To hire or not to hire a Wedding Coordinator...

[phalluscolossus]

For me it's more practical to hire a Wedding coordinator, at least a day coordinator that would take care of everything, from the church to the reception. Believe me, you don't want to assign a number of your relatives to take care of how the program flow of your wedding reception would go, how and when to distribute the wedding give aways/souvenirs, etc. Remember that your relatives are, after all, also your guests.

I have witnessed a wedding where there was no wedding coordinator. The Maid of Honor was assigned to retrieve the Unity candle at the altar, right after the Bride and Groom have finished being photographed inside the church.

Since, the Unity candle was still lit, the Maid of Honor who was also assigned to retrieve it from the altar table has to pour the melted candle wax, which has almost overflowed around the candle wick. Unfortunately, the candle wax fell on her gown and what a mess that was. A maid of horror she became.

For my personal experience, hiring a wedding coordinator is for your convenience and for all the guests, including your relatives to also just sit and enjoy the festive mood of your wedding and let the day coordinators worry about everything else.

The only downside of hiring a wedding coordinator is of course, you have to pay them.

Hiring a full wedding coordinator is another matter. Beside's being expensive, a full wedding coordinator will refer you to the most expensive suppliers who are also her tie-ups, a.k.a., business partners in the wedding industry. I do not recommend a full wedding coordinator.

However, there is an ongoing trend among full wedding coordinators wherein they are also a one-stop shop; meaning, they will offer you a full wedding package which will include the wedding invites, bridal car, gown, catering, give-aways, the works, all that jazz, etc.,

And because of the competition between wedding coordinators, they will try to come up with ths most competitive price package that is more marketable, reasonably priced and yet affordable.

[irobot]

what can you say about "Partial coordinator"?

[Kayla_SMB]

Hanggang ngayon nagsisisi pa rin ako bakit kumuha ako ng wedding coordinator , to the point pa na kaibigan/ka choir sya ng Tita ko. Grabe sobrang sama talaga ng experience, imagine 40K ang binayad ko sa kanya....hindi worth it! 2 years na ang nakakaraan pero galit pa rin ako sa kanya.

[phalluscolossus]

^Want to share what happpened?

[Kayla_SMB]

^Want to share what happpened?

Well, nasa abroad kasi ako so sabi nila mas maganda daw kung may wedding coordinator. May mga bagay na nakamura ko (ata) pero may kita pa rin sya dun maliban sa bayad ko. Mabuti na lang maganda yung gumawa ng gown ko, ng buong entourage. Ayos yung sa church, sa Manila Cathedral, maganda set up nya. Then pinaka worst nung reception na....sa Maynila Room, Manila Hotel. Pinakamahal yung venue na yun kasi 2 lang pwede mo pagpilian na pagkain. Okay, ayos ang pagkain...then ayan na..ang sounds..... yung mobile na kinuha nya, nagtipid sya!!! Imbes na yung sa hotel ang nirentahan nya, kumuha sya ng mas mura so para siguro sa kanya mapunta yung ibang pera....kainis nagloko ang sound system nya. Tapos napaka formal ng kasal ko bigla ba naman tinugtog yung "Totoy Bibo"...grabe nakakahiya sobra. Samantalang andun naman yung ni rent namin na choir at instrumentalist..sana naisip man lang nya na wag na gamitin yung sound system at ginamit na lang yung violin, etc. (di ko na matandaan). Then yung ayos ng reception parang wala lang ang panget nung table naming mag asawa, samanatalang nag bayad ako ng extra para sa pag ayos nun. Nalaman ko pa via internet na yung ni rent nyang saskyan namin (yung luma na color orange, siguro nabalitaan nyo na yun), yung P4,000 eh para pala sa kanya. Kainis tapos, yung sa paghagis ng flower iba yung idea na sinabi nya sa akin sa ginawa namin. Yung normal lang naihahagis ang ginawa ko samantalang ang sabi nya eh yung hinihila. At ang nakakainis pa, hindi ready yung flowers as in na nguha pa sya sa mga table. ...ang video at picture, brother nya ang kinuha, so bale dahil pinagkatiwalaan ko sya oo naman ako. Nagbayad ako ng P90,000 pesos....hindi worth it....baka kahit 50,000 hindi pa rin...Di ako makapagdemanda kasi wala akong contract na pinirmahan since kaibigan nga sya ng Tita ko. Si Lord na lang bahala sa kanilang magkakapatid.....

