Wedding Planner vs. Day-Of Coordinator: What You Get for the Money

The difference in one sentence

A wedding planner builds the wedding; a day-of coordinator runs the wedding you already built. One is months of design, sourcing and negotiation. The other is six to eight weeks of logistics ending in a flawless day.

What a full planner does

Creative direction and design, venue sourcing, vendor curation and contract negotiation, budget building and tracking, monthly meetings, the full timeline and floor plan, rehearsal direction, and an on-site team on the wedding day.

Typical investment: from $6,500 as a flat fee. A planner who charges a percentage of your budget has an incentive you should think about carefully.

Worth it when the wedding is over roughly 100 guests, at a raw or destination venue, or when neither of you has the hours to manage eight vendor relationships.

What partial planning covers

You have the venue and a few key vendors. Partial planning fills the gaps: remaining vendor recommendations, design refinement, budget review, the full timeline, check-ins through the final 90 days, and complete day-of coordination.

Typical investment: from $4,200. This is the most common fit for couples four to six months out who started strong and stalled.

What a day-of coordinator actually does

Real day-of coordination starts six to eight weeks before the wedding, not on the morning of. Contract review, vendor confirmations, a minute-by-minute run of show, floor plan check, rehearsal direction, and ten hours on site.

Typical investment: from $1,800. If a quote promises coordination beginning the week of the wedding, that is not enough runway to catch a missing rental order.

And if you would rather do it yourself

Plenty of couples genuinely enjoy planning. What they usually lack is structure — a real timeline, a budget with honest ranges, and the vendor questions to ask. That is what our DIY kits are for, and you can add planning calls or a coordinator to them later without losing what you paid.