When planning wedding, the question often arises - is it necessary to bring in outside help? A Wedding organizer or wedding coordinator has long been a common service provider and is not a special extra in the wedding market. However, after receiving inquiries from prospective līgavām and grooms, I realized that many people still don't understand the difference between a wedding coordinator and a wedding organizer. Is it one and the same? Can they also host wedding? What are these people responsible for? 

Jūlija Pumpe

If I have almost organized wedding - does it make sense to call? I suggest we review together the functions of each professional to make it easier to decide whether or not to engage such a person.

Wedding organizer

A Wedding organizer, or wedding planner, is a person who handles all questions related to wedding planning. This is your wedding project manager. He is both the event producer, creative director, and consultant. It can be an agency or a self-employed person. Most often, a wedding organizer plans wedding from A to Z or joins at a later stage when the couple has already started something. In any case, he knows about all processes, controls all subcontractors, communicates with all parties - he is the conductor of the wedding orchestra or the chef in the wedding kitchen in a figurative sense! So, what are the functions of a wedding organizer:

Wedding planning : The wedding planner listens to the couple's wishes and develops the wedding concept and scenario, budget, and work execution schedule. He helps choose the venue, organizes meetings with service providers, and concludes contracts. All basic things are coordinated through him: design, menu, financial matters. You don't need to spend long hours on the internet reading reviews about wedding hosts or photographers, nor do you need to rack your brain over technical solutions for the stage or search for a specific singer's contacts. The wedding organizer will do all of this.

Project team formation: The organizer helps you find all the people who will work at your wedding - from the makeup artist, photographer, to the bus driver who will take guests home. I always tell my clients that finding subcontractors is only 5% of the total workload.

Financial management : The wedding organizer is also your financial director and consultant. He creates the wedding budget, monitors expenses, and provides advice on efficient resource utilization and expense optimization if needed.

Decorations, floristry, and design:

In parallel with the development of the wedding concept, the organizer works on creating the decoration idea. This includes engaging decorators, florists, and designers. Invitations and other printed materials, ceremony and dinner table decor, bride's bouquet and other flower arrangements, textiles, candles, easels, signs... Oh, this list can consist of 100 items. A knowledgeable organizer will also ensure that the chosen dress fits the visual concept and will recommend a wedding stylist.

Wedding scenario:

If decorations reflect the visual side of the wedding concept, then the scenario shows the content of the idea. The organizer develops the day's plan, then supplements the evening part with the host's activities. They think about what entertainment should be included, what artists would fit - for some, live music, magicians, fire shows, fireworks will be suitable, for others - only a heartfelt ceremony and dinner with close people. Venue, caterers, and service staff:

Of course, the organizer also provides the venue, catering, bartender, confectioner services, as well as other service staff - waiters, guest greeters. Communicates with the chef and banquet manager, creates the table layout, coordinates the menu, orders drinks and cake.

Technical support:

Another thing couples rarely think about - technical support, i.e., sound and lighting. Often, the speakers brought by the DJ are not enough, and bright blue lights make your celebration resemble a school disco. Organizers know what terms in band riders mean, what kind of spotlights are needed for a specific size hall, and engage a technical person who will provide everything necessary.

Wedding coordination:

Of course, the wedding organizer also works on wedding day - coordinating and controlling all processes. For assistance, he can also engage other wedding coordinators. We will discuss the coordinator's functions in the next section.

Wedding coordinator - your helper on wedding day

Unlike an organizer, a wedding coordinator works specifically on wedding day. His main task is to ensure that the wedding event runs smoothly and according to a pre-agreed, developed plan. He does not engage service providers, nor does he brainstorm ideas or creative solutions. You can organize wedding yourself and engage a wedding coordinator at the last minute.

The Wedding coordinator will review the wedding process and develop the day's plan. It is very valuable if the wedding coordinator also works as an organizer on a daily basis, as then he can suggest better solutions in difficult moments, analyze the work done, and point out weaknesses. Therefore, as a coordinator, I meet with the couple at least a month before wedding, so they still have time to improve and change something if necessary.

It should be noted that the engaged coordinator is not responsible for the quality of third-party work - that responsibility lies with the wedding organizer or the couple themselves if they planned wedding independently. However, a professional coordinator will help resolve a crisis situation or suggest another service provider if concerns about the quality of work of a chosen subcontractor arise during the process.

Here are some of his duties:

Wedding day coordination : The wedding day coordinator sets the schedule, ensures all events happen on time, and coordinates service providers such as photographers, videographers, waiters, etc. Very often, the wedding coordinator also goes to the bride to monitor the morning preparations, as it is important that the makeup artist arrives on time, the photographer doesn't get too carried away during the photoshoot, and the bride is ready at the agreed time.

In my experience, there were also cases when we accompanied the couple to the photoshoot. Communication with guests: The wedding coordinator greets guests, answers organizational questions about the event's progress, helps with flowers, gifts, introduces them to the evening host if guests have a question about their speech or have prepared a surprise for the couple. Work with service providers: a week before wedding or at another agreed time, as well as the day before, he contacts service providers, ensuring that all wedding details, the couple's requirements, are taken into account, and that everyone is well and remembers everything.

Unexpected situation resolution a: if any problems or unexpected situations arise during wedding, the wedding coordinator quickly reacts and finds solutions, minimizing the couple's stress. What is not included in the coordinator's and organizer's services?

It is important to remember that the wedding coordinator and organizer are not the evening host.

They do not lead activities or the traditional 'mičošana' ceremony. They are not DJs either. Of course, we are very versatile people and, if necessary, can announce the start of dinner or put on a song, but this means we have to divert attention from our direct duties. Overall, this can lead to unnecessary haste and spoil the overall atmosphere.

On Wedding forums, you can find individuals who position themselves as organizers - wedding hosts - DJs three-in-one or even four-in-one. I urge you to carefully evaluate such offers, remembering that everyone should still perform their own job and, for example, emergency doctors are responsible for treatment, while drivers are responsible for quickly transporting the patient to the hospital. If a doctor also had to drive, it would hardly end well.

The exception is truly small, family-like wedding with 10 to 15 guests, where a host is not mandatory. In such a case, the coordinator can also announce more important points - the start of the ceremony and dinner, the wedding cake cutting, and provide basic information about the evening's proceedings.

The Wedding coordinator is also not a childminder. If your  wedding has small children and you want the parents to enjoy the evening, I recommend inviting an animator or a nanny; guests will be grateful. This is especially important when wedding takes place near water or in another environment not as safe for children.

How many coordinators are needed?

Everything largely depends on the scale and logistics of wedding. If the ceremony and dinner take place in different locations and the number of guests is around 50 people, 2 to 3 coordinators are needed for quality coordination. One coordinator can manage if everything is in one place, the number of guests is around 20, and wedding does not involve various artists.

If wedding has 80 to 100 guests, there's a band, other shows, off-site catering, the recommended number of coordinators is 4-6 people. One to two coordinators are responsible for guests, one for catering, one works backstage and meets all artists, one is responsible for what happens on stage, in the hall, and one is the main coordinator, responsible for the entire event and communicating with the client. However, usually for events of this scale, there is also a wedding organizer who already brings in their own team.

Author: Jūlija Pumpe, wedding organizer and coordinator, Caramel Events Riga manager