[chiquitin]

hi,

at first ayaw ko na kumuha ng coordinator kasi nga iniisip ko dagdag gastos eh nagtitipid nga kami. Just yesterday ang dami nagtanong sa kin kung sino coordinator ko etc. Naisip ko tuloy, should i get one na?

how much does it cost ba to hire one and can you guys recommend someone? kahit yung for that day lang, kasi hands on ako sa preparation.

tin
2004.02.24

[kookoo13]

me too, i don't have any plans of getting a coordinator, coz added expense pa, but one day, an ofcmate asked me how's my wedding preps and if i have a coordinator, i just simply smiled and said that i don't have one. luckily, she volunteered to be my OTD coordinator - free of charge! swerte!

im sure may mga willing to help na mga relatives and friends kaya magtanong-tanong na din muna bago mag-hire ng coordinator para na din makatipid

[chiquitin]

yah, ive thougth of that too. dami ako friends/kapatid/kamag-anak. ang kaso lang ive also thought about yung sinabi sa thread na you cant expect these people to really be diligent in their assignments kasi at the end of the day guests pa rin sila. so ngayon confused na akech! hay!

[iara]

whether to get a coordinator or not depends a lot on the bride: some are hands-on and want to do all the planning themselves. it is their wedding after all. they want to oversee every aspect of the preps, no matter how seemingly unimportant (i know one bride who decorated her unity candle with beads.) so if she has the time and inclination, then good for her, she'll save spending a lot on full-coordination (upwards of 50k?).

if you're opting for day coordination (around 15-20k), it is important that you get feedback regarding the coordinator you're planning to get. who else would know how well (or badly) a coordinator performed than a bride herself? so do your research first. join a local wedding mailing list. start a thread here in pex. find what people have to say about your prospective coordinator -- both the good and the bad.

i personally wouldn't get family or friends as coordinators for my own wedding day. helping me with the preps is okay but "working" on my wedding when they're supposed to be my guests is out of the question.

an alternative would be to to hire pseudo day coordinators day: students who want to earn a bit of cash, friends of friends who want to be paid for a day's work, etc. simply meet all of them before the wedding and outline what's going to happen during the wedding and what they're supposed to do. assign a head if you must. i say paying them 1-1.5k each would be fair.

[RiDeR]

at first, di ko rin gusto yung maghire ng wedding coordinator since added expense nga siya. i initially thought of assigning relatives to take care of things during the actual wedding day. tama yung sabi ng iba that relatives are also your guests and gusto rin nilang mawitness yung ceremony and yung program sa reception.

we hired an on-the-day coordinator para wala na akong asikasuhin on the day itself. i was really glad that i did kasi wala na akong inintindi pa. bale sila na yung bahala sa lahat. of course, hindi naman talaga sila "on-the-day" lang. hinihingi rin nila yung contact numbers ng guests, entourage and suppliers para sila na rin yung magfollow up. magmimeet din kayo siguro twice or thrice before the wedding para sabihin nyo kung ano talaga yung gusto niyong mangyari.

it was advantageous din kasi since marami na silang nahandle na weddings, alam na nila yung flow ng program. and they will suggest lots of things para hindi magkaroon ng lull moments.

if you're interested you can contact our coordinator. just visit their website at www.freewebs.com/foreverandaday/

[ninjathet0312]

our wedding is on dec. 2007. during the pamamanhikan, my fiance's side volunteered to do all the legwork come our d-day. but hey?!?! i dont want to vent out all my angst and worries to them. baka magkasamaan pa kami ng loob pag sumimangot o tumaas boses ko dahil sa pressure (talking about anticipation...) since im a hands-on type of bride (but not that OC huh...) i decided to get an on-the-day coordinator (EVENTS by FRIDAY CLUB). i'll be having 6 OTD manpower and 1 errand boy. that is 2 people responsible for the hotel preps, 2 at the church and (initially) 2 at the reception preps (of course all of the 4 other guys will also be in the reception venue din). these people are just starting in the business so their price is very as IN VERY competitive compared to the others. their team is composed of professionals like MDs, accountants, call center pros etc. They are now starting to establish a reputation. meron pa nga silang client na same church and same venue pero 2006 ang wedding . so pag turn na namin, gamay na gamay na ng Friday Club kung ano gagawin. i dont want to splurge a fortune for coordinators since i already booked naman na almost all of our major suppliers.

sa pagpili kung anong klaseng coordination ang pipiliin, we have to consider the stress level din (and of course, money money money). yun lang po...

