Wedding planners have only been around for 10-20 years in France, and until recently they were seen as a luxury only the fanciest of weddings could afford. But with the rise of the profession and the busy lifestyles of today’s couple, we see more and more couple wanting to hire help but not really knowing what the job entails.
I will make this article short and sweet, and tell you the difference between a few of the most popular services offered by wedding planners :
Full Wedding Planning
This is the fullest packaged deal for a wedding planner: a service that starts not long after the engagement and one that englobes the finding of the venue and all of the vendors, the communication between all parties involved in the wedding, and the coordination of the big day.
Partial Wedding Planning
Wether the couple needs help simply in finding a venue of just a few vendors, this service allows them to pick out what they want without committing to the full package. Not every planner offers this a-la-carte service as it may be difficult to really evaluate what needs the planner’s help and what doesn’t.
Wedding Day-of (or month-of) Coordination
This service is made for couples who have planning their wedding on their own but don’t want to run around on their big day handling their vendors and answering every technical question guests might have. This service often isn’t just one day’s work (which is why some planners call it month-of coordination): it also involves the planner making a detailed outline of the day and taking over the last few exchanges with vendors and bridal party members.
Wedding Design
While some wedding planners (myself included) offer a bit of decoration-guidance in their planning packages, this offer is based strictly on decoration. It is (or should be) offered by professionals who have specialized in design, who are extremely creative, and often who have materials they can rent out.
Wedding Coaching
This service is speaks for itself but with the rise in DIY wedding-planning, this allows for couples to have advice from professionals and gives them direction beyond the free content they could find online.
There are of course many variants of these services and many options wedding planners can add to their packages to make them special but this little summary should give you and understanding of the difference between hiring a wedding planner for full planning, partial planning, coordination, design and/or coaching.
And of course, if you’re interested in what my services are, feel free to check them out !