Wedding coordinating is the number one service I am asked about. It is also the service most underestimated. The average cost of a wedding coordinator in Knoxville is $800-$1500. It might seem expensive, but do you know what a wedding coordinator does?
Every wedding day I wake up, cook myself eggs benedict with homemade hollandaise, watch a few morning shows, fix my hair & make-up, put on a nice strapless dress and fabulous heels and arrive at 5pm for a 6pm wedding….Then I wake up from my dream!
Coordinating a wedding takes the most endurance, patience, thinking, and physical work I have ever done! An average wedding day for me is about 12-15 hours (yes, that is just the wedding day). These hours do not include the time I have taken to review contracts, follow up with vendors in finalizing orders, visit the venue, scheduling deliveries to make sure the rentals arrive before the flowers, the venue is open for the rentals to arrive, and the bride & groom aren’t being billed for any extra time to name a just a few items.
The responsibility of a wedding coordinator is huge. We must know what is happening at all times, what is about to happen, and what should happen in the next hour. We are constantly running schedules through our minds to ensure every detail will happen the way you, the client, wishes it to happen. We anticipate your requests before you ask, and rapidly make your wishes come true on the spot. We know every detail for every vendor every minute of the wedding day. On the wedding day most of us just do what needs to get done for the day to be fantastic. Some unexpected things I have done for weddings:
Escorted screaming flower girls down the aisle
Stuck my hands in a wedding cake as it was falling
Rearranged a bridal bouquet
Handled a guest getting bit by a copperhead snake
Directed a rehearsal with 31 people processing down the aisle
Worked one wedding day stretching 8am-3am (not including the 14 hours of set-up the day before)
Actual wedding crashers having to be escorted out 3 different times, once by police
A venue serving a full bar, and not the contracted just wine & beer (by me catching the mistake the bride & groom got a full bar free of charge).
A groom getting in a fender bender with the father of the bride’s vintage porsche
Having to find a taxi to pick-up a guest with a heart condition
This is only a glimpse into what I do for my brides.
The cost of a wedding coordinator may seem high at first, but the value is priceless. A mother of the bride said it best, “You spend $800 on a DJ, $2500 on flowers, $25 per guest on catering, $3000 on the wedding location, and another $2500 on photography, so why wouldn’t you invest top dollar for someone to oversee your investment for your wedding?”
Never underestimate a wedding coordinator!