What’s the Difference Between a Dallas Wedding Planner and Wedding Coordinator?
So you've been hearing the terms "wedding planner" and "wedding coordinator" tossed around as you're planning your wedding. Is there an actual difference between the two? Which one should you hire for your Dallas wedding? Read below to find out! 😊
What Do Wedding Planners and Wedding Coordinators Do Differently?
How Much Do Wedding Planners and Coordinators Cost in the Dallas area?
Should You Hire a Wedding Planner or a Wedding Coordinator?
Where Can You Find Wedding Planners and Coordinators in Dallas?
1. Dallas Wedding Planners vs. Wedding Coordinators
Did you know that wedding planners and wedding coordinators actually aren't the same thing? Wedding planners help you during the actual planning process, while wedding coordinators come in at the end and run your wedding day for you!
What Do Dallas Wedding Planners Do?
A Dallas wedding plannerhelps you throughout the entire planning process! As soon as you hire her, she starts working with you to put all the pieces together. She helps you find your dream wedding venue, your caterers, your florist, your dress, and all your vendors! She helps you create your wedding budget and keeps track of all the tasks that need to get done!
You’ll want to hire a wedding planner if you feel completely lost when it comes to the planning aspect. You need help knowing where to start, and you would love to have someone who knows what they're doing and can guide you throughout the whole process!
She also coordinates the wedding day for you, as well! So wedding coordination is included in a wedding planner's services.
What Do Wedding Coordinators Do?
A wedding coordinator does not help throughout the planning process. She comes in at the end to wrap up the final details, confirm all your vendors, and make sure your wedding day goes just how you imagine!
Working with a wedding coordinator is best if you feel really good about your planning! You love taking care of all the nitty gritty details, you’re super organized, and you know exactly what kind of wedding you want. You go, girl! You definitely don’t need a planner; just get a wedding coordinator to make sure all your amazing plans happen the way you want them to. 😊
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HIRE US AS YOUR DALLAS WEDDING PLANNER OR COORDINATOR?
Click the button below to fill out our contact form and see if we’re available on your wedding date! Our price for full wedding planning is $6995, and our wedding day-of coordinator package is $1995.
2. What Services Are Included with a Wedding Planner vs. Wedding Coordinator?
There are a loooooot of small differences in the specific services that Dallas wedding planners and coordinators provide, so we’re going to give you our specific services as an example! 😊
Full Wedding Planner Services:
If you hire us as your full wedding planner for your Dallas wedding, here’s a list of what we, as your Dallas wedding planners, do for you:
Sit down with you and figure out your Perfect Dream Wedding! What does it look like? Do you want it more formal or casual? Are you looking for a larger wedding or a smaller, more intimate wedding? We come up with a really clear vision of what you want your wedding to look like, whether you know exactly what you want or have no idea!
Create your budget with you! We come up with a tangible amount that you both feel comfortable spending on your wedding, and we determine your actual priorities! Then, we know where to allocate your budget first so that you don't have any regrets on how you spent your money.
Come up with a specific checklist and timeline that we'll follow throughout the entire planning process. We'll have alllll the specific tasks you need to do, and we'll send you weekly emails so you know exactly which tasks to focus on and when!
Keep everything organized in one our wedding planning spreadsheet. It makes it super easy to plan everything together and stay on track. 😊
Research venues for you, see if they’re available on your date, check to make sure they’re in your budget, and plan venue tours for you! We also go with you to ask the important questions and make sure it’s the perfect fit.
Research all your vendors, check their prices and availability, plan meetings for you, and accompany you to all the meetings.
Help you find all your decorations and items you need for the wedding, as well as help you come up with your theme, colors, and wedding design!
Check in with you regularly throughout the process to make sure you’re on track and not stressed! If you’re stressed about anything at all, we want to know so we can help. ❤️
Unlimited texting, emailing, and/or Facebook messaging throughout the planning process. We have a 24/7 policy where we want you to reach out to us at ANY time. Seriously. Wedding planning can be very stressful, and we want you to know that we're here to help.
