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There has been a lot of discussion about day of coordinators on Weddingbee recently, so I want to differentiate between what I call the true DOC (an emerging trend in recent years) and the DOC+.
When I got married four years ago, I hired a coordinator about 2 months out before my wedding. While the services were called day of coordination, they would probably be more appropriately named month of coordination, or day of coordination plus. Not only did my planners oversee the entire wedding day, they referred several of my last minute vendors, accompanied me to meetings, managed all contracts and vendor communication, and most importantly they were prepared to tackle all the unexpected emergencies that arose that day. Traditionally, these services were within the scope of day of coordination packages.
What we’ve been seeing lately is brides who act as their own planners, researching, diy-ing, designing, and planning every aspect of their weddings. But because they’ll be busy on their wedding day getting married, they want someone there to execute and oversee all their hard work on the day of. Many brides these days are looking for a true day of only coordinator, often on a small budget.
I know this can be a contentious topic amongst professional wedding planners because there is no shortage of newcomers to the industry who charge very little and have commensurate experience.
But I’m really interested in hearing… Brides - are you looking for a true day of only coordinator or a DOC+? Planners - do you offer true day of only services?
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I am only interested in a true DOC for my day, and that’s what I hired! I’ve also already done all the research, contracts, etc, but decided I need help on the wedding day and didn’t want to necessarily enlist my friends and family. I even asked my Father, who I had been assuming would want to help coordinate that day if he did want that roll, and he certainly didn’t! So I’m glad to have someone just for the wedding day helping out who won’t be trying to really enjoy the wedding day at the same time.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am a newcomer and trying to build a business on DOC/DOC+. While I am happy to just act as a DOC, I believe you need to be more involved in the process or at least the Rehearsal to be the best DOC possible! The more you know about the bride and groom and the vision they have for the wedding the better you can manage the actual wedding day to perfection.
The contract review and negotiation is a bonus for me (it makes me think that I did not go to law school for nothing!)
I’ve been a wedding planner for about 7 years and never offered just day-of coordination. As a professional planner, it’s nearly impossible to get all of the necessary information and solve remaining issues without being part of the process for at least 6 weeks. DOC is actually the most difficult service a planner can offer. I’m happy to offer more insight on this issue is anyone needs it!
I’m a Marketing Manager for a medical device company and have a lot of experience planning and organizing major surgeon events and conferences. As such, I really only needed a true DOC.
When hiring just a DOC, it’s the bride’s job to make sure that the DOC’s job is do-able, and that means being detailed and meticulous about EVERYTHING. You have to set your DOC up for success, if you want her to be able to live up to the expectation.
By the way, I love the topics and discussions on Weddingbee - it has been so so so helpful!
I want just a TRUE DOC. I don’t have money to spend on a DOC + regardless of how important it is. Unfortunately, you’re right: it’s hard to determine who can do what exactly so it takes some serious research!
I only want a true DOC. A DOC+ would be great if I could afford it, but I don’t really *need* it: I just need someone to light candles on the centerpieces, set out placecards and make sure nothing goes terribly wrong (or that at least I don’t know about it).
If the budget permits, i’d like to have a DOC+ because although i will be DIYing many details and doing alot of the research for vendors, i’d love to have a professional asking the “right” questions to all the vendors and assuring all communication between vendors goes smoothly,on budget, and with my “vision” of the wedding in mind.
Thats what i’ll be looking for at least. 
Thanks for posting this Mrs. Bee! I was a little baffled by some of the prices for DOCs on the Bee Budget post because most of them aren’t what I considered a true DOC. I’m on a very tight budget and want just the DOC and at most maybe have the rehearsal dinner included in their duties. I plan to do like Peng did and have pictures/boxes set up with the centerpiece mockups and a google doc of the entire day’s run-down, so I’m not willing to pay too much for someone to basically carry out a plan.
I need a DOC+. However, my wedding is in Panama, so this is difficult. Should I entrust the hotel coordinator with the details and timeline, or have my bridesmaids or parents do this? None of these ideas appeal to me, but I have no idea if this service even exists in Panama. I, like krissybee, would like to have someone who understands my vision and is there in the country to bat for ME.
i am very thankful that the wedding coordinator at the hotel basically carries out the weddings - it’s a DW so i don’t want to have to worry about a lot of the details. I’m technically paying for the service, though, because they charge a hefty fee for the wedding stuff. But it’s WORTH IT. I would say that she is a DOC+. I would probably do the same if i got married in the states. My FSIL’s wedding was insane the day of, and my FMIL didn’t even have time to put on make up before the ceremony b/c of the set up!! Worth.The.Money!
