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Another good reason to hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator?
Half-way through our engagement (almost a year after booking our venue) we were notified that the event coordinator at our venue had resigned. I have heard of other instances when event coordinators have left a venue after a bride has booked her wedding, but I didn’t think that it was going to happen to us.
The main reason I did not freak out upon hearing this news?
Kathie Seeley of Grand Events. Mama E, Mr. E and I decided early on in the planning process to hire a planner to help us during the planning process and alleviate stress the day of the wedding. Kathie was the first vendor we booked! She has been there from the beginning—she knows all of our plans/DIY projects, has copies of all of our contracts and will be the one in charge of everything the day of. I like knowing that I will not have deal with any vendor calls on our wedding day. I know that she will have our vision nailed down, and will be able to instruct the new venue coordinator to make sure that our wedding will be exactly what we’re working so hard to achieve. She has already saved us money by her extra research on our DJ & lighting package, and will be doing all of the flowers (in our budget) as well.
On a side note, ALWAYS get things in writing! When I got in contact with the new coordinator at our venue, many of the prices had gone up. None of these things (price per person on appetizers, price to open all the taps of beer, etc.) are in the form contract that we signed with the venue. The contract is mainly for the minimum, the deposits and the percentage of tax and service charge. Thankfully I kept all of the email conversations with the prior coordinator where those prices were mentioned and the venue is happy to honor all of her commitments.
Will you be using a planner or DOC to assist in your big day?
wow! I’m glad you didn’t get burned by the new coordinator’s policies, good thing you had those emails!
Absolutely. Second to the venue, the wedding coordinator was a must. In no way will I want to be bothered with confirmations, and running tasks. The day of, my job is to relax and enjoy! Yay for DOCs!
Our venue’s coordinator left during our planning, but it ended up working out, which I know isn’t typically the case. To make up for it the venue gave us a free course.
Totally using a DOC, we are over 1.5 years out and have already booked her. While I know we could do it without a DOC we really want to be able to enjoy the process and not stress when all of our guests are there 
Our venue’s coordinator left, and then her replacement left a few months later!! Fortunately third time’s a charm and our current coordinator is awesome. I definitely considered getting a DOC before I met her though.
Hmmmm…, Ms. E, I feel you on this but with the way my budget keeps getting out of control, I don’t know if I will need one. I know the venue has one… something to think about. Maybe I can look for someone just starting out.
Wow, lucky you getting those prices in writing! That could have turned into a total nightmare. Glad it seems to be working out, and well enough ahead of your wedding date
@iwantweddingchampagne: I can’t tell you how happy I was for those emails (and that the venue general manager is so accommodating)!
We have a planner too! She was the first vendor we booked. The main reason was to keep the stress level down, not only on the big day, but throughout the process. I hear so many ladies say that they wouldn’t do it again, they would elope or have a smaller wedding. We want to enjoy the process. Wish us luck!
Our reception coordinator (i guess he was our DOC) was actually fired for giving us false information. We had no clue, and one day I sent him an e-ail about something just to get a generic “I no longer have the ability to share in you special day, contact Melissa _____ for further information.” I really loved Gill and he was awesome, but all the information he provided us with DID seem a little too good to be true… luckily we were able to get a lot of free stuff from the deal and our new DOC, Melissa, is freaking amazing. I love her so much.
I’m having a DOC, but taking care of all the other details. I love the process of planning so much, but just need someone on site who can answer questions and take care of all the details. Luckily, I have a family friend (who wouldn’t have been invited to the wedding) who is also a non-profit event manager who I trust implicitly.
You are so RIGHT about getting things in writing. Our photogs prices went up before we paid our final installment and if we hadn’t signed off on original pricing, we woulda been dead meat!
Our venue’s planner will also be our DOC and she has an assistant. Hopefully she doesn’t quit soon since she just took over from the old coordinator. Our wedding is still 10 months away and of course anything is possible, but I have all of our email conversations saved as well. Really smart move on your part!
Yay for the venue honoring its prior quotes! That could’ve gotten ugly real quick.
@missDNA: Lol keep those emails! That’s awesome that you get a doc and assistant with your venue!
@jordynrose: Very ugly, and I probably would have been the crazy one! Haha
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Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TX Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations Analyst Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store Manager Engagement Date: March 29, 2009 Wedding Date: April 2011 Venue: The Tribute Golf Club About Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
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