Wedding Memoir without Expert Coordination
Why Hire a Wedding Coordinator
From Lauran
May 26, 2007 was the best day of my life, literally! All brides say that about their wedding day, but I mean it sincerely. For me, that day was the culmination of nine grueling months of planning and, obviously, it marked the beginning of my life with Paul. We had dated for almost 7 years so I had a long time to dream up my ideal wedding! I absolutely loved the process of putting together our big day and of pouring a bit of ourselves into the smallest aspects! I’m a type-A personality and have worked in event planning as a profession, so I knew I could handle all of the details that went into the preparations and really make it a special day for Paul, myself, our families, and all of our guests. And I did! I lined up all of the necessary vendors, assembled out of town gift bags, made itineraries for the wedding party, put together the favors, proofread the guest list, program, and invitations, etc. I enjoyed attending to all of the minute details and ensuring that everything was perfect.
Paul and I had an elaborate ceremony, featuring a gospel choir and several musicians, at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Brookhaven. My family priest presided and did a wonderful job at making Paul and me feel totally at ease. The reception followed at Capital City Club downtown. 350 people attended, and we had a large wedding party with 12 bridesmaids, 12 groomsmen, 1 flower girl, 1 ring bearer, and 2 readers.
After all of the planning, I thought everything would run smoothly on the day of the wedding, but when our big day arrived, I needed an advocate - someone there for me to alleviate the stress, someone who could confirm that the flowers arrived on time and were placed correctly, monitor the band setting up, review the timeline with the band, make sure the wedding party lined up in the correct order, provide the photographer with a list of necessary photographs (my biggest regret is not having one), hand out final payments to vendors, and calm my nerves. We had a coordinator at our church, and one at the club, who did a truly wonderful job, but I still wish I had had someone there to tie it all together. I realize now their coordinator roles stop at their doorstep and only include certain responsibilities. In reflection, if I had a personal coordinator who knew my vision I would have had a buffer and layer of service between myself and the wedding vendors. Small important questions even the church and venue coordinators had for me would not have taken me away from my most precious moments. Time goes so fast on your wedding day. I just couldn’t be everywhere that day and enjoy each moment. It would have made it an even better day for me because there would have been less stress. I could have taken it all in a bit more and really focused on committing the details of that day to my memory.