I hired what you’d consider a true DOC for about $490 — I have her services for 10 hours straight and she will basically do everything and anything I need on that day, plus a couple of in person meetings beforehand to prepare and helping me to finalize my schedule, vendor contracts.
She does offer two other packages, one being more of a DOC+ and a full service coordination package. I get the impression from my conversations with her that she probably prefers doing DOC+ and up, and I can understand that — I imagine it’s a much more fulfilling experience being able to be in on each step of the process. I would have loved to hire her for a higher package, but even as a long distance planning bride, I really didn’t see the need — I was lucky enough to have our planning process go incredibly smoothly. But the DOC was definitely something I knew I needed to do if I was to keep any of my sanity on my wedding day. I have TONS of projects that need very precise execution on the day of and with her experience, I really trust that she’ll help me fulfill my vision and me, my friends, and my family can truly enjoy themselves on our wedding day!
I’m actually getting married in a couple months and as of now do not have a DOC. Lately I’ve been debating over this. I had originally planned on not having one. We’re having the ceremony and reception at my future in-laws home and the caterer is a family friend who is actually taking care of a lot. We’ll have a lot of help from friends and family, but I’m still worried now as the day gets closer. The town we’re having it in is actually really small and I’m not sure if a DOC even exists. Do you think it’s possible to pull it off or should I start looking for someone?
Sadly I doubt I’ll be able to hire either. I’ve seen some true DOC go for $500 or more just for one day. I’m sorry, but there’s just no way it will be able to fit into my budget no matter how much I’d want one. I just hope everything goes alright at my wedding. I figure with a small wedding party of 50 it’s not a big deal. If I had 150 then yes.
I started out only looking to hire a DOC (or weekend of) but after meeting with my planner, I knew my mother and I would need a little more then day of help.
As a planner and a fiscally savvy woman, I can see both sides of the story. I don’t see too many people explaining it from the planner’s side of the story, so I will give it my best shot.
In all of my years of business, I, too, have never offered just a “true doc”. I cannot show up “cold” to a wedding– I think surprises are for Chuck E. Cheese parties; not weddings. As a planner, it’s my job to come up with plans A-Z and make sure that it all comes together flawlessly.
I do best explaining things in terms of stories, so bear with me. With the impending birth of my second child, I got “stuck” about 200+ miles away from my OB in GA, in my hometown of Baltimore. I tried to go back to my old OB in Baltimore and have her assist me with my birth coming up in a few weeks, but she declined to take me back. For one, liability was an issue for her– she did not want to work behind another doctor who may have missed any health issues for me or the baby. I only had two options: find an OB who would take me with about a 4 weeks to go til my due date or just show up at the ER in labor and take whatever I got in terms of the doctors’ rotation.
You don’t want to be caught in that situation with your wedding. Just like the birth of my baby, it is a one time, very important event that you do not want to leave to chance or someone you have not worked with before. By working with a coordinator who offers extended coordination services, it allows you the ability to get to know and get comfortable with your coordinator and her staff. This is very important when you want to be concerned with being the bride and the co-star of the day not the co-producer or worrying about what will go wrong (I had the same feeling– I wanted to enjoy the birth of my child, not worry about if something was done right since I was in new hands). Working with someone ahead of time gives your coordinator the opportunity to catch any potential mishaps, deal with changes or forgotten tasks. Because your coordinator specializes in these events, s/he knows what to look for to maximize her service to you as well as keep you focused, on task, and really allow you to decompress and absorb some down time while she handles the business side of your day. It is for this reason why most planners will not just show up on the day of the wedding to work– they have no idea what they are walking into. And when something goes wrong, it is “automatically” the planner’s fault or responsibility.
I would strongly encourage you not to let your budget make this decision for you– sometimes what you pay for convenience and peace of mind is worth its weight in gold.
Oh and yes, I guess you could say I found my DOC+ OB; I found one to work with me and catch any last minute changes that an ER doc wouldn’t know and was all the happier for it.
