Why Do You Need a Day-of Utah Wedding Coordinator? Ryann Kristena Events

Are you on the fence about whether or not you should hire a wedding planner? Maybe you’ve got all the details handled, but you don’t want to be in charge on your wedding day… You just want to be the bride. This is where it’s perfect to hire a day-of Utah wedding coordinator, if you don’t want or need full wedding planning services. But then again, you’ll never regret having a wedding planner either!

Take it from Ryann Doria from Ryann Kristena Events, every single wedding should have at least a day-of coordinator. After all, this is likely your first time planning a wedding, and many couples often underestimate how much work actually goes into making their dream wedding come to life on their wedding day.

What is a Day-of Wedding Coordinator?

So what is a wedding coordinator, and how is it different from a full-service or partial wedding planner in Utah?

“Typically, your day-of coordinator, or as I like to call it, your wedding coordinator, will start to work with you about a month prior to your wedding. They will build your timeline and communicate with vendors and make sure everything is structured in a way that makes sense to you and makes sense to your vendors.”

So even if you just want a “day-of” Utah wedding coordinator, you’ll still be “coordinating” with them well in advance to make sure everything goes smoothly.

“Your coordinator is going to be at their best if they’ve been with you for even just a month. They’ll have had the time to build your timeline with you, chat with the vendors, and just make sure the day is structured properly.”

Consider a Planner First

“With a full-service planner, I think couples don’t always understand the value that we can bring. It’s often said that we’ll save you money, and it’s not necessarily because we’re giving them discounts or things of that nature, but when you catch potential issues early on in the process, or you hire vetted professionals that your planner recommends, it can save a lot of headache in the long run and possibly keep you from needing to hire additional vendors to make up for the areas that weren’t actually covered.”

Let’s be real, we will never not tell you to hire a wedding planner! They quite literally take away all the stress and handle the details for you. Who wouldn’t want that?

Then Consider a Wedding Coordinator

But sometimes a coordinator is all you’ll need. If you’re confident in your planning skills and are willing to take on the responsibility of planning a whole wedding by yourself, a coordinator might be the best option for you.

The main reason? You want to enjoy being the bride and groom on your wedding day, not the planner.

Ryann says, “I think couples tend to underestimate the amount of work that happens on your wedding day, and the number of decisions that are made. Having a wedding coordinator gives relief to the couples in the sense that vendors, the wedding party, and guests will come up to the wedding coordinator instead of the couple to ask questions, and find out timing and seating, and whatever else they have questions about. It frees a couple up to enjoy their day without having to worry about the day.”

It’s literally your one and only wedding day; you want to enjoy it, not work it.

What to Expect When You Work With a Wedding Coordinator

With Ryann Kristena Events and many other wedding planners, it’s easy and logistically beneficial to hire a wedding coordinator, even if it’s just a day-of Utah wedding coordinator. Planners and coordinators have experience; even just one day can be made perfect.

“When a couple books for my event management package, we have an initial call where we build a skeleton version of the timeline so they have a general idea of what the day is going to look like. Once we are closer to the wedding, we hop on another call, we fine-tune the timeline a little bit more. They give me all of the vendor information that I need, and I communicate with the vendors to make sure the timeline works for them as well.”

“We do a venue walk-through, work on your layout. We check your rental orders. We check everything to make sure there’s nothing missing and that we don’t see any potential issues. We make recommendations based on your guest count, your caterer; at that point, we tell you what we see as a potential issue and kind of work towards fixing whatever that may be.”

“We’re there for your rehearsal, and then on wedding day, we are there a few hours before the ceremony starts to help with set up, and we’re typically the last vendors off-site just to make sure that everything is cleared out. Nothing gets left behind, and we can do a check-in with the venue manager to make sure all is well.”

So even just a one-day coordinator needs time to make that one day the best it can be! And the best part is that it makes your job as the couple a million times easier, and more enjoyable before your wedding day even comes.

Handling the Day-of Details

Having a wedding coordinator will help make sure important details don’t fall through the cracks, like remembering to add trash cans to the event rentals and having people to buss tables, and to make sure that when things inevitably do go awry, they can handle it easily without worrying the couple in the middle of their I dos.

Ryann had an event where the caterers ended up an hour and a half away from where they were supposed to be because of an incorrect address. Luckily, her couple had a wedding coordinator to handle changing things around seamlessly while they waited for the caterers to arrive.

“It all worked out because of the changes I made, and people thought it was intentional. Until the next day, when I sent my follow-up email to the couple, they didn’t even know the caterer was late. They had no idea because I was able to handle it and call the caterer to make sure it all happened. But if I wasn’t there, or if they did not have a coordinator, it would’ve been the catering company calling the couple, calling the mom, calling a bridesmaid during the ceremony.”

She even has one story of sewing a zipper back onto a wedding dress right before the ceremony.

“A bridesmaid maybe could’ve handled that, but they were all freaking out, and my calm and confident coordinator abilities were able to save the day on that one!”

Even the small things make a big difference on your wedding day.

From the Experts: You’ll Want a Coordinator

Take it from us, every single couple, bride, and even wedding vendors of all kinds, all have the same advice in common: hire a wedding coordinator!

“I recently asked vendor friends how the day goes when there is no coordinator present, and an overwhelming number of people said it’s chaos. A photo team ends up having to take on a partial coordinator role, which takes away from their photographer role.”

But photographers aren’t the only ones!

“My makeup artist friend did a wedding recently where the bride wanted a hair change in between the ceremony and reception, but there was no coordinator, and the timing of everything got very off, and dinner started over an hour late because things were running behind. She didn’t get seated in her hair chair until much longer because no one was keeping them on track.”

“That’s a very common thing that happens in weddings without a coordinator is that there’s no one really keeping track of time and scheduling, and making sure things are happening, so things get delayed and the event doesn’t run in a way that flows and makes sense.”

To eliminate the stress of staying on track alone, hiring a wedding coordinator will be the best thing you can do for your wedding!

Ryann Kristena Events

And if you’re looking for a planner or day-of Utah wedding coordinator who will stand by your side and go out of her way to make your wildest wedding wishes come true, even the most untraditional ones, Ryann is your go-to girl.

As a self-proclaimed lover of the color black and the queen of planning the most beautiful and unique alternative weddings, Ryann will always be the one to say, “Yes!”

“Sometimes just having another person in your corner is all that you need; knowing that you have a friend who totally understands your vision, and fully supports you, because at the end of the day of the wedding is about the couple getting married.”

Find the Right Wedding Coordinator For You

Ryann’s biggest piece of advice is to take your time to find the right planner or coordinator for you.

“I think it’s worth taking your time to shop around for a planner or a coordinator that fits both your vision and your personality. I love it when people do non-traditional things, and I am very organized and logistical during the planning process. This is your day. Let’s make it good for you.”

“I will not be the right planner for everyone, which is why I think it’s important to have discovery calls and talk to your vendors to make sure that they are going to be the right person for you. Aside from the photo and video team, the planner is going to be the vendor that you spend the most time with. You wanna make sure that you can get along and that you will enjoy your conversations and planning meetings with them.”

Whether you’re ready to hire a full-service planner or a day-of coordinator, Ryann Kristena Events is a great place to start. Ever thought of black as a happy color? Ryann relates. Take her advice and start the process of finding your day-of Utah wedding coordinator right now, and your future wedding-day self will thank you!