Who is the best coordinator for your Wedding day?

Wedding Day coordinator vs Venue coordinator vs Master of Ceremonies (MC) in New Zealand

What's the difference between them?

This is, in my opinion, really important to know before you make assumptions on how a wedding day comes together. You have your ideas, your guests and now you'll need the glue - the vendors that will stick it all together for you and make it flow.

Kiwi's are so well known for their ingenuity, however when it comes to weddings most couples quickly realise that they can't do it all on the day themselves or don't want to - no matter how much planning they have done in the lead up.

So the most simple way to explain the benefit of having a day coordinator is:

• 👍 They are your personal organiser and right-hand person on the day of your wedding. This in itself is the most important reason to consider one. They will do all the little jobs you need done and more than you could have ever imagined you needed.

Typically you might be thinking - well, we have chosen a venue that has a venue coordinator so we don't need a "wedding" coordinator.

• 👎 The venue coordinator helps with the venue, staff and logististics related to their property. In may also include parking and helping receive and send off shuttles/transport for guests. In detail this looks like serving drinks, serving food and housekeeping as well until the end of your wedding. The venue also helps plan the seating/tables and will move these as the day goes on to accommodate dancing and any activities.

So maybe you have asked a helpful friend or family member to help with parts of the day?

• 👎 Some guests love to help, however it is difficult for them to relax and enjoy the wedding if they have a bigger responsibility on the day. Plus, less risk of things going wrong.

So, you also have an MC (Master of Ceremonies) - they are a friend of yours / they are a family member - wouldn't they have some of these responsibilities?

• 👍 A good MC should arrive just before or at the same time as the guests and introduce themselves to vendors and check the runsheet/timings with photographers and venue coordinators. They are often the first person to speak once guests are seated for the ceremony but if its a friend/family member they sometimes do not start their duties until guests are seated for speeches.

• They will speak of some housekeeping such as exits, bathrooms etc. Introduce each speaker and keep timings throughout dinner service then the MC or the DJ will invite you as a married couple to open the dancefloor.* (This is not always the way, just a typical timeline). Some may also run interactive moments such as games or quizzes.

• Sometimes, they will introduce the wedding party or married couple into the reception and ask everyone to be upstanding. However, having a mix of moments throughout the day and evening that are delivered by a friend of family member creates real personalisation.

Okay, what happens on the morning of a wedding day?

• The morning: You may have activities planned, some golf, a walk on the beach, breakfast with your wedding party but someone ideally needs to keep you on track with timings because if your wedding morning doesn't run to plan and runs late, it has a domino effect.
• An experienced Hairstylist and Makeup Artist will be able to keep to their schedule, anticipate delays in real-time and problem solve like a queen. However, they also want to create stunning hair and makeup looks for you and your bridal crew so problem solving can interfere with this. 👉 Insert Day-of-Coordinator here!

• This is the perfect time for your coordinator to start. They can set up breakfast/grazing food in the get-ready room, help the wedding party with their outfits, prepare gift bags/gifts for your group if having, pour champagne, if your partner is getting ready nearby, the coordinator can go to both locations and help organise their outfits too. They will receive your flowers from the florist and keep them cool and watered until they need to have their stems dried and handed to you. They will know when the photographer is scheduled to arrive and when the hair/makeup team need to depart and help you get your dress and details ready for you to get dressed. This is especially helpful if you have a first-look planned with either your partner, your parent or wedding team!

• They can then head to the venue where they will meet the venue coordinator.
• They meet with your chosen vendors and ensure the timeline is on track. They will also make sure the DJ knows the chosen tracks and will cue the music.
• Greet guests as they arrive.
• When you arrive, they can come to your car and help organise your group and signal timings for the walk down the aisle to your choice of music.
• After the ceremony they can set up any activities for guests or lawn games or champagne tower etc and very importantly they will assist the photographer by calling the groups for any formal photos at this time.
• Their help continues to be invaluable throughout the day and into the evening when doing a final check with the wedding party before their entrance into the wedding reception. This is when your MC will announce your arrival as you re-enter a married couple.
• Your coordinator will typically finish after this moment however, they may have different offerings and packages so check with them.
• Your venue coordinator takes over and your MC continues to communicate with the guests throughout the evening.

In my opinion, your main vendor choices for "on the day" will look like this:

Day of Coordinator - starts early, finish after reception starts or later;

Hairstylist & Makeup Artist combo - starts early-mid morning; finish approx 1-1.5 hours prior to the start of your ceremony;

Florist - delivers your bouquets and then heads to set up venue flowers; finish after set - up complete;

Wedding Stylist / Florist - This might be the same vendor in some cases, table decorations, table flowers, pews, arcs and arches, aisle decor etc. Starts early, finishes when set-up complete. Then will return to collect any items the next day.

DJ - sets up at venue before ceremony; finishes at the end of your reception or agreed time. This vendor sometimes offers MC services too.

Celebrant - provides the legal ceremony, starts before ceremony; finish after ceremony. Some Celebrants offer an MC service as well.

MC - starts at same time as celebrant, before ceremony; OR may only start at the reception depending who you choose. Finish at end of reception.

Venue Coordinator - starts at the venue early morning, works throughout, finish late;

Photographer / Videographer - Can start at any time of your day depending on your package choice; can finish at any time based on your requirements.

This is a good time to note that your photographer / videographer team have (usually) been to many weddings and have a really good understanding on how the day flows best.

But every wedding day is unique, and has different elements to include so this is why a planner and a day of coordinator are just so invaluable.