I am asked sometimes why anyone should hire a wedding planner.

Beautiful wedding day. Photo by Magical Moments Photography.

After all, you can probably do all the planning yourself. With some time, a few organizational skills, and the ability to see the project through, you can plan your wedding by yourself. Of course, it is a large job that takes a lot of time and attention. Most people find the process momentarily frustrating. At the same time, it can be very rewarding. You might even find that it is a lot of fun.

On the other hand, when it comes to day-of wedding coordination, almost everyone needs someone to do the job. In the past when brides were typically younger, the mother of the bride often took care of the coordinating. Sometimes the Maid of Honor does all the work.  These days, though, most couples want to allow their families and friends to enjoy the wedding day and not have to deal with the details.

Even if your wedding is simple and straightforward, if you hire a day-of coordinator, you are also hiring a professional consultant who can help you with the planning. When I am working with a couple, I tell them that once they hire me, they can call me or send me an e-mail any time if they need guidance or a vendor referral or just someone to bounce an idea off of. My function is to make sure that the wedding goes smoothly, and that means that I start working toward that goal as soon as I am hired. If I can prevent costly mistakes or solve a problem months in advance, then I am doing my job as day-of coordinator.

Also, I have resources that you might not have.  Especially if your wedding is non-traditional or if you want to make sure it is environmentally friendly, I have access to vendors and other resources that you might not know about.

Maybe you have been to a wedding and thought it all went so smoothly that there was no need for a coordinator. That is actually the highest compliment you can pay to a day-of wedding coordinator. From the point of view of the guests, it should all look effortless, and that means that someone has put all the details together into a beautiful wedding day.

You can greet your guests with cocktails before the ceremony as they did here. Photo by Paul Grigonis, pplusgphoto.com.

A couple of recent client weddings have skipped the usual cocktail hour between the ceremony and the reception.  There have been various reasons for this choice, but I think one of the most important reasons is the five-hour time slot imposed by so many venues.

If you are venue shopping now, their time restrictions are an important thing to know before you sign a contract.  Some venues will give you the whole day until their closing time.  At least one I know of divides the day into two slots so they can do four weddings every weekend.  Most, however, seem to like to give you any five hours you want, plus set-up and clean-up time.

You can definitely have a wonderful wedding and reception in five hours.  If it seems a little short, one of the things you can jettison is the cocktail hour.  If you were planning to take photos during the cocktail hour, that means finding another time for them.  Doing them before the ceremony might not be an option if you and your fiance are not seeing each other before the ceremony, so if that is the case, your options are more limited.  If not, consider doing photos before the ceremony and going straight from the ceremony to the reception.

Talk to your planner or coordinator about how to make the day’s schedule work best for you.  She or he should be able to tell you what your best options are.