Why a Wedding Coordinator is a Must for Your Chicago Wedding
It’s no secret that crafting and executing the perfect Chicago wedding is a HUGE team effort. There’s of course the efforts of the couple, their friends and family, but a large part of how the day turns out comes down to your vendor team! I’ve talked before about the different vendors you need for a wedding in Chicago, but today we’re going to talk specifically about wedding coordinators. There are few members of your vendor team that have as much of a direct impact on the wedding day itself as a wedding coordinator does. If you’re on the fence about hiring a coordinator for your wedding, or if you’re interested in learning more about them then this article is for you! Let’s take a look at why I believe a wedding coordinator can be a must hire vendor for your wedding day!
What is a Wedding Coordinator
You’ve probably heard the term wedding coordinator before, but may not have looked into what exactly they do. You may also have heard the term wedding planner before and assumed that they were one in the same. The truth is though that these vendors both provide drastically different services! A wedding planner is a vendor you’ll hire in the early stages of your wedding planning to help with the planning process itself. They’ll help with venue and vendor recommendations, timeline assistance, and other big picture planning processes. Most wedding planners do help with the day of your wedding as well, but that the planning process is their specialty. For more info about wedding planners check out this article I wrote.
By contrast, a wedding coordinator is a vendor who specializes at ensuring that your day runs as smoothly as it possibly can! They begin working with their couple a couple months prior to the wedding in order to make sure everything is in place as the day approaches. Then, once the day arrives they are there to make sure every part of your wedding day goes off without a hitch! We’ll take a more in depth look at the benefits of hiring a wedding coordinator for your Chicago later, but there’s one important note I want to make first. Some wedding venues have a day of coordinator included as a part of their staff. This can be a great option, but it’s important to know that the venue’s coordinator has the venue’s best interests in mind. When you hire an outside wedding coordinator they are there for YOU.
5 Benefits of Having a Wedding Coordinator for Your Chicago Wedding
1. Less Work for Family and Friends
A LOT happens on the day of your wedding! Whether it’s planned things like getting specific décor to the right location at the right time, or something unplanned like the bar running out of ingredients for one of your signature drinks, there is a lot going on all throughout the day. Now you can have your friends and family handle all of this, but that means you’re relying on people who’ve never experienced this level of pressure to be making all these minute to minute decisions on their own. Hiring a wedding coordinator on the other hand means that you can trust an industry professional to handle the minute to minute decisions of your Chicago wedding. They’ve seen what does and doesn’t work, and know how to make sure your wedding day goes off without a hitch!
2. Coordination for Your Wedding Vendors
Another appeal of hiring a coordinator for your Chicago wedding is for the coordination they provide to your wedding vendors! Your dream team of vendors are who provide the experience you’ve dreamt of for your wedding day, but making sure they work together like a well oiled machine is definitely a bit of a challenge. Lucky for you, wedding coordinators are masters at wrangling and coordinating wedding vendors! You won’t have to worry about your DJ setting up their equipment late, or your catering company not having the space they need to work their magic, your coordinator is there to get everyone everything they need when they need it!
3. Lets Your Photographer Focus on the Photos and Experience
For weddings without a coordinator, a lot of the day of coordination falls upon the wedding photographer themselves. Now as a wedding photographer myself I’m used to and fully prepared for this scenario, but it’s undeniable that it doesn’t quite fit with why a couple booked me in the first place. My focus ideally is on documenting your love and the experience of your wedding day authentically so that you can relive it for years and years to come. When responsibilities fall on my plate that could instead easily be handled by a coordinator I take it in stride, but can’t help but feel that it takes away from my couples’ overall experience.
4. Keeps Everyone On Time
As I mentioned earlier there are a LOT of moving parts to a wedding, and one of those parts are the people involved in your wedding day! Whether it’s having people ready for speeches, ready for group photos, or knowing where to go for cocktail hour and when, there’s a lot to keep track of when it comes to getting your people where they need to be on time. This understandably can be pretty stressful, and that’s why you hire a wedding coordinator for your Chicago wedding! They’re the ones who’ll keep track of your friends, family, and wedding party to ensure that everyone is where they need to be, when they need to be there.
5. Less Stress for You
All the reasons above and more combine to create a less stressful day for you, and that ultimately is the goal of hiring a wedding coordinator! Doing so takes SO much off of your plate and lets you focus on what’s really important on your wedding day. Spending time with family, catching up with friends, and of course celebrating this incredible love you share with your soon to be spouse!
How to Know if You Need a Wedding Coordinator
Now with all the information we’ve covered so far it may seem like hiring a wedding coordinator for your wedding in Chicago is absolutely a 100% must do for your wedding right? Not exactly. While I will almost always recommend a couple hiring a wedding coordinator, there are some scenarios in which couples may opt to go without one. For instance a couple may want to spend the money that would go to a coordinator on other aspects of their wedding day. Some couples also may want to have full control of the day and actually prefer to manage all the different aspects we’ve covered so far! Whatever the reason, there are definitely instances in which you can make it without hiring a coordinator. If any of the 5 reasons above sound like a dream come true for your wedding planning though I’d strongly consider hiring one!
Finding the Right Coordinator
If you do decide on hiring a coordinator for your wedding in Chicago, where do you begin when booking? For starters I recommend booking your coordinator as early as you can, especially if you have a more popular wedding date. According to the forums of wedding wire, many couples book their coordinators around 6 to 8 months out, but there’s nothing wrong with booking one earlier to be safe!
When it comes to finding the right wedding coordinator for you there are a few things you’ll want to keep a lookout for. One is the reviews the coordinator has from their past clients and couples. What do they excel at, how did they make their couples feel, and how did they improve the wedding that they were a part of? Pay attention also to the amount of reviews! The more experience they have the better, as even if they don’t have experience working at your specific venue a good coordinator will be able to step into that new space and excel from the get-go.
The other key thing to keep in mind is something that is less tangible, but just as important, and that is the general vibe and feel you get from your potential coordinator! Just like your wedding photographer, you’ll be spending a lot of time with your coordinator on the day of your wedding. Make sure you both enjoy talking with them, you like how they carry themselves, and you think they’d be a good fit for the feel you’re aiming for on the day of your wedding!
Some of My Favorite Chicago Based Wedding Coordinators
Now that you understand the importance of a wedding coordinator and what to look for when booking one you’re ready to start your search! Lucky for you I have just the place to start, here are a few of my favorite wedding coordinators in Chicago that I’ve had the pleasure of working with in the past.
Each of the above coordinators are ones you can trust to make your Chicago wedding as seamless and stress free as possible, letting you fully enjoy your wedding as you should! For more wedding planning tips check out some of the other articles on my blog, and if you’re looking to book a photographer for your wedding day as well head on over to my contact page!
