What is a wedding day co-ordinator?
Many couples plan their own Italian weddings and look for an on the day wedding co-ordinator to make sure the day itself goes smoothly. This can work wonders for the right wedding.
There’s sometimes a misconception that a wedding co-ordinator should turn up on your wedding day and simply run the show. In reality, to be able to do you and your wedding justice, a wedding co-ordinator should be including a few other things within their service:
An introduction call - like an interview to see if they’re right for the role. They are an integral part of the day and responsible for a huge amount, so they need to be fit for the job and have experience.
A consultation – a chance for them to understand everything involved in your wedding, what you want the day to feel like and who your suppliers are.
A handover – a moment where your wedding becomes their responsibility. We’d suggest this is 1-2 weeks from the wedding where they contact all suppliers, introducing themselves and checking they know what to do and where to go on the day.
A site visit – seeing your location in person is vital, especially if they have not worked there before. It may be that your suppliers want to have a site inspection and depending on the complexity of the wedding, your co-ordinator may need to be present for that.
The day before – if your wedding has any set up the day before, it could be that your co-ordinator is there to support, depending on the scope of the role you agreed on.
The full wedding day – from early on when the first supplier arrives till after the party has well and truly started.
A wedding co-ordinator should have a set remit on the wedding day. The role can be interpreted in many ways and clearly aligning your expectations with that of the person you appoint is important.
The remit could be for example:
Creation of key documents such as a wedding timeline and overall briefing doc ie. the whole programme of the wedding, supplier remits and contact details.
Keeping the wedding to time (as much as they have influence over).
Ensuring suppliers are delivering their contracts (and letting someone know if not ie. groom/bridal party).
Setting up some decorations for example
Being the key point of contact for all suppliers and the bridal party / guests with queries.
Making this clear when you appoint a co-ordinator is vital to ensuring your wedding day is as you imagine.
Wedding co-ordinators range from a few hundred euros to 2500 euro +. Like shopping for any supplier, this is an important investment in your wedding and one that will make a huge difference to your wedding day. You’ve invested so much in your day already, this isn’t an area to try and cut back.
La Lista members Parade Wedding offer wedding co-ordination across Italy. And Toscana Mania focus solely on Tuscany.
If you would like to find out more about the difference between a wedding day coordinator and a partial and full wedding planner, check out our article here.
Written by Lucy White, Founder of La Lista & Wiskow & White, with over 5 years and 150 weddings worth of experience.
