Wedding Planner vs. Wedding Coordinator — What’s the difference?

One of our favorite things to do as a creative business is network, meet, and work with creatives in the industry. Whether they live in Southern California or on the other side of the United States, we want to connect! We are starting a series on the blog by interviewing other creatives, learning about their businesses, and asking them questions that you might have as a couple planning their wedding!

This week we had the pleasure of featuring Carissa of Positively Charming Weddings. We got to ask her some questions about the difference between a Wedding Planner and a Wedding Coordinator. But first, let’s learn a little more about Carissa and her company!

When Carissa was in 6th grade, she watched The Wedding Planner for the first time. As she sat there watching J-Lo coordinate the wedding in the opening scene, she was captivated by how calm and collected she was in her demeanor. Carissa sat there and said to herself, “That’s what I’m going to do when I grow up!” Fast forward 20 years later, and she is living that dream. 

Carissa started planning weddings in 2012 on the side but opened  Positively Charming Weddings officially at the beginning of 2020. Since then, her business has quickly grown, and she now has three lead planners on her team! 

What sets them apart is that they are all Certified Wedding Planners through The Bridal Society, which is the world’s leading certification program and network of wedding planners. They strive to create a fun and seamless planning process for their couples to relax and soak up all the good feels during their wedding planning! 

What does a wedding planner do?

Every company does things a little differently, but our full planning package (called our Positively Charming Package) includes the following, along with all the items from our smaller packages: 

• Vendor management 
• Communication
• Unlimited client + vendor meetings
• Venue research + selection
• Full event design + mood board creation
• Budget projection analysis
• Event floor plan creation
• Rental list creation 
• Assemble + mail/send out wedding invites + track RSVPs
• Negotiate special hotel room block rates 
• Research activities for out of town guests 
• Attend final dress fitting 
• And so much more!

How is a Wedding Coordinator Different from a Wedding Planner?

A wedding planner is a step up from a wedding coordinator. A coordinator generally refers to someone who comes in and helps tie up all the loose ends in the final few months. When we are in the role of wedding coordinator, we are more of a background helper in the months leading up to your wedding. We are quietly checking in, having a meeting here and there, and then starting most of our work the 2-3 months before your big day. When we are in the role of a wedding planner, we are taking more of the stress off your plate and handling your vendors from the beginning!

Photos from the SSAA shootcrawl in Sunstone Winery – Vendor List below

How to Determine if you need a Wedding Planner vs. a Wedding Coordinator?

When it comes to determining which package is right for you, we always recommend discussing with us first to help guide you in whether or not a pre-bundled package would be best or if we would recommend customizing a package to fit your needs. But to help you have a slight idea of what category you might fall in, I generally ask couples to consider the following things:

• Do you have a clear vision of what you want your wedding day to look like? And, do you know how to execute it (how to logistically make it all come together on the wedding day)?

• Are you detail-oriented and like handling a lot of details?

• If you love handling details, do you realistically have the time to manage all of the details? On average, there are about 5,000 details involved in a wedding day. So I ask clients to consider their work or school schedule to determine how much they will put into their wedding.

In a nutshell, if you answered yes to all three of those questions, then a month-of coordination package should be the perfect fit for you! If you answered yes to questions 2 and 3, I’d recommend our Design Package to help you bring together a beautiful and cohesive aesthetic. If you answer no to 2-3 of the questions, then I’d recommend a full planning package so that we can take as much stress off of your plate as possible. This way, you are freed up to enjoy the planning process instead of getting bogged down with all the tasks required to make your wedding day happen!

What is a Wedding Designer and do all Planners Design?

When it comes to wedding design, not all planners offer wedding design. Just like any industry, we all have our niche or specialty. Some companies love doing day-of or month-of packages and are great at that. Whereas, others only focus on full planning packages. And still, so, some are known for their intricate and grand designs. With that said, a lot more goes into design than just the part that people see. Being a wedding designer also requires you to know about rentals (tent sizes, dance floor sizes, quantities needed, etc), venue specs, venue event layout creation, and so much more. At Positively Charming, we find ourselves somewhere in the middle. We have a great design eye and can help pull together a vision. But we also are very detail-oriented and love taking on all the busy work.

Photos from the SSAA shootcrawl in Sunstone Winery – Vendor List below

Let’s Talk about Venue Coordinators, What do They do?

I LOVE this topic because I’ve had so many friends and almost clients come to me after their wedding and tell me that they wish they would have hired me in addition to their venue coordinator. Now don’t get me wrong. I love venue coordinators. Good team players help make wedding days much smoother, which I appreciate!

The hard thing is that those venue coordinators generally only help out in their venue. A Certified Wedding Planner (CWP) does much more than this. As a CWP, I’m available to you from the moment you book with me and can answer any wedding-related questions along the way. I check in with you monthly on your progress to ensure nothing in the planning process is missed. In addition, I create an extremely detailed wedding day itinerary starting from the first task (not just when you arrive at the venue). I also help with budgets, invitation wording, wedding etiquette, room blocks, wedding design, confirming all vendors, and so much more. The hard fact is that venues take on so many weddings each year. With that said, they can’t do as much as a wedding planner can.

We limit the number of weddings we do each year to ensure that we are fully available to our clients. This is to ensure that they are getting the attention they are expecting to get when booking with us. I know it may seem pointless to hire a planner if you have a venue coordinator, but if you’re still in doubt, check out some of our reviews. You’ll see that it’s still worth the investment. Or, at the very least, have a conversation with us to determine if our services would still be beneficial for you!

Thank you so much, Carissa, for taking the time to answer our questions and help our couples learn more about the difference between a wedding planner and a wedding coordinator!

We are now booking into 2023 and would love to talk!