Give you recommendations for bridal shops, bridesmaids dresses, invitations, RSVPs, your wedding website and registry, marriage licenses…girl, you name it!
Create your wedding day schedule and timeline.
Confirm your vendors before the wedding to make sure they’re good to go and have the correct info.
Contactyour parents, your fiancé’s parents, and everyone in the wedding party to introduce ourselves, give them all the details they need for the rehearsal and wedding day, and make sure they don’t need anything or have any questions!
Coordinate your rehearsal (tell everyone when to walk down, where to stand, where to sit, what to say, what to do…everything!). All you need to do is show up, and we'll handle the rest. 😊
Bring our wedding day emergency kit (just in case!)
Coordinate your ceremony (line up your family and wedding party, cue your DJ when to start and fade out the songs, cue each person during the processional, and direct everyone where to go after the ceremony)
Usher your guests to the reception area for cocktail hour.
Help coordinate your formal family photos after the ceremony if your photographer needs help
Coordinate your reception and check on the cocktail hour, usher the guests to their seats before dinner, check in with your caterers, make sure all food and drink stations are filled, release each table for dinner, and constantly communicate with your DJ to stay on track with the Grand Entrance, first dances, toasts, dancing, bouquet and garters tosses, send-off, etc.
Distribute the cash tips to your vendors.
Pack your wedding food and cake, personal items, and décor into the going-away car.
Make sure your car gets decorated if you want it to be!
Hand out wedding favors to each guest before the send-off.
Coordinate the tear-down to make sure everything is packed up, nothing is left, and that you receive your security deposit back from the venue.
An additional day-of assistant to help your coordinator!
Day-Of Wedding Coordinator Services:
You might have heard of "day-of coordinators" or "month-of coordinators." Really, they're pretty much the same. All wedding coordinators typically start meeting with you the month before your wedding, so that they can perfectly execute your wedding day!
If you hire us as your day-of coordinators for your Dallas wedding, this is what we'll provide for you:
Have 2 final details meetings with you the month before the wedding day to finalize all the details (and we mean ALL!), to collect your vendor information, create your wedding day schedule and timeline, and finish up your floor plan and seating chart.
Confirm your vendors the week before the wedding to make sure they’re good to go and have the correct info.
Contactyour parents, your fiancé’s parents, and everyone in the wedding party to introduce ourselves, give them all the details they need for the rehearsal and wedding day, and make sure they don’t need anything or have any questions!
Coordinate your rehearsal (tell everyone when to walk down, where to stand, where to sit, what to say, what to do…everything!). All you need to do is show up, and we'll handle the rest. 😊
Bring our wedding day emergency kit (just in case!)
Coordinate your ceremony (line up your family and wedding party, cue your DJ when to start and fade out the songs, cue each person during the processional, and direct everyone where to go after the ceremony)
Usher your guests to the reception area for cocktail hour.
Help coordinate your formal family photos after the ceremony if your photographer needs help
Coordinate your reception and check on the cocktail hour, usher the guests to their seats before dinner, check in with your caterers, make sure all food and drink stations are filled, release each table for dinner, and constantly communicate with your DJ to stay on track with the Grand Entrance, first dances, toasts, dancing, bouquet and garters tosses, send-off, etc.
Distribute the cash tips to your vendors.
Pack your wedding food and cake, personal items, and décor into the going-away car.
Make sure your car gets decorated if you want it to be!
Hand out wedding favors to each guest before the send-off.
Coordinate the tear-down to make sure everything is packed up, nothing is left, and that you receive your security deposit back from the venue.
An additional day-of assistant to help your coordinator!
WOULD YOU LIKE US TO HELP WITH YOUR DALLAS WEDDING?
Click the button below to fill out our contact form and see if we’re available!
3. How Much Do Dallas Wedding Planners & Coordinators Cost in the Dallas Area?
Wedding planners in Dallas are different than wedding coordinators in that they’re with you all throughout the planning process! Instead of being with you for only a month or two, your planner is helping you as soon as you hire her! That’s many months and hundreds of hours of time that she’s spending with you, so it reflects in how much they cost. 😊
How Much is it to Hire a Dallas Wedding Planner?
