordinating.

I got a really big kick out of how many coordinators named these packages kitschy names that went along with their business name. The whole Silver, Gold, Platinum was overused, and some were so funny because they were pretty forced. Without giving too much away and embarrassing hometown vendors, I’ll give you an example. I contacted, “Flower Wedding Coordinators” and their package names were, “Lily”, “Rose”, and “Orchid”.

Once I had chosen our coordinator (who I’ll call Miss P from now on), we reviewed the packages in detail. My parents, the future Mr. Lamb, and I read the services and compared them vigorously. We found ourselves debating between Partial and Full planning. Since we hadn’t booked a venue yet, most of our discussions revolved around the need to hire a full wedding coordinator if our potential venue would provide one as well. My dad referred to this as “paying for the same service twice”. I saw it from a different perspective. I saw the wedding coordinator as acting as owner representatives. Yes, the venue may have a coordinator, but she’s working for the venue, while our coordinator is working for us. I don’t want their coordinator having to involve us in decisions like where the presents should go after the reception – cue our coordinator!

The argument for the Partial package: My mom and I are very detailed oriented people and do event planning for our livings. My mom and I like being in charge. The cost was lower for the package. Ease of coordination so that no service was “paid for twice”.

The argument for the Full package: My mom and I have full time jobs. Everyone involved in planning was definitively not excited to do many aspects of the planning (haggling with vendors, for example). With the venue still TBD, we have to deal with an out of town (OOT) wedding, and the research would be very time consuming.

After some heated arguments, some tears, and a plan to move forward with kindness and renewed respect for all parties involved, we signed a contract for Full planning services. It helped so much. Searching for churches near a candidate reception venue? Miss P! Calling references for another venue? Miss P! Keeping track of the budget? Miss P!

Love it! And I always, always think of Franck when I tell people we hired a coordinator - I can’t wait to pick out a kheck!

Did you hire a full-service wedding planner? What were the pros and cons of hiring him/her?