[babyjl]

hi guys... just wanna share things based on my experience. we did not hire a coordinator even on the day of our wedding kc nga gusto ko ako pumili ng mga suppliers ko but my cousin helped me and she acted as the coordinator. I did think of getting one but quite expensive *** napagtanungan ko(12K). So sabi ko wag na lang kc naayos na din naman namen halos lahat ala naman na masyado aayusin. And we had a coordinator sa reception kasama na package ng VS&F plus Manila Cathedral have their own ushers. Ang problema sa preparation sa hotel so volunteer naman *** cousin ko. But on the day of the wedding I couldnt utilize *** sopposed to be mag aayos ng mga dapat dalhin sa church from the hotel kc mas excited pa sila saken.... hahahahha so medyo chaotic nga lang kami sa hotel. Pero overall okay naman *** takbo ng program sa reception saka sa church. But I would suggest na u should have one on the day of your wedding esp. if you dont have a coordinator sa reception and ushers sa church, suggestion lang po thanks.

[chiquitin]

Hi Ninjathet and Rider,

Can i get yung rates ng wedding coordinators?

I was able to talk to a wedding coordinator (text-text nga lang). Her name is Anna Alcaraz - 0921 839 7014. Ang binigay nyang rate 15K Full Coordination and 7K for 1 Day.

Hindi ko pa nakikita yung inclusions nung package nya, pero do you think ok nato?

[ninjathet0312]

HI CHIQUITIN...

7k lang din rates ng Friday Club for an OTD coordination. service includes (7 manpower) most of the task during the d-day plus, unlimited consulation (SMS, email, fax) upon signing of contract and at most eh three "physical" meetings...follow up ng suppliers, contract review, reception programme etc. i didnt opt for a full coordination. dec. 2007 pa kami but i have reserved most of our suppliers: church, reception venue, string quartet, cake and P/V team...so di ko na talaga kelangan miski partial.ayoko lang ma-stress out at magalit sa kamag-anak (kung tatamad-tamad sa d-day)...bahala na *** coordinators mag absorb ng pressure...lol

[beauté]

i think mas maganda talaga if you have a coordinator kahit for the day itself lang so you can turn over everything at least a month prior to your wedding... nakaka pagod daw kasi talaga.. and most people i know kahit nagtitipid may coordinator talaga




Charity

[beauté]

better get recommendations from your friends.. mahirap na kasi yung newbie sa coordination baka maging practice ground ka lang.. mas maganda ang merong coordinator para wala ng problem.. lahat turn over na sa kanila...

friday club ba matagal na sa industry? may mga big time couples na silang na coordinate?




Charity

[thats_hot]

I would hire a coordinator from day 1 ng planning. It will save me a few wrinkles come wedding time.

[ninjathet0312]

chiquitin...eto dear ang contact info nila..

head coord: liza mendiola
landline: 5350227
cell: 0916 522653
email: thefridayclub@gmail.com

just tell them that THET mentioned them to you on PEX. their rate is 7k for the first 200 guests. may additional charge (yata!) in excess. though, im not sure how much (ill be having 200 guest max).. FYI, quite a few na rin from w@w got their OTD service. i was the first one from w@w who booked them yet i am their last client for 2007...hehehe. Liza is very nice. perhaps you can just email her first, then set a personal meeting if you feel that she is professional enough during your email conversation... happy preps!

[maris_blaise]

in my case sobrang godsend yung coordinator. kasi she's very professional and she took care of the technical stuff. but she never interfered sa mga important decisions like the theme, design ng dress, cake, etc. tapos on the day itself you get to enjoy everything, without worrying about anything kasi you know that everything's taken care of.

i don't mind naman that's she's getting referral fee from suppliers that she refered us to kasi in our case napamura pa nga compared sa iba kasi kilala na nya yung supplier kaya willing magbigay ng big discount.

if you're going to get a coordinator, make sure she's professional. naku big no-no sakin yung relative or friend. kasi mahihiya kang magreklamo or magsabi lalo na kung maliit lang yung bayad or free lang.

[bluemoon88]

www.wedavenue.com

Charges reasonably php25k for Full coordination na.