Typically, wedding planners offer both full planning and partial planning packages. Read below to see how much each one costs!
THE AVERAGE PRICE FOR FULL WEDDING PLANNERS:
With full wedding planning packages, your wedding planner helps you find your venue and all your vendors, as well as draw up a budget, create a vision board for your dream wedding, make a timeline specific for you, and coordinate the entire rehearsal and wedding day for you. She's there with you from start to finish, doing all the heavy lifting for you!
Full wedding planning packages for Dallas wedding planners start around $3,000 for less experienced planners, all the way up to over $12,000. On average, you’ll find planning packages between $2,000 and $5,000 in the Dallas area.
THE AVERAGE PRICE FOR PARTIAL WEDDING PLANNERS:
With partial wedding planning packages, you don't get as much help from your wedding planner like with the full wedding planning packages. Typically, you’ve already found your venue or quite a few vendors on your own! Partial wedding planners help fill in the missing pieces and keep you on track during the planning. There's usually less planning meetings included than with full planning, and partial wedding planners may not help you find any vendors or help with your theme/design. However, partial wedding planning packages vary wildly from wedding planner to wedding planner, so we suggest asking specifically what they include!
Partial wedding planning packages for Dallas wedding planners start around $1,500 for less experienced wedding planners and go up to $3,000-$4,000 for experienced ones.
How Much is it to Hire a Dallas Wedding Coordinator?
A wedding coordinator comes in about one month before your wedding to help you finalize your details, confirm your vendors for you, and run the wedding day! You can find less experienced wedding coordinators in Dallas for as low as $350-$750. These are wedding coordinators who are either just starting out, have little to no experience, or don't do weddings full-time. More seasoned wedding coordinators can range anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500 for their day-of coordination packages.
We offer full wedding planning and day-of coordination packages! Our full planning package is $6995, and our day-of coordination package is $1995. We would be so honored to help you plan your special day! Click the button below to fill out our contact form and inquire with us. 😊
4. Should You Hire a Wedding Planner or a Wedding Coordinator?
That’s a great question, and definitely one you should think about! Below are some questions to help you figure out if you should hire a wedding planner, or a day-of or month-of wedding coordinator.
How well can you envision your Perfect Dream Wedding? Could you draw out and visualize every detail, or do you need help figuring out what you actually want?
How are you feeling about your planning overall? Do you feel excited and confident about putting every detail together, or are you stressed out and feeling lost on where to start?
Have you found your venue yet?
How do you feel when thinking about the wedding budget? Do you know exactly how much you have to spend and have an estimate of how much everything will cost, or is the whole budget thing just stressing you out?
How many vendors have you booked so far?
How much time do you have to invest in planning your wedding? Do you have 5-10 hours you can set aside every week, or are you swamped with work, school, and life stuff?
**If your answer was to the first part of questions 1, 2, 4, and 6, then hiring a wedding coordinator would most likely be the best choice for you! If your answer was to the second part of these questions, then definitely look into hiring a full wedding planner. 😊
**If you've already found your wedding venue and a few wedding vendors, great job girl!! Hiring a wedding coordinator would most likely be the best choice for you. If you haven't found your venue or many vendors, then definitely consider a full wedding planner!
If you’d like to talk with us about our wedding planning and coordinating services, please click the button below to fill out our contact form and see if we're available on your wedding date. 😊
5. Where Can You Find Dallas Wedding Planners & Coordinators?
You came to the right place, girlie! Our wedding planning business offers both full wedding planning and day-of coordination, as well as an online DIY wedding planning course for brides! If you’d like to learn more about our services, then come to our website! If you like what you see, then you can fill out our contact form by clicking the button below. 😊
Are you interested in working with us on your wedding day? We’re Dallas wedding planners and coordinators who specialize in Christian weddings, and we help you plan every detail you need for your wedding so you can enjoy every moment of it! Fill out our contact form to see if we have your wedding date available! We're currently booking 2024 and 2025 weddings in the Dallas Fort Worth area. :)