I have to agree with Terrica. From a pure business perspective, pure “DOC” is a nightmare. Most people have never before planned a party with 100 some of their most important family, friends (and in-laws!!), especially one that is SO emotionally charged, and involves not only the serving of some cocktails but full meal, entertainment, desert, etc, not to mention decor and little things like favors. So, here you are as a planner, with every wedding putting your business and your reputation on the line - if one goes terribly wrong, there goes your reputation. (and with that your livelihood.) So, as a “true DOC” as it is being termed here, you let a completely non-experienced person plan everything for an event YOU will end up being responsible for, and then you walk in at the last minute and try to fix anything that might go wrong. It’s complete liability with no control over quality. Can you see why experienced planners don’t offer this? It’s not worth $500 to lose the reputation you have worked so hard to build up, especially if it could lose you future business. For most planners, this is how we put food on the table! Not just a fun hobby. Yes, some brides manage to plan their own wedding fabulously and all the DOC has to do is light candles - but unfortunately you can never tell if a bride will be good at it or not.
(Even with Ph.D. in Psychology I can’t always tell which brides will be a good planner - and neither do the brides).
When I first started my business, I offered DOC like everyone else. Some brides only wanted me (and to pay me for) showing up on the day of the wedding. I had one wedding early on in my career where the officiant showed up an hour late, pushing the ceremony more than an hour back back on an outdoor, no shade wedding in August (it was 90 degrees - very hot, parched unhappy guests). I did my best to find refreshments from a local store, but only so much you can do in a field!) Guess who looked bad? It wasn’t the bride - everyone wanted to know where the coordinator was. Painful.
Most planners own their own companies, so their work is their passion, it’s been built with blood sweat and tears. They love weddings, and love helping you, the bride, make it wonderful, and they want it to turn out wonderful. They did not get into this field to go fix a bunch of issues that could have been avoided if only they had been involved earlier.
There are so many things that can go wrong, many which can easily be avoided.
To have a professional go through everything ahead of time and be aware of any possible issues so they actually solve them quickly and efficiently on the day of or avoid them entirely? Completely priceless.
And, just with everything else in life, you get what you pay for. When I had my children, I took some time off of planning since it involves so many hours on the weekends and late at night, and only offered our decor services for 3 years (we do full service design, including floral and planning). I got to work with some local DOC’s and planners, and boy was there a range of quality & experience, especially seeing it from a professionals experience. Some were fabulous to work with, and others..Let’s just say that being there doing floral set-up I had to step in a few times to fix an issue, despite there being a DOC - they meant well, but were just so inexperienced that they didn’t know what to do. It’s almost worse for a bride to have a bad or really non-experienced planner and depend on them to make it all work, than not to have one and know you are responsible for it and at least know it’s checked off the list.
“True DOC” is something that works in theory, but because the bride has usually never executed a wedding, the plans she hands over typically have a few things that were overlooked - simply because she didn’t know. I have never seen a “true doc” - where the planner shows up, says “give me what you’ve got and I’ll make it happen” ever work out.
If you are using the site coordinator as your DOC - and some are great at this - be sure to ask when their shift ends. Many leave at 8 or 9 pm or just after cake cutting - and several don’t even stay through dinner. I have never understood this - we have the following occur at weddings, (as well as other situations)
-a family member have a heart attack
-a guest with alcohol poisoning - and no joke - full OSHA regulations had to be followed to a T in handling part of it.
-a very large and irreplaceable family heirloom diamond fall out of the bride’s ring
And all of these of course happened AFTER the on-site coordinator had left. Blame it on Murphy and his pesky law, but just be sure you and the venue coordinator are on the same page as far as scheduling is concerned.
I agree with all the planners here- I don’t know of a coordinator- and established one anyway- that actually offers ONLY DOC. Not only does it make it incredibly stressful and impossible to flow smoothly from the professional end of things [our end], but we also don’t get to establish that much needed and much desired connection with our clients that is so important to our business.
DOC+ all the way.
xoxo,
A.
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Mrs. Bee, New York
Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet
Engagement Date: May 7, 2004
Wedding Date: March 5, 2005
Venue: Westside Loft, New York
About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
For my wedding, I was only looking for a true day of only coordinator. I did all the research, communication, and hiring of vendors on my own thanks to all the information out there on sites like weddingbee, theknot, etc. It would have been a nice splurge to have a DOC+ but I honestly couldn’t justify the need. My vendors were all absolutely amazing so they didn’t need a DOC+ to help coordinate them prior to the day of the wedding. Even on the day of, they were able to get by with minimal instruction and guidance.